Help - Dell 9400 E1705 loose lcd hinge

Hi,

Im sure I read a little about this fault over a year ago but I have searched here and around and can find hardly any info.

I have had the 9400 for over a year now so out of warranty. Now when opening the lcd screen it has little resistance but more annoyingly there is a lot of play in the screen.

When in position it can wobble freely about an inch or so which im sure never use to be the case. Also I get an annoying cracking noise from the bottom left corner of the lcd casing as it wobbles. It cracks as i pinch the lef corner of the lcd screen.

Please if there is any info perhaps a easy guide for a self fix in tightning the hinges I would much appreciate it.

 

Just thought tightning the hinge might improve the resistance but what it causing so much play/wobble Is that just a damaged hinge that I will just have to put up with?

Is it possible to just order a new hinge mechanism from dell spare parts if so anyone have a part number?

Thanks

 

That's why I no longer buy Dell's, it's a design flaw they still have not fixed in 4 years. I've repaired mine (Inspirion 5100 purchased early 2003) once. Now the hinges have developed a small cracks which require new parts but they are no longer available. Superglue to the rescue.

Here's what's happened to your screen. The hinges that are part of the "Top Cover Assembly" have come loose. The hinges are fine it's just the screws that have worked their way loose. It's a relatively simple fix it you are comfortable taking the the top half of your laptop apart.

You can search the Dell website for the service manual and it will explain and show you in full color how to take your laptop apart. If you decide to do the repair yourself I would suggest buying a small bottle of Loctite. Put a small drop at the tip of each screw and these are small screws by the way. Screw them and you should never have that problem again.

 

Thanks I will take a look.

Is this to fix the movement or the tension? I notcied the tension actually seems ok its just when its at rest upright it has free moment and rocks back and forth about an inch or more.

I actually thought the hinges was broken as surely just tightning them will increase the tension and not actually fix the sway?

 

I thought they were broken until I ordered the part. Once I disassembled the top portion of the laptop I noticed all 4 of the screws (2 per side) that hold both hinges in places were loose. All this does is, it removes the play from front to back so you don't get that wobbly feeling.

Remove one screw at a time, put a small dab of Loctite them snug them down. Check to make sure the top display feels snug. If so let the Loctite set for a couple of hours. Reassemble the laptop and you should be good to go.

It's a poor design by Dell and still has not been fixed, it doesn't surprise me.

 

The screws you are referring to are the ones in the third picture of the link below, correct?

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins9400/en/sm/display.htm#wp1006390

I''m having this same issue and just want to be sure I put loctite on the correct screws.

 

Hello,

My name is Mike, I’m a Technical Analyst located at Dell corporate headquarters in Round Rock, TX. I’m part of an internet outreach team developed to interact with the online community regarding technical questions and issues that customers face with Dell products. I read your question and wanted to offer some help. I’ve experienced this same issue with many different notebook systems, unfortunately it’s one of those maintenance things that has to be done every once in a while. As I’m sure you’ve guessed this is caused by the screws working themselves loose after a repeated period of opening and closing the notebook lid. There are 2 places to tighten the hinges for your LCD. You can locate these places by using the link previously provided by Papineaux, http://support.dell.com/support/edoc....htm#wp1006390. There are 2 screws that are accessible by pulling off the hinge cover (hinge to palmrest.) These screws can be found by accessing the link above and scrolling down to the 3rd image in the first section labeled “Display Assembly.” The screws you are looking for are the ones labeled “3” and are the easiest to locate and tighten. Next, scroll down to the section labeled “Removing the Display Bezel” and look at the second image. You will see 2 screws in that picture that also need to be tightened in order to eliminate the sway from the LCD. I would recommend looking at the teardown first as you may want to completely remove the LCD from the notebook and tighten the screws on the inside of the LCD bezel first. The complete teardown for your system, should you ever need it, can be found here: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins9400/en/sm/index.htm. I hope this helps.


Thank you,

Mike B.
Dell customer advocate

 

Really good to see Dell CA's here ....that's really what I call customer support.. Way to go Mike!!!

 

good to see we have someone from the team, will know where to look if i ever get this problem

 

Hi Mike - and everyone else!

Is there a similar set of advice that I can follow to repair the hinges on a Lattitude C640? I have downloaded the screen removal information but wouldn't have a clue which screws tightnen the hinges.

Many thanks in advance

Lynne

 

I would just like to say, that in rare occasion, the hinges in the 9400's have gone bad before, but is usually not the problem. If it is the problem, however, you can order a new LCD assembly by calling dell parts at 1-800-357-3355.

The part number for this assembly is DF050 and if i remember correctly, they go for about 50