Studio 14z screen case alignment.

I recently bought a 14z from dell outlet. I had actually bought a 14z a few weeks ago, but was very unhappy with the 720p screen. I arranged for a return, and began looking/waiting for one with a 900p screen. I was able to find one for not much more than the first one, with all the same specs. However, it had the black chain link cover. I knew I didn't want this cover, as I already have my Sager 9262/fingerprint magnet. I very much liked the red textured finish on my fist 14z, so I bought a refurbished red cover with my purchase.

Let me first say that I am fairly experienced in taking apart, and reassembling notebook computers. I have replaced several parts, including motherboards, and screens in several previous dell models and my Sager/Clevo D901C.

To get to the point, I took my new 14z apart, removed the screen, took that apart, and replaced the black chain link cover with the red one I purchased. I made sure to follow the service manual instructions to the letter. Everything seemed to go fine, except that now when closing my 14z, the top right corner of the screen does not come down all the way. There is an obvious gap, maybe 1/4 inch or so on the right side, while the left is completely flush.

This may be something I just have to live with, but I'm hoping maybe someone has experienced this, either on a new laptop, or after working on one, and was able to find the culprit. so far, I can't find anything that would hinder flush contact.

Thanks for reading all that!

 

I hear you brother!

I also have a couple 14z's from the outlet and was considering the same thing (installing cover).

All I can say is that a) I get it and b) i'll let u know my experience.

I guess it's possible the refurb cover is warped somehow. Or there's some trick or missing part/tool used to install a cover.

PDS

 

How did you buy just the cover? How much did it cost you? My blackchain link is coming in this friday. Wondering how much it will cost me to swap out the cover.

 

Try this link. Its just the parts and upgrades section for the 14z.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...&s=dhs&cs=19&mfgpid=202794&chassisid=8827&p=4

 

I ordered a blue and a purple cover (from Dell).

The website says "refurbished" but the covers that came are pristine/new.

I plan to install one today and I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

Ok, I swapped covers, all good, learned a lot...

- This is DIFFICULT. Only attempt this if a) you are comfortable with a screw driver and a multi-step process with lots of (fragile) parts/pieces and b) can risk scratching/breaking something. Frankly I'm very good with stuff like this and it scared me. At one point it looked like a bomb exploded inside my 14z with pieces everywhere.

- I had no problems with lid alignment, opens and closes as usual and I didn't do anything special (other than being meticulously careful).

- These "refurb" covers are actually BETTER than the originals because they are "wired" for "mobile broadband" (WWAN). This means, those of us who bought the 14z without mobile broadband have a cheaper lid (regardless of color) without the extra antenna leads. So if you want to ADD mobile broadband, you need the chip AND a new cover. It's possible the new cover improves wireless lan signal/performance as the antenna areas (right and left) are different, possibly better quality (will try to test before and after next time).

- The service manual only gets you so far. For example it makes no mention of transferring the webcam from one cover to the other. Take photos whenever you're not sure about cable routing or part locations.

- Tip1: Be very careful removing battery as the top will scratch easily. I open the screen about 2 inches, then remove/insert battery so that it doesn't rub on the top of battery. Bad design here.

- Tip2: Routing the cables from the cover to the motherboard is tricky and critical to get it right. You do not want any cable stretched, crimped or otherwise stressed.

- Tip3: Make sure the palm rest is seated properly. This can affect the keyboard and the fit/finish all around the palm rest.

- Tip4: When assembled, make sure to check that everything's in working order: touchpad (both button), webcam, speakers, keyboard/backlight, screen, all bezels are smooth, power button, etc.

- Tip5: If you want to add Bluetooth, this is a good time to do it (while everything is apart. The chip only costs $20. You'll need an extra screw for it however.

This was a real chore! I plan to do another and will post/edit more tips etc.

PDS

 

Very nice work. I totally understand what you mean about this being quite the process, though it makes sense for such a compact machine. I am also very confident in these types of projects, and several steps made me quite nervous, both times I did this. Particularly the screen bezel, and rewiring from the screen to the motherboard.

Yes, it is nice to have the WWAN cables, and it does seem like the antennas are a bit larger on the refurb cover.

I had to take it all apart to put on the old cover, as I thought I was going to have to send it in, and was afraid sending it back with a cover I replaced, would admit to having taken it apart, and thus void my warranty. But once I took it apart, I was able to fix the problem I was having, myself. The screen was not being lit, though I could see it had an image. I found that the cable that connects to the back of the LCD was loose. So now all is well, and it actually closes fine now. Thanks for all your effort! Hope you next cover change goes smoothly. Careful with the bezel, I broke one of the bottom clips off. Luckily it has not seemed to make any difference.

 

Sorry to hijack your thread.

PDSway, do you think you can post pictures of the inside of your "refurb" cover? I bought a 14z and bought a separate WWAN card, thinking all the covers would be wired for WWAN. To my dismay I discovered that the "regular" 14z do not have the WWAN wiring.

What I'm interested in is the antenna positioning and the type of antenna they are using. I'm trying to figure out if they are using PCB antennas or those foil type antennas. A couple of detailed photos would be great! Thanks!

 

The refurb cover has 2 pcb's (one left, one right) with a copper foil attached beneath.

The normal cover (as you know) has metal brackets (no pcb) and smaller silver foil beneath.

I'll work on a photo.

PDS

 

Looking forward to seeing the post

 

2nd cover swap went much smoother. I don't even consult the service manual anymore.

I snapped a couple photos (with links to full resolution image):

full resolution


full resolution


Forgot to test Wlan signal before & after however (ugh).

PDS

 

Update: I did a quick test and the cover with WWAN antenna does NOT improve WLAN performance (11g and 11n tested).

 

Thanks for posting those photos PDSway. I didn't even realize you posted the photos a while back

So the 2nd photo (coverright_full.jpg) is the photo of both the WWAN and WLAN antenna? It is sort of hard to tell from the photo which one is which. I think the WWAN cable is the "white with gray stripe" and "black with gray stripe". In the photo both are pretty gray looking.

If you connected the WLAN to the WWAN antenna and vice versa the performance should get worse. The WWAN antenna is usually optimized for HSDPA/WCDMA on 850/1900/2100 MHz and EDGE/GPRS at 850/900/1800/1900 MHz while a WLAN antenna is going to be optimized 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. If you are close to the access point the connection might still be ok, but once you get farther away it will be much worse quicker.

 

The 4 antenna wires look the same, 2 black, 2 white. The photo's are of the new cover, the 2nd photo just a closeup of the antenna.

You know the wire difference because the WWAN leads are shorter for connection to the right-most mini-pci slot (where the mobile broadband chip would be installed). I did not connect to these leads.

My test was just trying to see if the pcb antenna in the new cover improved WLAN performance. The tests I did (using Dell 1515 WLAN chip) were identical as far as signal strength and bandwidth, both 11g and 11n.

So the only reason to install a new cover would be to a) change the color or b) install WWAN.

 

PDSway,
I just dropped into the same trap that you did a few months ago. I bought a Studio 14z and had ordered a Dell Wireless 5530 WWAN card off of ebay separately. Well, I just got the card in today, and was in for a huge shock (no antennas)

Anyway, I paid Dell their ransom and ordered the Blue cover. Pitty is, I actually like the black cover. Depending on how I like the blue, I may just transplant the antennas. So, how hard was it really to replace the cover? I had no problem replacing some internal parts (wifi, bluetooth, hdd), but the cover seems intimidating. Any words of advice?

Thanks.