cf-18 trouble shooting guidance needed

I have a cf-18 that is in excellent shape. Problem is it doesnt power on and only shows an amber battery light. the charger is working correctly and i have removed everything possible ie: HD, BAT, MEM. Ive been doing some research on google and it seems to point to the Mother board or a capacitor on the mother board. I haven't dissasmbled the laptop yet and tested voltage on the inside. Am i on the right path so far. I have seen a few CF-18's on ebay that power up to the bios which is way farther than im getting now so i may be able to find a used board but i wont know how used. At one point the battery indicator light was red and i left it on the charger over night and im not seeing that anymore.

 

does anyone know where i can download the repair manual? all the sites ive hit seem to want to sell it or infect my computer with malware.

 

What is the full model number that shows in the BIOS?

 

Have you tried just straight AC power, no battery?

Also, a long shot, but try replacing the CMOS battery before you go replacing the whole board. Ive had similar symptoms go away by a simple bad CMOS battery. Just a thought.

 

with straight AC power nothing happens. Cant see the bios the laptop doesn't boot. with the battery in and ac connected if you hit the power switch i get the amber light.

 

If you are still looking for a CF-18 service manual this guy has them for free plus all other brands of laptops to.
Future proof Tim’s laptop service manuals

Future proof Tim’s laptop service manuals

 

thanks for the link, i read through all those and can't find anyhting on what the lights mean. I am starting ti think it means i have a nice tough coaster on my hands.

 

Maybe try one of these Mini pci post cards. $6.25 from China. At least it might give you a clue as to whats up with it. If it doesn't solve this problem, it would still be handy to have for 6 bucks.

Mini PCI Notebook Laptop Analyzer Diagnostic POST Card - eBay (item 300445068279 end time Aug-09-10 00:45:55 PDT)

 

Could be a bad stick of RAM... Could be bad onboard RAM.... Could be bad wifi card.... Have you tried removing the battery, let the capacitors drain for 30 minutes, plug it all back up and try it then? Also... When you turn it on... You need to hold the switch over for around a 1/2 second... See if it passes post.

Otherwise.... After trying all this... Let us know...