Dell Studio 15 for $899 after $224 off - DEAD

Do you guys have any problem with power supply. My wife just called me and she smelled something burning. And power supply wire is melting and smoking.

And I called Lenovo tech and he told me that my machine is just 13-month old and he can't do anything at all.

He just told me replace power supply. I used to have dell and IBM X41 and never have wire burning problem.

Is this normal? If my wife found out little late and buring the carpet still he is going to say this machine is out of warrenty and Lenovo has 0% responsibility.

I told him, I'm going to take picture and post to the internet and he told "I don't care".

Wow what a nice man. He supposed say "Sorry" first then say your machine is out of warrenty...

Anyway, I'll never going to buy Lenovo again.
Thanks

 

Let's see some pictures before you go though!

 

If your machine is JUST out of warranty I would call back and speak to supervisor. I would state that you started smelling this 2-3 months ago but didn't know where it was coming from. I would also contact your local consumer affairs office as it would inquire with Lenovo as well and no one likes inquires. Let whom ever you speak to at Lenovo know you are doing this because this may represent a very dangerous situation with fire/electrocution etc. to others as well.
Good luck and let us know what happened.

 

elevate your complaint, and keep fighting the good fight. Just because its out of warranty doesnt give 'em the right to put out products that are fire hazards.

I dont think any of the big companies got to weasel out of the faulty batteries, this case is no different (infact its worse considering a power supply wire is generally not considered a disposable item)

 

Thanks Guys. I posted Lenovo forum too. One of project manager reply like this.

"Certainly we care about our products and any time there could be any kind of potential safety issues, we should err to the side of caution, and I apologize for the response you received so far.
Could you send me a PM with your system model type, serial number and contact information, and we will ensure this is appropriately handled.
Thanks for letting us know.
Mark"

This is the photo that I took
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19142089@N02/2657541930/

 

i would have sued them for millions. because that's a health risk. but the power supply usually get hotter than the computer. and you should check them every hour

 

Sounds like it is time to quickly improvise and convert that power supply to a water-cooled power supply.

 

And you would have been laughed out of court (if it even got that far). Looks like that cord had some prior physical damage. New adapter costs like 20-30 bucks depending on where you look, not a bank breaker if you cant get a warranty replacement.

 

Dell Studio 15 for $899 after $224 off
	Dell Studio 15 Laptop Computer (Intel Core 2 Duo 160 GB/2.00 MB) Get the Dell Studio 15 Laptop $899 after $224 off Live Date: 7/10/08 6am - Wednesday 7/16/08 5:59am. Base configuration includes an Intel T5750 processor. [added 7/10/2008 | expires 7/17/2008 11:59:59 PM ]	tell a friend report expired deal

 

Kind of strange that it would burn though... usually it would just short out and shut off.

 

Ditto. Can you take a clearer picture of the damage?

 

I can't get more clear picture. I think it was internal shortage.
It was working ok this morning. My wife and kids were watching video
and suddenly smoke and burning like this.
I don't know it had physically damage before or not.
If there is any symtom before, I should get warranty service.
because warranty is just 14 days passed.
Anyway Thanks guys.
I'm going to buy New one from ebay.
I felt so bad after I talk with Lenovo tech guy. Now I can release bad feeling.
Thanks
Have good day.

 

Well if the cord was bent back and forth too many times the internal wires could have been weakened enough to cause an internal break.

 

yea i think the wire wasn't rated for that current or it was just cheap quality... that's a bit scary as it's the exact same thing that i have!

 

How do you figure that? This is the first I have heard of anyone having a problem with these AC adapters.

 

what a ****ty tech support. Dell would have replaced that even if the system was 5 years out of warranty because it poses a safety hazard.

 

I was long time IBM user before I switched to Apple:


August 2004 IBM ThinkPad 56 Watt AC Adapter Recall
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=TPAD-RECALL

March 2000 - Recall of AC adapters for certain ThinkPad i Series, 310 notebooks, and WorkPad z50s
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-4HT3R9

March 2001 - Recall of speaker AC adapters - Aptiva / NetVista / PC300
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-4UMMN7

 

I think Kevin specifically meant the T61 adapters. Its not a common issue or occurance plus no recall. So chances are, its the end user thats at fault.

 

Yea, speaking of the 90 and 65W 20V adapters only, basically what covers from the T/R/X60, 3000 series even up through the newest notebooks about to come out.

EDIT: and even the recalled adapters were because of internal electronics, not external wires.

 

Have you ever heard of buzzing thinkpad adapters in new T/R/X series? search the web.

Lets get back to the topic, the poster's adapter is bad and the company must replace it, remember the story in that los angeles airport where the thinkpad fried due to faulty battery, I hope they fix things for the poster before it goes that far.

I concur it may not be common issue but after carefully reading what the poster wrote I don't think it's his fault, 20-30 bucks are nothing for a big company like lenovo which may not even cost a dime to them after scaling, someone needs to take responsibility that's all.