corner of monitor splitting open

Weird problem, the lower right corner of my almost 2 year old E1505 splits open a little bit where the white plastic trim on top meets the silver plastic. It makes the monitor kinda floppy when open. My laptop is under warranty for only one more month, so I figure maybe I should take advantage of it while I still can. I figure I'll talk to Dell and see if they'll fix it or replace it under warranty. Has anyone else had this problem or seen this before? What do you think Dell will do for me w/ the computer still under warranty?

It has never been dropped, hit, or abused in any way. I don't know how it got like that. I can push the corner almost all the way back together when the lid is closed but it doesn't snap closed or anything. To get the two pieces all the way flush together would take some major force and I don't want to break it any further. Here are a few pics.

Open...



As I start to close it...



Closed...



This is as far as I can push it back together...



Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

Yup, that happened to my colleague's inspiron 1720. He eventually just taped it since his warranty was out. But if you were to fix it, it should just be a simple cover and/or screen bezel replacement.

 

Do you think that's what Dell will do, just replace the screen bezel? Or would they replace the entire computer? I guess I don't mind either way. I should probably put the stock RAM back in if I send it back to them, right?

 

If you can't push it back in and it feels loose/wobbly, then your metal hinge inside probably broke. This would require the replacement of the hinge assembly so I would definitely take advantage of your last month of warranty because those hinges aren't cheap.

Your bezel shouldn't just randomly pop out like that unless it's been exposed to extreme heat and has warped. I'm thinking that the broken hinge is not lining up with the bezel so it's forcing the two pieces apart.

 

There is a screw underneath the bumper. It may have unscrewed. You can remove the plastic bumper and check the screw.

Please see the information in the service manual: Service Manual

The screw loose would not allow you to push it back together.

 

It might have been like what happened to my D600. Basically, with the D600, the front part of the display assembly screws to the back, with the panel in the middle. The back part of the display assembly was made of the metal lid and a plastic "frame" glued to it so the screws from the front would have somewhere to secure themselves. The glue failed when I slipped and fell in Banff, AB (temperatures were still below zero in late April) and dropped my laptop. So when I closed or opened it, because the lid wasn't attached firmly to the rest of the display assembly, the corner would come up and annoy me. I used epoxy to reattach the plastic frame to the lid and all was fine.

Probably a long shot, but you might want to open up your display assembly and have a look anyway to see if that's the problem.

Also, if it's still under warranty, go ahead and ask Dell. The worst answer you can get is "We'll have to charge a fee", and at that point you can politely decline.

 

Well if it's as simple as tightening a screw back down I would much rather do that than send it to Dell and be w/o my computer for who knows how long. I'm looking at the service manual, which screw are you referring to? I do see a tiny screw inside the monitor through the opening that the corner makes, parallel to the axis of the monitor hinge, is that anything?

If I do have to send it to Dell, what kind of wait/turnaround time can I expect? I can be w/o my computer for a while since I'm home for the summer from college, but I would hope it wouldn't be a several week ordeal.

 

Did you remove the rubber bumper located at the lower right hand corner?

The screw is underneath the bumper. It is either loose or it is stripped/pulled out of the glue/plastic. Remove the bumper and pinch the bezel together and see if the threads will allow the screw to be tightened and then hold it together. The bumper can usually be replaced. Sometimes, the bumper will not stick and then you will have to have Dell send you another bumper.

If it cannot be tightened, they can send you a bezel assembly and you can pretty easily replace it yourself using the directions in the service manual. That way, you would not have to wait for them to fix it.

 

Ok, I removed the bumper to take a look at the screw. I also removed the other bumper on the bottom edge of the display to compare. I was able to loosen and tighten the screw but it did not re-clamp the two halves back together. Comparing to the good screw, it looks like the bad one goes in further, like maybe the bezel broke a bit around the screw and now it has nothing to tighten down.

Looking at the service manual, those instructions for display disassembly don't look too difficult, I think I could probably do it myself. But would Dell send me parts for free with the computer still under warranty?

Also, if anyone's sent their computer back to Dell for warranty repairs, how long did it take to get your computer back?

 

Actually, I would suggest you mail it in...just in case that does not solve the problem, Dell will figure it out.

Unless they are willing to swap the screen and hinge assembly and send someone to fix it for you.

 

How long does it take them to do that? I thought I saw in some fine print contract on their website that they do it in one business day and overnight it back to you, is that true?

Hey, I just noticed you are from Purdue/W. Laf. I go to Purdue also, am a senior in ME going into my last semester this fall.

 

You might get it that quickly if you are lucky and they are not too busy. They usually get the box to you next day and if you can get DHL or whoever they contract with in your area the same day, then you can expedite it.

In my previous experiences, it usually takes about a week to 10 days from shipping date to return date.

 

I would say expect to be without it for a good week, but send it in asap. They will probably replace your whole screen and plastics.

 

Well, I called Dell the other day. First tech wouldn't help me because I didn't have the computer in front of me. Whatever. So I called right back and got a different tech this time, MUCH more helpful. He decided to send a tech out to fix it at my house, no questions asked (other than what was wrong w/ the computer). So a tech should be here next week to replace my screen bezel. Just in time, my 2-yr warranty expires in 12 days.

 

Hey gregdb86, I have the EXACT SAME PROBLEM with my Inspiron 1505. Just curious, how did you remove the rubber bumper and could you please describe what you saw under the rubber bumper besides the screw? Also, if Dell has returned your laptop, do you know what changes they made to your computer? Thanks very much .

 

Also, were the bumpers damaged after you removed them? Thanks.

 

What a nightmare, I am so pissed right now.

I'll get to that in a second..

As for the bumper, underneath I see a screw, and when I tighten it down it does not clamp the two plastic parts back together. I took off the other bumper in the lower LEFT corner and that screw appears to not be so deep in its hole. I think that a circular piece of plastic around the screw hole has broken off and therefore, the hole on the screen bezel is now larger than the screw, so the screw has nothing to clamp down on. I should also mention that this sometimes causes my computer to NOT go into standby/sleep mode when I close the screen. It's like the switch in there isn't getting closed all the way. And no, the bumpers weren't damaged, you can easily pick them off w/ your fingernail and they should still be sticky enough to stick back on.

Anyways...

First call 6/26/08. The first attempt at a dispatch failed because Dell had the wrong contact phone number and Banctec couldn't reach me, so they closed the case and sent the parts back to Dell. Dell did NOT call to inform me that Banctec couldn't reach me, even though they were notified by Banctec of this. Also, I noticed the phone # was wrong not 30 min after getting off the phone with Dell, when I received a confirmation email. I replied to the email, just like it said you should if you had a question regarding your case, asking to correct the number. Never happened.

Second attempt, I call Dell to get Banctec's phone number to try and see what's up (7/7/08). The number for Banctec that they give me turned out to be no longer in existence. Great. So I call Dell back, and create a new dispatch. I make sure to give Dell the right phone number, they say they will change it and make another dispatch. This was a 53 minute phone call. 7/11/08: My 2-yr. warranty expires. 7/15/08: Banctec gets the part, and of course I don't realize until the day Banctec is trying to call me that they still have the wrong contact number. (7/15/08) I call Dell, they try to forward the right phone number to Banctec and tell me to wait until the next day (today) because Banctec will try to call me again. The Dell tech I talked to this time actually gave me a real phone # for Banctec just in case.

Today (7/16/08): No call from Banctec. I call them w/ the number I was given, and am told they couldn't reach me so they closed the case AGAIN, and sent the parts back AGAIN!!!! WHAT THE F*** So I call Dell, and now.. NOW, they can't send Banctec out here because my warranty is expired and some bullsh!! about "if we dispatch Banctec w/ your warranty expired, it won't go through, your case will be on hold until you have an existing warranty". Hey I've got an idea, why don't you just extend my warranty for a bit at no cost, get Banctec out here, then cancel the warranty once it's fixed? I argue with them about this for a few minutes, and try to get them to just send me the freaking parts so I can install them myself but they won't do it. "It's against our policy" etc.. I think maybe it only works for certain parts. So I finally gave up and decided to just send them the computer. It will still be at no cost to me since it was an ongoing case from before the warranty expired.

Just for the record, it turned out that Dell had fixed the phone number in their system but there must have been some "confusion" on Banctec's end when Dell requested the second dispatch.

Cliffs: Dell f*cked up, Banctec f*cked up. Two weeks later I have to send the computer to Dell when I should have never had to in the first place. Dell's customer service officially sucks for having no flexibility and Banctec just sucks for being a bunch of dumbasses.

/rant

 

That sucks, I had to try a couple of times to fix my E1705 but do partially blame it coming apart on the amount of times I replaced the screen.

 

Ok, I'm sending them the computer this week. Do I need to take out my Crucial RAM and put the stock stuff back in? They also said I can keep the hard drive, should I do that? I can't see them having to even turn the computer on to work on it.

 

I would ask them if they need the ram. If there is anything on that HDD that you couldn't live without, I would DEFINITELY take it out. It is easy enough to do, and if anything should happen and the PC is in limbo / lost / whatever, you will still have your data.

All they probably do anyway is run the Dell Diagnostic after the repair. If they see colored boxes, they'll hit 'y' and then stick it back in the mail.

 

P.S. If you take the ram out and boot, hold the 'fn' button. If it enters the ell diagnostic without ram installed, then you probably CAN take it out. Unless they need to test the memory while they are working on the screen (which I doubt, that would be doing you a favor).

 

its more than a bezel / the entire top cover assembly has to be replced as the bezel clips onto the lcd back panel

 

Well, I sent it Monday and got it back today (Thursday). They're fast at least. I just said screw it and left the RAM and HD in, I backed up the HD beforehand and didn't have any personal stuff on there anyways. They didn't touch the RAM, it's still there, heh. They ended up replacing the screen bezel and the back cover as well. It feels like new now. Glad that's finally over.