DC Power Issue

Discussion in 'Laptop Hardware' started by JasonSpelts, Aug 4, 2016.

  1. JasonSpelts

    JasonSpelts

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    I'm trying to fix a Gateway NE71B laptop. The owner bought a universal ac adapter, the kind with changeable tips that can easily reverse polarity (the tip has two prongs on the bottom -- easy to reverse). Long story short, he plugged the tip in backwards (reversing polarity) and plugged the tip into the laptop. Poof! Now the battery won't charge in the laptop. I managed to get the battery charged (outside the laptop), put it in, and the computer boots just fine.

    Of course, he wants to be able to plug in his laptop and use it like normal. So I volunteered. I took the motherboard out, and now I have no idea what to do. Was hoping for some kind of burned fuse/resistor I could easily desolder and replace -- but now I've realized I'm in over my head.

    So, the problem here is a laptop was connected with the DC polarity reversed. Something inside blew. I can't see or smell anything wrong. If anybody can offer any bit of help, or has had experience with Gateway laptops, it would be greatly appreciated. I really don't know where to look, and Gateway is no help. I can't even find a set of schematics.
     
    JasonSpelts, Aug 4, 2016
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  2. JasonSpelts

    something back

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    something back, Aug 4, 2016
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  3. JasonSpelts

    Corzhens

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    Gee, that's one for the tech. But let me relate what happened to my Samsung SIII. It wouldn't charge by the phone so I bought an external charger. I have to take off the battery from the phone to use that external charger and when the battery is fully charged, I will insert it again. Something has gone wrong with the charger of my phone and the tech had surrendered on it already so I had to improvise. The situation of using the external charger is already for more than a year.
     
    Corzhens, Aug 6, 2016
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  4. JasonSpelts

    IBMPC8088

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    Hi there Jason,

    You'll find this schematics site to be helpful even if Gateway isn't. With that, you should be able to find or figure out if the charging circuit can be repaired or not on the board, and whether it's going to be a diode, capacitor, or a full replacement.

    You may be able to repair the charging unit and make it charge the battery normally, but if the owner is going to be that careless with their laptop, it may be best to just get the exact serial and part model number for the motherboard itself and order the direct replacement if it's cheap enough.

    You may be able to still make back part of the money by ebaying the motherboard and letting people know about the charging issue so that people who like to do that as a hobby to resell laptops in their spare time can buy it cheap and put together a working system for it again.

    Normally, I love to take the extra time to do things like that and it sounds like you probably do too...but there isn't always enough time in a day or before a deadline to be able to do that, and it sounds like the customer is a little impatient in addition to being careless...thus, I'd probably opt to replace the motherboard for them so that you know that the charging capability will be perfect for them and have no issues whatsoever. When you have to choose between the route to tinker and take a lot of time, or fix it fast and upfront...it's usually best to fix it the quickest way first, and then figure out what went wrong later when you have more time.

    That will let you fix everything for them, and then give you the choice to either hold on to the laptop motherboard and try to fix it in your spare time with a used lithium ion battery that works on it to test the results so that you can teach yourself how to repair what he did there or sell the motherboard noting the issues if you want to make a little extra back for your time in excess, but either way you make things work for them again faster than it would take to repair what went wrong without already being familiar with that model and motherboard.

    I hope this helps you either way. :)

    Oh, here is the user manual if you need it as a PDF for the NE71B
    although it may not have the schematics on it or a link to it, so you may want to look to the schematic site mentioned above instead.

    Also, if you need to get an exact replacement motherboard for the customer, you can get one (including shipping) for under $80 from a reputable company on ebay here: Replacement Motherboard for Gateway NE71B

    (You can also get this same motherboard from NewEgg too, but the best price I found for it there was $109 plus 7 bucks shipping, so the Ebay one would be a better deal and save $36 on it)
     
    IBMPC8088, Aug 6, 2016
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  5. JasonSpelts

    vinaya

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    Sometimes I have charging issue with my HP as well. When I encounter this issue, I disconnect my laptop from the power supply and use the laptop and consume the back up. When the battery power reaches critical low, I plug in to the power supply and lo and behold it works. Interestingly, this solution sometimes does not work. In that case I replace the battery from the laptop. Let it cool down and then connect the battery and charge,
     
    vinaya, Aug 7, 2016
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  6. JasonSpelts

    rz3300

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    Well I was first shocked to see that Gateway is still around. It brings back some vivid memories of when there was a Gateway store in the little shopping mall down the street from us. Man, that must have been about twenty years or so. It is crazy how things change, but it is good to hear the name, and I hope you get your situation figured out. Unfortunately, anytime I have had these issues I have needed to buy new hardware, hope you do not have to do the same.
     
    rz3300, Aug 15, 2016
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