Member Avatar for jackdaniels

I was surfing the net using my Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop when suddenly the screen went black. No Fan noise . Completely dead. I tried everything I knew - disconnected/reconnected the AC adapter, took out and again put in the battery. But nothing works.The power on indicator light does not light up when I press the power button. The green light on the AC adapter glows when I connect it to a wall socket but dims or goes off when I plug into the laptop power socket. what is wrong? what is the solution ? Can somebody advise me?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by genlab

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Brief, practical follow‑up for future visitors and for the follow‑ups from this thread.

The symptom set described by — sudden complete deadness and an adapter LED that dims or goes out when plugged into the laptop — strongly points to a heavy current draw or a short in the DC‑in / charging area of the motherboard. and were right to steer attention to board‑level power parts, and the confirmed repair narrows the problem class. Below is a safe, methodical checklist and what to expect when diagnosing or quoting a repair.

  • Basic isolation: confirm the adapter’s no‑load DC output with a multimeter and, if possible, try a known‑good adapter. Remove the battery and try adapter‑only power; if the adapter still dims or trips, the short is inside the laptop.
  • Visual and simple electrical checks: inspect the DC jack and the nearby PCB for loose solder, burn marks, or leaking/bulging electrolytic caps. Check the input fuse (FL1) for continuity; if it’s OK but resistance from the main Vrail to ground is very low, a shorted component is likely.
  • Targeted tests before replacing parts: measure for DC at the jack pins and at the input to the charging/PMIC circuitry; if the jack sees voltage but the charging circuit does not, the fault is in the charging path (MOSFETs, diodes, charge IC, or nearby caps). An ESR meter, thermal inspection, or selectively lifting suspected components can help pinpoint a shorted part.
  • Repair and cost reality: simple fixes (jack resolder, one or two caps) are inexpensive; replacing SMD charging ICs or multiple FETs is more complex and costly. Insist on a component‑level diagnosis and an itemized quote from any technician.

Specific to : because the board runs on battery but will not accept adapter power, focus tests on the DC jack → fuse → charger IC path and on caps/MOSFETs around that area. Safety note: always remove the battery and observe ESD precautions when probing; leave complex SMD replacements to a service technician.

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Member Avatar for Rik_

That sounds like a hardware fault, you will need to take it to a professional for repair I very much suspect!

Member Avatar for mjdodd

agree with rik, but if you are up to it you could remove the keyboard and get to the motherboard and check around the power supply area as some laptops have protection fuses there and if blown give the symptoms you have.
M

Member Avatar for jackdaniels

Thanks everybody for their tips . The problem has been solved. It was a hardware problem. Specifically in the power circuit of the mother board of my Dell Inspiron 1501 Notebook. It was repaired by an expert technician and is working now. The repair was quite expensive.
Jackdaniels.

Member Avatar for Rik_

Good news indeed! :) I expect it was one of the surface mount capacitors, a very common issue!

Member Avatar for genlab

Hello,
Which one of the endless surface mount capacitors was faulty ?
My motherboard is working if I put charged battery till will be will end.
With power supply does not start and battery is not charging. Not even a light! The power supply plug on motherboard for the external cable is ok. Power supply is ok. I tested it with other laptop,
and fuse FL1 still ok.

Thank you

Edited by genlab because: n/a
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