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Question

Laptop strong burning smell

Jul 2, 2013 6:46AM PDT

Hi all,

I have a 2.5 year old Dell Latitude E5510 laptop. A few days ago, it had a buzzing sound and emitted a strong burning smell around the monitor port. My guess is one of the chipsets burned.

The laptop still works as normal. It is out of warranty. Any suggestion on how I should address this problem?

Thanks.

David

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Your choice.
Jul 2, 2013 6:50AM PDT

Such a smell would make me worry about since we did have battery and other fires in the news. But as it's usually uneconomical to repair you may want to treat it as a possible fire hazard and use all known precautions.

While it's working, good time to make sure you have all your files safe on your backups.
Bob

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Answer
RE:
Jul 3, 2013 8:28AM PDT

Here are some possible causes of an unpleasant electronic odor:

Insufficient or blocked cooling vents. If the vents appear blocked (for example, by dust or dirt), you can assume that this is the problem. Carefully clean off the vent; the best tool is a vacuum hose. Don't use compressed air, since this will push crud into the body of the laptop.

A failing or overloaded AC adapter. All AC adapters generate heat. If the adapter is extremely hot, two possibilities may be causing it. First, it may be failing and need to be replaced. A second cause may be related to the voltage it is receiving from the wall outlet. Most modern adapters can work with incoming voltage ranging from 100-240 volts; that covers most every electrical standard in the world.

The AC adapter converts the power to a level and type required by the laptop and its battery — from 12 to 24 volts. One byproduct of the conversion is heat.

A problem within the laptop case. If something has gone wrong within the laptop case, consult the instruction manual, Web site (on a different computer), or support desk to determine whether the laptop's design includes a fan that runs anytime the laptop is running, or a fan that is switched on anytime the interior reaches a certain temperature.

After the laptop has had at least half an hour to cool off, turn it back on. If the fan is supposed to come on immediately, feel for a gentle rush of air coming out of the vents; if the fan is supposed to switch on at a certain temperature, use the laptop for a while, checking for the fan. If the fan never comes on and the heat builds, you'll have to send the laptop to a repair facility to have the fan replaced.

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fan
Jul 4, 2013 7:02AM PDT

Thanks both for the comments. I did some investigation and found Dell's power saver mode does not turn on fan to cool off the laptop. So I changed the configuration to allow the fan to turn on when hot. I also have verified that the fan would run when hot.

The remaining question is if any parts have been burned out and need replacement. A local shop quoted $250 for motherboard replacement if needed. This particular laptop has a non-reflective screen and would cost around $1,000 to replace the laptop.

Guess I'll take it to the shop and have it checked out first. Thanks again for the input.

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just ran Dell HW diagnostic check
Jul 4, 2013 10:55AM PDT

I ran Dell's HW diagnostic check from their website. Everything seems to be okay. I'll still take it to a technician to have it inspected.

What should I ask the technician to check?