Dell Precision 5820: System dead / Power button shows no affect after not using the Computers for a couble months

dvx1 · September 20

Hey Guys,

After fiddeling with it on my own, I now turn to the place where I hope the competence of the crowd can help me the best. I am a long-time watcher but new to the forum.

Here is my strange issue:

I have two Dell Precision 5820 workstations, but when I plug in the power cable and press the power button, nothing happens. No fanspin, no LED blinking - nothing at all.

It gets even stranger: the system did boot a couple months ago with no issue. I have a second Precision 5820 (a slightly older model) that has the same exact issue.

I tried resetting the CMOS with the jumper. I measured the battery, and it's at 3.02V. Did press the power-button for ca. 1 minute both with and without the power cable attached. + combinations of doing the CMOS Jumper + Trying to boot/powerdrain the system. No affect.

When pressing the PSU diagnostic button at the back, all fans start spinning (PSU, CPU, and all three Case-Fans).

I reseated the CPU and checked the power button on its little board, and when pressing it, it actually gave me a continuity-beep on my multimeter when measuring the two pins.

I also replugged a couple of cables just to be sure.

Now I am all out of ideas. Any guesses what could be wrong and what I could try?

Any input is appreciated!

Thanks

Needfuldoer · September 20

Make sure the intrusion detection switches are connected and working properly. I had to hold the switch closed with a couple zip ties when I ran a 5820 with the side panel off; otherwise it acted like it was dead. (A couple 7920s at work acted the same way, and they have a switch for each side panel.)

dvx1 · September 20

6 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

Make sure the intrusion detection switches are connected and working properly. I had to hold the switch closed with a couple zip ties when I ran a 5820 with the side panel off; otherwise it acted like it was dead. (A couple 7920s at work acted the same way, and they have a switch for each side panel.)

Thanks. I forgot to mention that - I did press (or rather shoved it closed with a screwdriver) the intruder switch. I also check the continuity of it and it all looks fine.

I also noticed that I should have posted in "The Workbench > Troubleshooting" section. Can this be moved?

Thanks

dvx1 · September 26

The Strange part is that I have two nearly identical machines, one of witch I didn't even move and now just from standing there (no power cable plugged in) they suddenly do not react to the power-button press at all.

The only reaction I can get is by pressing the PSU-Tester key and this starts all Fans.

I tried with only CPU and one Memory-Stick + Frontpanel attached but that didn't change anything. I am so missing POST issues right now. At least there I can troubleshoot properly.