Question I have burnt something on my brand new laptops motherboard..

[tweety88]

Hello guys, today i ve done something stupid. I own a brand new Acer Nitro 5 AN515-46-R8S7 laptop . The ram is covered with some kind of metal ( i will attach a picture about it), and i forget to disconnect the battery from the motherboard and didnt used any gloves either.
. When i tried to put the cover back i ve touched some kind of capacitor on the motherbord and it burned.
I will attach a picture where it is visible(marked with green). The laptop is working without any issues for now but i would like to know if someone has experience to tell me what the purpose of that thing might have been. Any answer or advice would be appreciated..Thank you

 

[Lutfij]

If the laptop is yet working, then leave it be. I have a sneaky suspicion that the laptop will begin to exhibit anomalies as you progress through it's tenure/operation.

Just for the sake of relevance, you might want to take a closer shot of the afflicted area.

 

[punkncat]

I would be surprised if even Acer has 'replacement boards' on hand for this. I can only surmise that by opening the laptop that the warranty was voided and certainly isn't supposed to cover user caused damage.

I would think that if the laptop starts exhibiting strange behavior it may be worthwhile to explore independent repair. I would be thinking along the lines of "Northridge Fix" or other shops that do this manner of repair. If it is very new they may not know what to put in place there unless the burned part can be easily identified by people in the know (like repair should be).

 

[tweety88]

If the laptop is yet working, then leave it be. I have a sneaky suspicion that the laptop will begin to exhibit anomalies as you progress through it's tenure/operation.

Just for the sake of relevance, you might want to take a closer shot of the afflicted area.

Thank you for the quick answer. I have attached one more picture, maybe it helps

 

[Eximo]

That close to a VRM chip, I would guess filter capacitor. Can't really say which voltage that would be, doesn't look that robust so it may be a minor rail.

Sometimes those are there to reduce EMI or act as pull downs and pull ups and aren't strictly necessary for operation, they just make things a tad more stable.

Certainly looks like it is coming from the ground plane to one of the pins of the VRM. Green circle is actually in the way at this point. The really burnt component was maybe a small diode or resistor, hard to say.

 

[tweety88]

I would be surprised if even Acer has 'replacement boards' on hand for this. I can only surmise that by opening the laptop that the warranty was voided and certainly isn't supposed to cover user caused damage.

I would think that if the laptop starts exhibiting strange behavior it may be worthwhile to explore independent repair. I would be thinking along the lines of "Northridge Fix" or other shops that do this manner of repair. If it is very new they may not know what to put in place there unless the burned part can be easily identified by people in the know (like repair should be).

That close to a VRM chip, I would guess filter capacitor. Can't really say which voltage that would be, doesn't look that robust so it may be a minor rail.

Sometimes those are there to reduce EMI or act as pull downs and pull ups and aren't strictly necessary for operation, they just make things a tad more stable.

Certainly looks like it is coming from the ground plane to one of the pins of the VRM. Green circle is actually in the way at this point. The really burnt component was maybe a small diode or resistor, hard to say.

I just attached the picture without the green circle. Should i take it to a shop where can check or even repair motherboards? I really would like to find out for what was that little component responsible, as you said maybe it doesnt have as much importance to reduce performance etc..

 

[punkncat]

Have you checked other functionality such as battery charging correctly, outputs all working such as USB or supplemental video out and so on?

 

[tweety88]

Have you checked other functionality such as battery charging correctly, outputs all working such as USB or supplemental video out and so on?

Battery is charging normally, usb ports ,hdmi port all fuctional, usb c port too. Didn t noticed any performance issues in games at the moment.

 

[tweety88]

I would be surprised if even Acer has 'replacement boards' on hand for this. I can only surmise that by opening the laptop that the warranty was voided and certainly isn't supposed to cover user caused damage.

I would think that if the laptop starts exhibiting strange behavior it may be worthwhile to explore independent repair. I would be thinking along the lines of "Northridge Fix" or other shops that do this manner of repair. If it is very new they may not know what to put in place there unless the burned part can be easily identified by people in the know (like repair should be

In my country you can upgrade ram without losing warranty, sadly i was not smart enough to use some gloves or to disconnect the battery from the motherboard before i changed ram..

 

[DSzymborski]

In any case, user-caused damage isn't a warranty issue whether or not the company fights you about opening the laptop. Might as well just keep using the laptop and not worry about it, since there's not much you'd be able to do anyway.

 

[tweety88]

In any case, user-caused damage isn't a warranty issue whether or not the company fights you about opening the laptop. Might as well just keep using the laptop and not worry about it, since there's not much you'd be able to do anyway.

There is a service for laptops and motherboards in town, maybe i will show it for an it guy ,probably he can identify if he is taking a closer look, i mean its harder to diagnose anything from pictures.

 

[Eximo]

That VRM chip's most common use is as a buck regulator to get a low voltage output.

Burnt part is likely a a filter cap on the VCC and the larger capacitor below the burn area is the filter/buffer cap for Vin to the chip. Not entirely sure why the middle pins on the left are joined together, probably defines the type of operation when hooked up that way. One is a clock/pulse input.

But digging into application white papers is something I would generally do on a throwaway system or an android based device.

 

[tweety88]

That VRM chip's most common use is as a buck regulator to get a low voltage output.

Burnt part is likely a a filter cap on the VCC and the larger capacitor below the burn area is the filter/buffer cap for Vin to the chip. Not entirely sure why the middle pins on the left are joined together, probably defines the type of operation when hooked up that way. One is a clock/pulse input.

But digging into application white papers is something I would generally do on a throwaway system or an android based device.

Really dont know what to say... bad luck. We will se how it comports in the future, maybe as you said its a minor rail, and it wont affect anything ever, warranty gone because the damage was done by me, if starts to behave strange i will take it to a service for further investigations.....

 

[Corwin65]

Not bad luck, just a reinforcement to follow proper procedures.

 

[tweety88]

Just a quick update.
The laptop is in service ,waiting for the diagnoses.
Meanwhile i did a search with the code on the component near the damaged area JW5068A and i ve found out , one of the two burnt components is a ceramic smd capacitor and the black one probably a chip resistor. These 2 Take part of the step down converter manufactured by JW (JOULWATT). I am attaching the scheme of the step down regulator
If any one you have and idea if it can be repaired (i think its not that bad ,it could be much worse) or for what is resposible that converter any aswer is much appreciated . Thanks 😊

 

[Deleted member 2962262]

Just a quick update.
The laptop is in service ,waiting for the diagnoses.
Meanwhile i did a search with the code on the component near the damaged area JW5068A and i ve found out , one of the two burnt components is a ceramic smd capacitor and the black one probably a chip resistor. These 2 Take part of the step down converter manufactured by JW (JOULWATT). I am attaching the scheme of the step down converter.
If any one you have and idea if it can be repaired (i think its not that bad ,it could be much worse) or for what is resposible that converter any aswer is much appreciated . Thanks 😊

Or you could use it until it gives you grief then auction with full disclosure on ebay.

 

[tweety88]

Or you could use it until it gives you grief then auction with full disclosure on ebay.

Not a bad idea either, but i really think its not a major damage.especially the laptop is working.If somehow they cannot deal with oth i will try at Acer service.

 

[tweety88]

Update:
2 smd filter capacitors have been replaced. Laptop is working as it should.
Repair cost 50$
Case solved.
Have a nice day and take care .