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    I killed it.

    Discussion in 'Panasonic' started by Terminus, Apr 20, 2008.

  1. Terminus

    Terminus Notebook Consultant

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    Today while re-installing my EM-408 into my machine (I was taking things apart to fix a bad wifi cable I guess I shorted something out. My MK3 will not power up now. Are there any fuses I could check?

    It was fine, all I had left was the RIM card, then after I put it in, would not power up. I don't know if that was just a coincidence.

    Thanks
     
  2. Toughbook

    Toughbook Drop and Give Me 20!

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    Check your switch connection first.... Sometimes, if you haven't put it all the way in... It will come out.

    So... No lights... no nothing?
     
  3. Terminus

    Terminus Notebook Consultant

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    Hi Rick,

    No, no lights, everything was fine, the last step in putting it back together to to install the RIM board.. I did that and as far as I know I killed it then. I plugged in the power adapter (I had been running from battery) and no charge/AC indicator either The power switch connector seems fine. I am having a bad week I think. I just killed my mK3...
     
  4. ZeroFlight

    ZeroFlight Notebook Evangelist

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    This is probably a dumb question but did you disconnect the RIM and try?
     
  5. Terminus

    Terminus Notebook Consultant

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    Hi, thanks for looking at this ZF... Yes, RIM board and hard drive. I will have to assume what I was doing shorted the 3.3vdc supply.
     
  6. Toughbook

    Toughbook Drop and Give Me 20!

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    So you were plugging the RIM board in while you had the battery out but the A/C adapter plugged in?

    BAD BOY!!!! The first rule of working on laptops is..... UNPLUG IT BEFORE WORKING ON IT!

    I have blown several monitor fuses by doing what you did.

    Okay... What you need to do is split the case. (Unplug it first! ;)) and then take your multimeter and check for continuity on ALL fuses. The fuses look like white little rectangles and there are also some (I think) that look like a tiny version of a car fuse... At least in color. Most are green though I have seen some in red too. Forgive me... I'm upstairs and not in the shop.... I may be thinking about the 29 as far as the colored ones go.... But definitely check the white ones!
     
  7. Terminus

    Terminus Notebook Consultant

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    Hi,no,I didn't leave the power in, or whatever... All I know is that I powered it off, pulled battery out, installed darned rim card, put it all back together and silent death.

    I'll go hang myself sometime after I finish beating myself severely about my head and shoulders.
     
  8. mnementh

    mnementh Crusty Ol' TinkerDwagon

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    Ummm... did you let the magic smoke out?

    mnem
    Pizza has been demonstrated to eliminate hunger in 98.9% of all Americans.
     
  9. Toughbook

    Toughbook Drop and Give Me 20!

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    So if the battery was out and the A/C adapter was not plugged in... Do you think there was a capacitor with a stored charge?

    Have you split the case and checked the fuses?
     
  10. ZeroFlight

    ZeroFlight Notebook Evangelist

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    Fuses are probably the easiest place to start, namely the one by the DC jack to start with. The other would be to completely physically remove the rim board in case it's somehow making a connection to the mainboard. That's kind of odd though, no power.

    I may have missed it, but is it completely dead as in no LEDs or anything or just not POSTing?
     
  11. Terminus

    Terminus Notebook Consultant

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    I may have shorted out the daughter board to the case which seems to be the most plausible. ZF it's dead, nothing whatsoever with battery or power adapter. Yes, Mnementh, "Zie Magik Smoke, She is gone..." but it was invisible smoke I believe. Rick, I'm uncertain, the only thing is when I turned it on, it never came back after putting in all 4 screws. I was putting it together in stages testing it as I went along....anyway, I'm going to shoot myself, thanks.
     
  12. ohlip

    ohlip Toughbook Modder

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    Ok! Last try, pull out all ad on hardware like mini pci, rim, cd rom, harddrive, etc. and then power it on again.


    Ohlip
     
  13. klboo

    klboo Notebook Evangelist

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    :eek:
    Nothing to say, except it WOULD have to be the Mk3...

    Many condolences, hope you can find something to fix ( that doesn't involve a knife an certain body parts).
     
  14. Toughbook

    Toughbook Drop and Give Me 20!

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    Okay... Another thought.. YES... You MUST have an insulator underneath the RIM board. Panasonic supplies this with the RIM board when they install it. If you don't have one... Put a layer or two of thick packing tape on the case or put a layer of electrical tape on the bottom of the board. This is something you MUST do. If you have one installed now and you don't have that insulation... I would advise taking out your RIM board and putting it in!
     
  15. mnementh

    mnementh Crusty Ol' TinkerDwagon

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    Ahh... well, when I ask that I mean was there evidence... did you smell something burn up, do you see melted/blown up semiconductors, etc.

    As long as there AREN'T such evidences, there is still a good chance it was something dumb, like a short that just blew a fuse, or a connector not plugged in correctly or something else that's just causing the board or PSU to go into shutdown.

    My recommendation would be if all else fails, try powering up the MB on your bench with just the LCD installed. (Try and put SOME form of heat sink on your processors - they can overheat in seconds. In a pinch, I've used several quarters and liberal application of thermal compound, just for testing. If you see a normal POST, then you know you have something INSTALL related - be it a faulty connection, a pinched wire, etc. You might also try making sure your AC adapter is actually working... I had one that failed with a broken wire while I was working on a unit - drove me NUTS for the better part of an afternoon before I went back to the basics and realized there was NO JUICE AT ALL.

    mnem
    *Fundamentals of Electronics Text - $32*
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    *"Son, don't touch tha..." ZZZZZZZZZT! - Priceless.*