3250 DC Power Board

Does anyone remember if the dc power board for the 3200 series has a fuse on it? My 3250 just quit working and I suspect the dc power board. I know there have been tons of problems with those little boards overheating because of the power jack being loose but I opened up mine and the jack is solid on the board. No signs of overheating on the board. And I seem to remember a long time ago when the Averatec topic was active that someone mentioned a fuse being on it but I didn't see anything like a fuse on mine.

 

I have an old 3250h that still works although I really don't use it much anymore. Are you sure it's not the power brick that has failed? The original one I had went bad after a couple years. THe green LED light stayed on. IT just wasn't putting out current. Make sure the power brick is working and remove the battery first. Might have a bad cell which would prevent the laptop from booting. Don't know if there is a fuse on the daughter board but I doubt it.

 

Thanks for your input. Interesting about the power brick light. Hadn't heard that before. But the problem turned out to be a fuse on the dc power board - the tiny pcb that the power jack sits on. The fuse is a specialty type though, oblong shaped and only about quarter inch long, 5 amps. I soldered two wires to either end of it and brought those wires out through a hole I drilled next to the power jack hole in the casing. This allowed me to attach a standard size fuse in a fuse holder. It's not pretty, but hey, it works.
I also looked at the cpu/heatsink contact and it is bone dry. I remember this being a common problem way back when. So even though the system works, I have some arctic silver on order which I will apply when it comes.
BTW, I have 1Gb ram in it and recently installed Win 7 - runs pretty decent.

 

UPDATE: I ordered a mini blade type fuse from Crutchfield. These look like the automotive blade fuses only smaller and since they're essentially flat I soldered the wires directly on to the fuse blades and set it in the channel that lies under the optical drive ... more than enough room for it to fit. So now the Averatec looks "pretty" once more - no ugly fuse hanging out. If that fuse goes I have 4 more - they come in a pack of 5. So I think I'm set for a long time.

 

I am about to replace the DC power jack on my "new" 3270-EH1 that I picked up. I am going to do some soldering and then possibly JBweld it in place so that it doesn't wiggle in the future like the current unit.

When/if the new jack and JBweld stuff breaks loose, the notebook will be well beyond its regular useful service life.

 

The reason it starts to wiggle in the first place is because in order to remove the plug from the jack most people wiggle it from side to side until the plug comes out. What I've been doing with my 3250 from "day 1" is to use a "pinching" action to extract the plug from the jack. Hold the plug between thumb and forefinger and "pinch" it away from the jack.
Let's hope your problem is not more than a loose jack. Usually when it becomes loose, and if used in that condition, the contacts to the circuit board do not make proper contact and heat is created thereby burning the circuit board, as many have reported.
Let us know what you find when you open it up.