Alienware p18e

[Ryan Wurtz]

Hello, I have a older Alienware with mobo number, VAS00 LA-9331P REV 1 - - - laptop model is P18E001
I cannot figure out why the thing won't charge.
Person who brought it too me was using a hp charger with 19.55v on the middle pin. My Dell 150w Dell charger has nothing I can measure on the middle pin. What voltage should psid have when I have a Dell 150w charger connected? Any obvious place I can start poking around?

The video shows what psid is doing with the charger connected.

[mon2]

You cannot use a HP charger to power a Dell laptop. HP uses an analog voltage to define the power adapter rating while Dell uses a 1-wire protocol that was developed by Dallas Semiconductor -> then Maxim and now Analog Semiconductor owns the IP.

Respectively, the PSID is a parasitic powered design. The EC (8051 / ARM, whatever) stand-alone micro is the bus master and pumps out a communication over this line and the power adapter (must be a Dell) will energize from this low current voltage rail and respond back to the packets.

It is possible that the line cannot be sampled properly since you have a multimeter and not an oscilloscope.

Remove all power. Meter in diode mode. Red meter probe, yes red to ground. Black meter probe to the pin to test.

Test the PSID line in diode mode at inductor PL2. Be sure that the connection from the tips of PL2 reach the actual power connector @ PJPDC1 (pin 2). Also, your DELL power adapter must have a needle like pin in the center of the barrel connector = PSID pin.

[Ryan Wurtz]

Thanks for the reply.

I am using a Dell charger now, I told him an hp won't work.

See the attached images, it's 1 voltage drop. From pl2 to pin 2 on pjpdc1

[Ryan Wurtz]

Is that expected mon2? Anything else I can measure to figure this out?

[mon2]

The PSID line does not look to be shorted. Configure the meter into voltage mode. Power up and measure the voltage on this same point of interest. Do you see any voltage on this signal line?

If not, review the over voltage crowbar mosfet and also the series resistor between the EC pin and the mosfet = ~33R ohms.

Often this resistor and/or the mosfet become defective. Review the similar fault and thread here on how to proceed. Consider to check the resistor and also remove and bypass the mosfet for testing. The mosfet is present to shut off a high voltage from the power adapter side that can kill the EC microcontroller. Respectively, if the mosfet bypass works for your case, seek out a replacement from Digikey / Mouser or Arrow electronics. If you are not in a rush, Aliexpress is an alternative. Some offer 'fast shipping' which for us in Canada equates to ~2 weeks or so.

Battery not charging - Dell Inspiron 3593 FD155 LA-JO81P (REV 1.0) (A00) - Badcaps

[mcplslg123]

The first thing to check in case of Dell is whether the adapter is correctly identified or not in bios setup.
Confirm whether the adapter is shown as "Unknown"

[Ryan Wurtz]

The PSID line does not look to be shorted. Configure the meter into voltage mode. Power up and measure the voltage on this same point of interest. Do you see any voltage on this signal line?

If not, review the over voltage crowbar mosfet and also the series resistor between the EC pin and the mosfet = ~33R ohms.

Often this resistor and/or the mosfet become defective. Review the similar fault and thread here on how to proceed. Consider to check the resistor and also remove and bypass the mosfet for testing. The mosfet is present to shut off a high voltage from the power adapter side that can kill the EC microcontroller. Respectively, if the mosfet bypass works for your case, seek out a replacement from Digikey / Mouser or Arrow electronics. If you are not in a rush, Aliexpress is an alternative. Some offer 'fast shipping' which for us in Canada equates to ~2 weeks or so.

Battery not charging - Dell Inspiron 3593 FD155 LA-JO81P (REV 1.0) (A00) - Badcaps

Sorry for the slow responding.

the voltage fluctuates from 0.1 to 0.3, i will attach a video(20240824_224622_1.mp4)
PQ1 is not present on this board.

PR14 powered= 5.1v
PR8 powerered= 5.1v
PR8 not powered= 10k ohm
pr14 no power= 99.3k ohm

i will attach the schematic and board view i am using.

The first thing to check in case of Dell is whether the adapter is correctly identified or not in bios setup.
Confirm whether the adapter is shown as "Unknown"

i have the board on the table now, the error message at boot was, hq720.jpg that picture i attached except it was asking for a 180w adapter.
does that mean it isnt recognized? and i should be looking into getting a new higher watt adapter?

Link to schematic --> https://www.badcaps.net/forum/troubl...331p-schematic

[rogfanther]

That picture shows the adapter was not recognized. Was it taken with the HP charger ? You need a original Dell one, with the PSID circuit working for the machine to detect and accept the charger.

[Ryan Wurtz]

That picture shows the adapter was not recognized. Was it taken with the HP charger ? You need a original Dell one, with the PSID circuit working for the machine to detect and accept the charger.

I have tried with a hp the customer brought it in with, then I tried an original Dell 65w, then I tried what I think is an original Dell 130w.
I would at least have though it would charge with the two dell chargers but maybe throttle the performance.

[rogfanther]

But what does BIOS show with the Dell chargers ? Does it show the wattage of them ?

[Ryan Wurtz]

But what does BIOS show with the Dell chargers ? Does it show the wattage of them ?

I will re assemble and report back.

[Ryan Wurtz]

But what does BIOS show with the Dell chargers ? Does it show the wattage of them ?

OK, So the 90w adapter is detected fine, the battery in the bios it says is working fine, but in windows the battery is at 0% and not charging.

based on the error message the battery should charge with the 90w adapter.


the 120w adapter i have is not detected. so might be faulty or not genuine.

[mcplslg123]

You simply cant power up a gaming PC with under rated power adapter.

[rogfanther]

OK, So the 90w adapter is detected fine, the battery in the bios it says is working fine, but in windows the battery is at 0% and not charging.

based on the error message the battery should charge with the 90w adapter.


.

Actually, the error message says you have a 90W adapter connected, but the computer needs a 180W one, and asks for you to use one.

Maybe with the machine off the battery could charge with the 90W adapter, but when running, since it is half of what the machine wants, it is luck if it works throttled. You will need a correct adapter to make diagnoses , or you may be hunting ghost issues.

[Ryan Wurtz]

i have order a 180w. i will see if it gets detected and if anything changes.

[Ryan Wurtz]

Actually, the error message says you have a 90W adapter connected, but the computer needs a 180W one, and asks for you to use one.

Maybe with the machine off the battery could charge with the 90W adapter, but when running, since it is half of what the machine wants, it is luck if it works throttled. You will need a correct adapter to make diagnoses , or you may be hunting ghost issues.

i feel silly, I should have bought a 180w adapter from the start like i planned.
the laptop is charging fine, everything seems good. Thanks for the help everyone!