XPS 16, I replaced DC jack, but now no power. Please review my troubleshooting steps.

Hello. I accidentally dropped my Studio XPS 1640 on the side, cracking the part of the chassis where the DC jack is located. I ordered a new DC jack online from here, compatible with 1640/45/47. Upon reassembly, the power LEDs do not flash and the laptop doesn't turn on.

• I have held the power button down to discharge, of course.
• I have ensured that the DC jack cable is seatedly firmly into the motherboard.
• The AC adapter brick has an LED light that lights up so I'm reasonably certain that it is working. (but I will check in the morning using a multimeter)
• If I leave the battery in and connect the system to an outlet, the battery does not become charged.

Questions:

• Does the fact that the battery isn't charging indicate a motherboard problem? Or are those indepedent circuits?
• Where should I check to see if the DC jack is faulty? i.e. where should I place the leads to measure any incoming current into the motherboard. Here is a (probably unhelpful) picture of the board:
• Is it possible for any one faulty module on the mobo to prevent it from receiving power?
• Do I need to buy a new mobo? I know it's an old laptop, but it's been faithful and with me for a long time.
• The ebay seller seems reputable...if I need to buy another DC jack, could someone direct me as to where to purchase it?

I would really appreciate anyone taking the time to provide any help whatsoever. Thanks for reading!

 

>> A charging battery doesn't necessarily indicate a good motherboard, but a not charging battery almost certainly indicates a bad one.

>> You just need to check the pins of the jack on the motherboard... though I'm not sure if you'll actually get a proper reading if the motherboard is dead.

>> Just one bad component can kill your entire board.

>> Given the things that have happened to the laptop and the tried repairs, I'm pretty sure your motherboard is hosed.

>> Likewise, I doubt it's an issue with your DC jack.

 

I would agree the sounds of the damage sound alot more severe then what you tried to fix. It's possible the motherboard itself was also damage in the fall and since we don't know the extend of how high or what it was dropped on your repair and not power as commander wolf mentioned might be a more severe problem then how it looks. I would try another board if you can get on to test and see if it turns on or not or take out your board and swap into another working machine and see what it does. But it does look likely that that fall did more damage then just the power connector plug.