Chromebook repair - Total loss of power problem

[flight9]

Have a strange issue where my Chromebook will no longer boot or charge. Have tried replacing the battery with an exact replica and no go. Not even a boot screen or any sound from the machine. Adapter works fine for my other devices. Not sure how else to diagnose/approach the problem. Any clues??

[Chris_Cook]

What's the charge light doing? A flashing charge light often indicates a battery problem. No light would suggest a fault with the internal PSU circuitry. A CB with a faulty battery will often work with the battery disconnected.

 

I've often sorted similar problems by holding down the refresh key and pressing the power button. Refresh is the one above the number 4 key. Sometimes devices need to be left on charge for a decent amount of time before they show signs of life.

 

Is there any damage to the USB-C connector?

 

On most devices if one USB-c port is shorted (or the controller chip for that port) then it will prevent them all from working.

 

You could try disconnecting the smaller IO board and see if it boots without that. Not all do anyway, but some will boot if the IO board is disconnected.

[flight9]

What's the charge light doing? A flashing charge light often indicates a battery problem. No light would suggest a fault with the internal PSU circuitry. A CB with a faulty battery will often work with the battery disconnected.

 

I've often sorted similar problems by holding down the refresh key and pressing the power button. Refresh is the one above the number 4 key. Sometimes devices need to be left on charge for a decent amount of time before they show signs of life.

 

Is there any damage to the USB-C connector?

 

On most devices if one USB-c port is shorted (or the controller chip for that port) then it will prevent them all from working.

 

You could try disconnecting the smaller IO board and see if it boots without that. Not all do anyway, but some will boot if the IO board is disconnected.

Hey Chris

 

No charge light despite being on charge for a fair amount of time. No visible damage to the charging port. No luck with the refresh attempt. May be that the psb is shorted, but before it died, it simply refused to charge until the battery was drained, hence me thinking it was that. It's only a cheaper model and I've jumbled it around a lot (carried it in a backpack) 18 months of life is understandable still I am curious to know how it could totally fail.

[Danp]

Connect the charger to the Chrome OS device.

Hold the power button + Refresh key and remove the power adaptor as they keep holding on to those buttons.

Wait for 1 minute.

Press the power button to test the device.

[Scan099]

Have a strange issue where my Chromebook will no longer boot or charge. Have tried replacing the battery with an exact replica and no go. Not even a boot screen or any sound from the machine. Adapter works fine for my other devices. Not sure how else to diagnose/approach the problem. Any clues??

 

hi we have had a few of the same issues - ours were Lenovo chromebooks. As they were still under warranty we returned them and according to the job report they changed the assemblies pcb motherboard.

[jmak]

hi we have had a few of the same issues - ours were Lenovo chromebooks. As they were still under warranty we returned them and according to the job report they changed the assemblies pcb motherboard.

I had this with a family member's Lenovo Chromebook. MB replaced under warranty. Failed again out of warranty.

[mikes]

Crap USB-C port? had loads fail on our Lenovo thinkpads

[PotNoodleTech]

Just sending a Lenovo CB back under warranty today for the same thing - no charge, no lights, usb port seems intact and undamaged but it appears stuck with the battery flat.

 

Will see what they say/do!

[TwistedHelixis]

Connect the charger to the Chrome OS device.Hold the power button + Refresh key and remove the power adaptor as they keep holding on to those buttons.Wait for 1 minute.Press the power button to test the device

 

I do this slightly differently

Hold esc and the refresh button down, then also hold the power button down. When it turns on and displaying something (cant remember what it is), press the power button to turn it off. Pressing the power button once more will boot the device.

 

I had to do this 3 times today, lol.

 

Edit - If I didn't know about this, I would have probably thrown out a lot of devices thanking they were faulty :-)

Edited October 10, 2024 by TwistedHelixis

[DavR]

That's usually meant dead mainboards for us.

 

Like many others, we've lost a lot of Lenovo's that way. What's your make and model, out of interest?

[Fazza]

Sounds like you need a motherboard repair. If it's just the USB-C port then with the right soldering re-work equipment it's a relatively easy repair if you can get hold of the USB-C port, if it's anything else then diagnostic time will probably not be cost effective.