[SOLVED] Alienware 17 (model p18e) won't power on. Does this model REQUIRE a battery?

[heweaver]

I have 2013 Alienware 17 (model P18e) that I am working on for a customer. He brought it to me without a charger, and my low watt chargers didn't seem to work for this model at all so we ordered a 240 watt charger like this unit originally shipped with. Finally this charger arrived, but it still won't power on. I noticed with my low watt chargers, the little green power light would barely flicker for a moment really faintly when I tried to press it and power it on. With the 240 watt charger, it still kind of flickers but the light itself seems much brighter, but still it never powers on, no fans startup or anything. Just as a hunch, I disconnected the internal battery, and without a battery this power light will not even flicker at all when I try to power it on. After re-connecting the battery, the power light again just sort of flickers. And even that seems a bit intermittent, I have to press the power button and hold it down and maybe do that a couple of times before the power button light turns green...but as soon as I let go of the button, the power button light goes off.

Does this model REQUIRE a battery to start? If so, maybe he just has a bad battery...

Or any other suggestions you may have to help me determine the problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Barty1884]

I don't believe it 'requires' a battery, no. It should just be able to run on wall power alone.

On the one hand, it sounds like the LED you're mentioning could be related to charging (low wattage chargers = very dim light, appropriate = brighter) and the flickering indicates charging, but that's just a guess.

Have you left the system charging (with the 240W adapter) for a period of time?

On the other hand - a common(ish) issue with these laptops, is the power barrel jack is damaged. Not an expensive replacement, but a pain to deal with.
Example: https://www.dcincable.com/dell-alie...-plug-connector-dc-in-cable-input-p-6827.html

If I'm understanding the model # correctly, it's ~6 years old? A battery replacement may be a good idea/needed - but I wouldn't expect it to limit the laptops ability to power on.

 

[heweaver]

I don't believe it 'requires' a battery, no. It should just be able to run on wall power alone.

On the one hand, it sounds like the LED you're mentioning could be related to charging (low wattage chargers = very dim light, appropriate = brighter) and the flickering indicates charging, but that's just a guess.

Have you left the system charging (with the 240W adapter) for a period of time?

On the other hand - a common(ish) issue with these laptops, is the power barrel jack is damaged. Not an expensive replacement, but a pain to deal with.
Example: https://www.dcincable.com/dell-alie...-plug-connector-dc-in-cable-input-p-6827.html

If I'm understanding the model # correctly, it's ~6 years old? A battery replacement may be a good idea/needed - but I wouldn't expect it to limit the laptops ability to power on.

Yes, this model says it was deployed in October of 2013.

 

[heweaver]

I let it sit for a while plugged in, then I was able to turn it on once. (The power button light did not turn green like it had been previously, but the system booted into Windows). I shut it down and tried to turn it on again but now I am not getting any power again...and the green light around the power button is not even flashing green like it did initially (but it also didn't turn green when the system did boot so I am just going to ignore that light for right now).

 

[heweaver]

Yes, this model says it was deployed in October of 2013.

Ok I have gotten it to startup a couple of times. It seems as if I have to press the power button REALLY hard, and kind of angle back toward the front of the laptop before it comes on. (It comes on with or without a battery apparently). I think my problem may be something with the power button itself. It appears that the green light around the power button is actually lit up by a LED elsewhere that runs the color around the base of the laptop and to the power button. The led strip around the base is lit up green, but the power button itself is not. (Also this is missing the rear cover corners, so I can see where the LED strip is going under and toward the power button, but then the button itself isn't lit up so there must be something dislodged in that area that is causing my problems. I am going to have to take the whole cover off to see the entire button assembly and see if I can spot an obvious problem... but it does seem like this system would work if I could get it to power on more reliably. I will let you know what I find out.

Thanks!

 

[heweaver]

After removing the CPU fan to get a good look at the bottom side of the power button board assembly, it appears that the ribbon cable connecting the power button board to the motherboard is ripped, almost completely thru. When moving it around and the proper connections touch, the system will come on which is why pressing the power button really hard can sometimes get it to power on. So I guess if he wants to fix that we will need a new power button board and ribbon cable. Thanks for the help guys, that's all it seems to be on this one. And the LED light also sometimes comes on when the proper pins touch, but right now when I get it to come on the light is off because enough of the ribbon cable is torn that those connections don't work...but moving it around while it was disassembled will sometimes allow the button to light up, but it looks like that's all this one needs.

Just giving you an update. Thanks for the help, as always!

 

[lga1156_ftw]

repaste cpu & gpu when you change new power button cable, 6y old laptop might need it. Just dont use it before you get new cable so u dont short and kill the mobo

 

[lga1156_ftw]

Check part number from the cable or just search for this particular model laptop you should get one from amazon or ebay

 

[heweaver]

Thanks guys...got the replacement cable on ebay for really cheap, and now the system works like a charm! I appreciate the help!