Vaio Z11 Docking Station Failed

Hi all,

Well, my docking station (VGP-PRZ10) for my Z11 just failed. I'm hoping it's a faulty power supply. When the docking station is plugged in with no laptop, the power supply light and the power light on the docking station both glow solid green.

Once I plug my laptop into the station, immediately the light on the docking station goes out (sometimes it flickers a few times weakly), and after about 10 seconds, the light on the power supply goes out as well. The power supply light going out is identical to what would happen if I unplugged the power supply from the outlet (glows green for 6-7 seconds, then slowly fades out as the capacitors empty).

What do you think? Faulty power supply, or a short in the docking station that does the equivalent of tripping a breaker in the power supply? Or something else?

-Peter

 

Have you tried the PSU directly in the laptop? If that works / charges without issues then by rights the docking station should be the suspect.

 

The docking station power supply is bigger than the laptop power supply:

Docking station power supply: 19.5V, 6.2A output.
Laptop power supply: 19.5V, 4.7A output.

So, it could power the laptop and still not produce the required juice for the docking station.

Besides, I'm a bit scared to try because of the amperage mismatch.

-Peter

 

I've plugged my docking station PSU into the PC and it charges fine. The amperage is only the maximum current that the PSU will supply if demanded - your notebook won't demand all 6.2A, so less than 4.7A flows.

However, if your docking station PSU is broken, then there may be a (tiny) risk that it could damage your PC if you try to plug it in (e.g. if it's providing the wrong voltage). Personally, I woudn't take the risk - the PC is a lot more expensive.

What happens if the PC is not on and fully charged when you dock it. Does the same thing happen then?

To use a different PSU, you'll need to find someone who has a Vaio with a 120W PSU or buy a generic 120W which has a sony adapter.

 

Good suggestions. I took the battery out of my laptop, and popped it into the docking station. Same symptoms - the green light immediately went out on the docking station.

My next test, I let the battery drain a little - just enough so that the charging light would go on when the laptop was off, but plugged in. I plugged in my laptop power supply, and charging light went on. I then plugged in my docking station power supply, and the charging light flickered, then went off.

So it really looks like it's a power supply issue. That's a relief. I'm going to order a replacement.

-Peter