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I have a Dell Latitude D610 that will not power up with the ac adapter but will fire up with the battery, when I plug the ac adapter into the jack on the main board the green light on the ac adapter goes off which I've read means a short ether in the plug/jack on the main board or in the circuitry. I have swapped out 3 different ac adapters & all did the same thing, green light goes out as soon as you plug it into the jack on the computer. I also read this is a pretty common problem with some dells where the jack on the main board goes bad, so I bought a new jack for the main board & had it soldered in professionally, but am still having the same problem. any ideas what to try next?

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Summary and likely cause: the adapter LED extinguishing as soon as it’s plugged into the D610 — despite trying multiple adapters and fitting a new jack — strongly points to a near‑short or failed component on the motherboard’s DC input/charging circuit rather than the adapter or the jack itself. already tried swapping adapters and replacing the jack, and ’s removal-of-battery check indicates the fault is downstream of the DC socket (board-level). Many D610 failures like this are caused by a shorted input MOSFET, a blown SMD fuse, or a failed transient suppression diode/capacitor that trips the adapter’s protection.

Suggested diagnostic checklist (safe, non-invasive first):

  • Confirm adapter open‑circuit voltage with a multimeter to rule out an intermittent adapter fault.
  • With battery and adapter removed, measure resistance between the DC jack centre pin and board ground. A very low value (single‑digit ohms) indicates a hard short.
  • Inspect the vicinity of the jack and power circuitry for burn marks, cracked solder joints, or swollen caps.
  • Use diode mode on a meter to identify shorted diodes/TVS devices around the input.
  • If comfortable with SMD work: isolate the input by removing or lifting the board’s input fuse or the gate lead of the input MOSFET to see if the short clears; this narrows the faulty device.
  • Safer alternative: a bench PSU with current limiting set low (e.g., 0.5 A) can be connected briefly while monitoring which component heats up first.

Repair path and context: once the shorted component is isolated it is often economical to replace that SMD part rather than the whole board. Because the D610 is older, weigh repair cost against value; board‑level diagnostics or a shop experienced with laptop power rails is usually required.

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Member Avatar for Rik_

Try it without the battery.

Member Avatar for icehunter420

same thing happens without the battery installed

Member Avatar for Rik_

Looks like you will have to get it professionally diagnosed. I have 6 Dell d610's in the workshop at the moment. All have the exact same problem as yours. If I get a chance to figure the fault on one of them I will let you know. Don't hold your breath though, I have a lot of other laptops to repair so the Dells are way down on the list.

Edited by Rik_ because: n/a
Member Avatar for icehunter420

thanks Rik. whenever you get the chance. any help would be greatly appreciated.

Member Avatar for Rik_

The problem is I have so many other laptops to repair and I get more in on a daily basis, 7 days a week. Those Dells belong to us, not customers, so it is likely to be several months before I will have a chance to look at them.

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