Acer Aspire 5551-a not charging/powering on

Skeng · 28 Jun 2012 at 19:34

Salutations!

So a friend asked if I could take a look at their Acer Aspire 5551-a it's not charging at all or turning on for that matter. A little background information I got was that when they plugged in their charger the screen would stop adjusting the brightness. So I figured the battery is probably dead however I thought I'd open it up and see what it's like inside (any scorching on the chips etc).

Anyway I did that battery trick where apparently after freezing it for 15 hours and letting it stand for another few hours until it reaches room temp would help rejuvenate the battery unfortunately it didn't work. so I opened up the laptop took it apart completely and found nothing wrong (Thought that maybe some cable may have come loose inside or disconnected). There were no cables loose nor any scorching and the thermal paste was still in good condition. I figure I'll tell them to buy a new battery.

Anyway I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas or tricks in order for me to possibly revive the old battery even if it's just for a hour or so just so I know it's 100% that component that has failed. And one more thing will the standard Acer 5551 battery be compatible with the 5551-a (Not really a laptop guy, don't even own one). I've tried googling around but had no luck finding information on the battery compatibility.

regards -Skeng

;D

str · 28 Jun 2012 at 19:50

Sounds like a faulty laptop.

A laptop will work without a battery plugged unless it's a faulty laptop. Just plug in the PSU and power it on.

beermonster · 28 Jun 2012 at 20:12

Sounds like the dc socket examine it closely for signs of breakage or dry joints

Skeng · 28 Jun 2012 at 20:22

beermonster said:
Sounds like the dc socket examine it closely for signs of breakage or dry joints

I've put it back together now, although this did occur to me the socket itself seems a bit loose in the laptop but I'm not sure if that's the design or not. I was able to slide it up and down (the full component) inside the laptop, didn't seem too secure I didn't fully check though as I would have needed to remove the screen as parts of it are trapped under the hinge.

beermonster · 28 Jun 2012 at 20:49

Just checked and this socket is on a cable, quite often one of the cable comes off the actual socket, but you might have to removed the rubber heatshrink on the cable to see for sure.

Skeng · 28 Jun 2012 at 21:53

beermonster said:
Just checked and this socket is on a cable, quite often one of the cable comes off the actual socket, but you might have to removed the rubber heatshrink on the cable to see for sure.

I'll check it out tomorrow thanks,

str · 28 Jun 2012 at 22:48

Have you checked the PSU is still working?

Skeng · 29 Jun 2012 at 00:40

str said:
Have you checked the PSU is still working?

The adapter's light still lights up green when the power is on just nothing on the laptop. I told my friend that It may be the DC socket and he's bought a new one off ebay which was only £4.00, so If I can't fix the current one tomorrow I'll just replace it. =]