CF-19 won't boot

Hello, I have (2) CF-19's that have stopped booting altogether.

These are law enforcement cruiser laptops that stopped charging on their docks on the same day (two separate vehicles). Crazy coincidence?

Initially, we could charge them using a Toughbook charger we had. It is rated for these Toughbooks at 15.6V. After some restarts, Toughbook #1 started to have an extremely dim screen, then it wouldn't turn on at all. Then Toughbook #2 stopped turning on as well, but without the dimming issue. I tried unplugging all peripherals and removing the battery, RAM, HDD, CMOS, charging cable, holding the button down for over a minute; on both units. Nothing worked. Nothing happened when you tried to turn it on, no lights came on or anything indicative of activity on either unit. We bought two brand new batteries.

I put the new battery into Toughbook #2 and it worked... for a while. The machine was running Windows 7 and I upgraded it to 10, restarted it a few times, and it seemed fine. So I moved onto the other Toughbook.

Toughbook #1 would not start back up even with the new battery installed/AC power. So I thought that possibly the new battery was bad. I then had the idea of using #2's battery temporarily to see if it would come on with it. It didn't; and I put the battery back into #2. Now #2 isn't coming on again.

I am pretty well stumped at this point. These Toughbooks are going on 7 years old but ran just fine. I have read a few threads possibly pointing toward the fuses going out but I'm not sure that explains why the new battery did work for awhile on one of them, before going back to the grave again.

Like I said, there is no indication that these machines are getting power anymore. No lights, no sounds, no nothing. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

Have you tried charging on a different charger? You should get a amber light when chafing. If your not getting that then it sounds like the board has gone bad.
Steve

 

Both laptops quite charging while they where in their docks, in 2 different cruisers, then all other charging and work on the laptops where done in the shop using factory Panasonic ac adapter(s).

Is this correct?
Are the 2 laptops the same model number?
Are the docks the same brand and model number?
Are the power supplies for the docks the same brand and model number?
How dirty are the laptop dock connectors, in the laptop and in the dock? Any oxidation?

Possibly problem(s) with the docks and/or their power supplies caused your grief. Check on the manufacturers web site for any recalls for both the docks and ps units.

 

I hate to suggest this as the possible outcome might be bad.

Do you have a third known good Toughbook?

 

TB #2 suddenly came back on again after we let it sit for a day. Still same symptoms on 1. Both batteries work fine.
@steve.steve Only have the one charger, other than the two docks which won't charge it.
@mklym They are all the same model. No oxidation that I can see.
@Shawn Unfortunately no. But I've ruled out the battery and charger now anyway. I have no idea why Tb#2 was displaying the same symptoms that Tb#1 is but is now suddenly working. Not exactly holding my breath that it isn't going to happen again just yet.

Appreciate all of your feedback.

 

I would not mess with the working unit for the moment.
If it works, Don't fix it!
On the non working unit, remove the battery, grab a flashlight and inspect the battery connection on the laptop.

Check in your BIOS for the temperature setting. Set it to high heat. This will prevent the battery from getting cooked inside a hot vehicle. Only charges to 80% on this setting.

Did you try the laptop plugged in but NO battery at all?

 

No visible damage to the connectors inside the device. Can't boot it up to check the BIOS. These CF-19's don't seem to come on without a battery installed even if it is plugged in. As such I think we're just going to retire this unit. Thanks again for all your help.

 

They should have no problem turning the 19 on without a battery.

What is the model number of the 19 (CF-19?????)

 

Yup,
They should run fine without a battery.
I am curious of the full model number also.

I wonder if the power socket on the laptop is bad or going bad?
Do a wiggle test!

 

Something handy to have just incase you ever have a bad power socket is a external battery charger ( CF-VCBTB1 ) . You can pick one of them up for $12.00 to $20.00 . You will still need to us your own charger because it will plug into the external charger. It also has a plug to charge the CF-28/29 2nd battery pack.

• Compatible with Toughbook CF-18, CF-19, CF-30, CF-18, CF-28, CF-29, CF-30, CF-48, CF- 50, CF- 51, CF-52, CF-72, CF-73, CF-74

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=CF-VCBTB1&_sop=15

 

I'm going to guess the boards are cooked, too much heat in the car and intermittent thermal solder joint failures.

 

If you can. RESET YOUR BIOS DEFAULTS
THE BIOS COULD HAVE BECOME CORRUPT
THATS ALWAYS #1 PROCEDURE FOR FUNKY LAPTOP BEHAVIOR.