Vortex III won't switch on!

[alehea750]

So, a little while ago the battery stopped charging so the laptop had to be plugged in to work. Last night, in the middle of the night it powered up and powered down. Now it won't switch on. Nothing. No fans. No beeping. No nothing.

I've tried a new fuse in the plug. Next step is to buy a new power pack do you think?

Pcspecialist don't have any in stock for my model. Where else could I get one?

Has anyone else had this issue?

I fear it may be fried.

 

[Stephen M]

Not sure about this but there may be the Clevo model number on the back of it, if you have that it will help with a search for parts.

 

[Glissov]

Do you own more than one laptop, do others in your home own laptops? Make sure firstly that you are using the correct charger for your laptop, the correct voltage and enough current. Using the wrong charger is the quickest way to blow a fuse.
Is the battery removable? If the answer is yes, try remove then hold the power button down for 15 seconds. Then connect the power supply WITHOUT the battery and try to power on, if that fails, re-connect battery and try again without the power supply.

You will need a working power supply to make sure its just a battery issue, if that means buying a new one, it is probably the cheapest option.
Good luck and let us know how you get on!

 

[alehea750]

Do you own more than one laptop, do others in your home own laptops? Make sure firstly that you are using the correct charger for your laptop, the correct voltage and enough current. Using the wrong charger is the quickest way to blow a fuse.
Is the battery removable? If the answer is yes, try remove then hold the power button down for 15 seconds. Then connect the power supply WITHOUT the battery and try to power on, if that fails, re-connect battery and try again without the power supply.

You will need a working power supply to make sure its just a battery issue, if that means buying a new one, it is probably the cheapest option.
Good luck and let us know how you get on!

No one has the correct charger at home.

I received the new battery and still no joy. Plugged or unplugged. So the battery could be dead and need charging (does anyone know if spare batteries are sent charged?!) but the power pack is the problem, OR the laptop is properly bricked.

I'll have to wait till the new power pack is delivered to properly rule the power pack out.

 

[Agito]

I have a Vortex 3 and you can turn the laptop on even without the battery if its plugged in. So I doubt its the battery that is the issue. Though it happened to me once that I couldn't turn on my laptop about a year ago at night. Hitting the power button did nothing and as it was like 1AM I just decided to go to sleep. Next morning it was working fine. So it remains a mystery to this day. Never happened again.

As for the power pack, could totally be it. Clevo power packs conveniently don't have an LED indicator of any kind so there is no easy way to test it.

 

[ubuysa]

If you do but a power unit from somewhere other than PCS there are four factors you must take into account.

1. The plug MUST be a snug fit into the power socket on the laptop. If it goes in but wobbles a bit it's not good enough.

2. The output voltage of the power using MUST be exactly the same as the original. You might (only might) get away with 0.5V overvoltage (but not under) but no more than that.

3. The polarity of the pins in the plug MUST be the same as the original. There will be a diagram on the original showing which is +ve and which is -ve on the existing power unit.

4. The output power (in Watts) of the replacement power unit MUST be at least as large as the original. The power output of the replacement can be larger (by any amount) but MUST NOT be smaller.

Hope that helps...

 

[alehea750]

I made sure I got a charger that exactly matched wattage, amps, volts, the works. I didn't want to risk it. Thank you very much for the tip on the polarity. I did not know that!

The new charger hasn't arrived yet, if it doesn't have the same polarity what are my options? Is there an adapter I can buy?

 

[alehea750]

The new charger has arrived and the laptop now turns on.

However, it doesn't charge the new battery that I bought, so I know there is probably a problem with the charging circuit. Does anyone know anything else I can test?

 

[ubuysa]

The new charger has arrived and the laptop now turns on.

However, it doesn't charge the new battery that I bought, so I know there is probably a problem with the charging circuit. Does anyone know anything else I can test?

It sounds like a faulty laptop now. Whatever the fault was probably destroyed your last power using too, so I'd stop using it and call PCS.