BleepingComputer.com: Faulty DC converter possibly?

Hey guys

I have a HP G60 Model G60-230US, p/n: NB041UA#ABA.

It will not power on, and the battery will not charge.

The power adapter is an original HP adapter, and it's voltage is verified using a MM. The LED on the power adapter lights up when plugged into an AC outlet.

Yet as soon as I plug the adapter into the HP G60 notebook, the LED on the power adapter goes off. I assume this is because there is a short happening in the notebook, and the power adapter switches off to protect itself.

I'm currently taking the notebook apart and was curious if this model has a separate DC converter that I can replace, or is it mounted on-board the M/B (if it is even the DC converter.) If it is maybe I can find the faulty capacitor and replace it.

I hope it is just the DC jack, but I doubt it is as it seems in good shape from the outside.

Anyway, any suggestions for such a situation?

Thanks
Mike

This post has been edited by Modify: 29 December 2011 - 11:53 AM

I have the motherboard removed and the DC harness disconnected from the M/B. If I plug the AC power adapter in with the harness disconnected the LED stays lit on the power adapter. Of course if I plug the DC harness back into the M/B the LED goes out again on the pwr adapter.

I do notice that as soon as I plug the pwr cable into the DC port, with the pwr adapter plugged to an AC outlet, I hear a pop at the DC port.

Yet there is no pop when the DC harness is disconnected from the M/B and the adapter appears to function correctly with the LED still lit.

There are 6 wires on the DC harness, Red, Red, Black, Yellow, Orange, Black. Which two wires can I connect to confirm proper voltage? I assume Black and Red, but there are Two red, and two blacks.

Thanks

The two wires should be for better current carrying capacity and the two red should have the same voltage and the two black should be common to each other also. Easy to verify. With the power unplugged to protect the meter and the battery out just measure the resistance between the two red wires and between the two black wires.

The POP noise is probably from the arc as the power supply is plugged into a dead short. Easy to measure with an ohm meter and the power removed.

There are several voltage regulators in any laptop. One takes the voltage down to the proper voltage to charge the battery. another lowers the voltage for other circuits and another most likely to provide the VCore for the CPU.

It wouldn't surprise me if one of the VRMs was shorted out.

Use a strong magnifying glass and look for anything burned looking. Have you tried stripping it down as far as possible to see if the short goes away.

Remove memory, CPU, Wireless card etc. Being very careful with any connectors. Any you are not sure of post a picture for help.

This post has been edited by rotor123: 29 December 2011 - 06:45 PM