Alienware laptop shows no signs of life

Patrick-747 · November 28, 2020

My alienware 13 r3 was working fine until it randomly wouldn't power on. no lights, fans, or display. There is a distinct electrical buzz and a burning smell when I plugged in the power cord which led me to believe it was a short on the motherboard. but upon further investigation after I removed the internal DC cable, the power jack is the only place It smelled burnt.

also, one of the pins where the battery plugs into the motherboard was bent to the left, but don't know if that contributed to the problem

eeeee1 · November 28, 2020

still got warranty?

Patrick-747 · November 28, 2020

no eeeee1

parrotperil · November 29, 2020

Could you post some clearer pics of where the internal dc cable connects to the mobo?

I had similar issues with my Alienware 17R2. The DC jack to mobo connector looked fine at first but when I unplugged it, it was so burned that the plastic crumbled in my hands. Those DC jack cables are like $10 so you could get a new one to see if that's your problem.

Can you confirm your AC adapter is working? If you can maybe try another power cable rated for the same Watts/Volts/Amps.

As for the battery pin, leave your battery unplugged from the mobo if you test a new DC jack cable or AC adapter. Although, if you've never removed the battery before and the pin was just always bent like that (on purpose or factory defect), it's not likely for it to suddenly start causing problems now without another factor at play.

Patrick-747 · December 1, 2020

parrotperil I have 2 of the same AC adapters and they both work so I know that's not the problem. I've had the battery unplugged a few times and there is a bit of slop with the battery connector socket on the mobo so the bent pin was probably my fault. I tested the DC jack without the battery plugged in, and still nothing. I found a new DC cable on ebay for 20$ so I'll try that with and without the battery plugged in and see what happens. I took some clearer pictures of the battery connector socket and the internal DC socket. (The arrow is pointing to the pin I straightened). Thanks