Thinkpads Forum

I was tinkering with it over the last few days. I tried replacing the ram but then switched back. I also installed Vantage and set battery threshold. I noticed it wasn't charging so I switched off the threshold again. Then I left it turned on and plugged in. When I returned it was turned off and would not turn back on. Prior to this, the bitlocker screen kept appearing on boot asking for a password every time which I thought was strange. The PSU makes a quiet but audible hum if I hold it to my ear. When I plug in into the Thinkpad socket it noticeably changes to a distinctive clicking sound. This is with the battery removed.

Now there are no lights or any signs of life. I tried removing battery and power cord and holding down power button for a minute. I also tried a different battery and removing and replacing the RAM. Nothing whether on battery or plugged in. The power light and charging light show no activity.

Is there any chance it could be a simple fix like the CMOS? Any other areas I can troubleshoot or should I assume the motherboard has randomly died?

It wasn't an expensive machine but I've put a lot of time into it and my faith in Thinkpad reliability is shaken.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

Sound like a bad/dead charger that may have also damaged the charging circuit on the motherboard.

RealBlackStuff wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:16 am

Sound like a bad/dead charger that may have also damaged the charging circuit on the motherboard.

Thanks for your reply. Would it be possible to diagnose this with a multimeter? Otherwise if I buy a new mobo the same thing might happen again.

You can certainly diagnose the PSU with a meter, just look at the voltage between the barrel and the pin when plugged in (to the mains, not the laptop)... but try not to short them together or you may fry it!

There are multiple fuses on the motherboard. If the PSU is faulty it could have damaged the motherboard but you wont know without another charger. You can look for fuses on the motherboard and check them with a meter, they should of course measure 0 ohm (or beep with the continuity beeper) if they are OK. Fuses are marked e.g. F1, F2, F3 ... The X230 schematics are available here viewtopic.php?p=822767 if you want to check which fuses do what. And there are boardviews also in that zip which show where the fuses are, I've taken some screenshots of the top and bottom fuses for you which may help:

https://i.postimg.cc/MZ494bbj/x230-fuses-bottom.png
https://i.postimg.cc/JzCP7rFr/x230-fuses-top.png

FORUM warning:
picture(s) WAY too big, tags removed. Please read the Forum Rules, especially Section 5: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14339

munchausen wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 24, 2021 9:15 am

look at the voltage between the barrel and the pin when plugged in

You actually want to measure it between the outside and the inside of the barrel, not the pin.

The pin is for something else: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Power_Con ... Signal_Pin