Member Avatar for Aladin_1

Hi, I accidently reversed polarity on Asus X301. Now the laptop turns on with charger connected and battery inserted, but after several seconds it shuts down by itself, I power it on again and shits down faster, and the third time it won't power on. After some time it can be powered on for several seconds. During this time windows starts booting and everything seems normal, until it loses power and shuts down.
Is the laptop damaged, the battery or the charger?

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Dani AI

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Practical diagnostic checklist and repair notes for the reversed‑polarity incident on an Asus X301 (intermittent power, brief boots then shut‑down).

Start with safety and a visual check. Disconnect charger and battery before opening the case. Look for burnt smells, charring, cracked solder joints or bulging capacitors around the DC jack and the power input area — those are the first clues that input/protection parts took the stress.

Focused measurements (basic multimeter checks):

  • Confirm adapter voltage and polarity at the barrel plug. A wrong voltage or flipped polarity at the adapter must be ruled out first.
  • With the adapter plugged in, measure at the DC jack and then at the laptop battery/header. If voltage appears at the jack but not at the battery/header, the input fuse or power switch circuitry is likely open.
  • Measure DC+ to ground resistance at the jack. A very low resistance (under ~1 Ω) suggests a short; do not power the board repeatedly if a short is present.
  • Check continuity of any nearby SMD fuse (small rectangular component) and inspect the reverse‑protection diode/MOSFETs for visible damage. These are common, replaceable faults after polarity mistakes.

Repair and triage guidance:

  • Many shops will first replace the external DC jack/daughterboard or the SMD input fuse before considering larger assemblies. Those parts and labour are comparatively inexpensive if they are the only failures.
  • If power‑management ICs (PMIC, power MOSFETs, buck regulators) are destroyed, repairs become component‑level and may approach the cost of a replacement mainboard; that assessment requires an experienced technician with proper test gear.
  • Prioritize safe handling of the battery — do not attempt to charge or force it if its terminals were exposed to reversed polarity.

This expands on the practical advice already offered by and by listing the specific checks a technician will run and which replaceable parts to look for first.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for rproffitt

When I've seen this, the motherboard is usually toasted somewhere. The battery and charger are of course suspect but odds are motherboard first.

Member Avatar for mechbas

I basically agree with "rroffitt", the system board is damaged and the likelihood of an inexpensive repair is about zip (it would require OEM hardware, most likely all the circuitry). The best news is that you may be able to xfer the HD to another (new?) machine. If not, with a USB drive adapter you can connect the existing HD with another on another machine, preferably a desktop, for a full backup. The actual eventual target would preferably be another compatible ASUS but that isn't necessarily always required. You might also browse the net for another ASUS X301; a good used one may be w/in your reach financially. Beyond this, the variables are too many for an easier fix. The power adapter may be reused but the batt. is at best, unreliable.

Member Avatar for Aladin_1

From official service told me that the motherboard is damaged. Thanks for your support

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