Power Surge-Laptop

[gman0417]

Hello,

I have a laptop in which the motherboard has apparently been damaged from a power surge. There are clear burn marks on the board and the ribbon cable from the power button is also burned. My question is, shouldn't the power surge have damaged the ac adapter, before reaching the computer? The adapter is intact. Or is is possible that the battery may have been faulty and delivered the incorrect voltage to the motherboard?

George

 

[CaedenV]

intact does not mean that it is working properly. I would do a volt meter test before trusting it on anything else as it is likely fried. It could also have been the battery, but a shorted battery generally will kill things before there is visible damage.

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

It WAS the charger that gave the laptop the power surge....

You are SURE its the correct voltage and amperage etc....

A lot of people think you can just plug in any old charger as long as the socket fits...but unfortunately electricity doesnt work that way

All the best Brett

 

[photonboy]

The AC adapter wouldn't necessarily be damaged. Obviously you'd have to test it.

In the future though, you should consider investing in a better surge protector. APC likely has some good ones; you generally get what you pay for but even $30 can make a huge difference.

*APC has a Voltage Regular which probably saved my dad's HDTV from dying. I got the VR for $60 and his HDTV was $1800.

(every time the yellow light on the VR comes on the wall voltage is out of tolerance).

This product is more about Voltage Regulation and probably overkill for just a laptop but if you have a TV or desktop computer I'd strongly recommend it (although a UPS might be better for the desktop).
http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=le1200

 

[gman0417]

The AC adapter is a factory original, and it tests reads 19.5 volts. The battery, on the other hand, is not. And that's my concern. I am replacing the motherboard and I want to make sure that the battery is at fault. Thank you everyone for your input.