desk top power supply

I have a Dell Inspiron all in one desk top that quit working. One of my sons thinks that the power supply is bad. How do you test it? I know some power goes thru it as the yellow on button light comes on but it won't turn to white and power up the pc.

AC/DC adapter, model number DA130PE1-00

 

I can't count how many Dell power supplies that I've replaced. The power supply is at the end of the AC cable that connects to the outlet. If you really want to test it first, a multi meter should work. It got to the point where I replaced them blind.

 

Check to see if the power supply fan is running.

Make sure your monitor is powered up. Do you get anything on the screen indicating the PC is trying to boot such as bios message?

Will the hard drive spin?

Will the cd drive open and close?

The power supply runs the motherboard, hard drive, and cd drive.

Look for circuit breaker or fuse on the power supply.

This is all I can think of. It has been years since I replaced a power supply. Hope you solve the problem.

 

Here's a little video on jumpering the main power connector to get the power supply to power up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea1dcJ0QyAE

If you do this method and the fan in the power supply doesn't come on, probably dead power supply unless there is a fuse as mentioned. You can unplug from wall and remove cover from PS to see if there is a replaceable fuse. I've seen those before, but can't say I have in recent memory. If the PS fan spins up after jumpering, then you will need to meter all the wires to ensure there is proper voltage on all the circuits.

Might also check the cmos battery on mobo, I've seen dead ones cause similar issues although it's not very common.

 

My power supply is different than what is pictured in the video. I have a black box that plugs into the wall with a grounded plug. On the other end of the black box there is a 3 prong plug on a cable that has jack that plugs into the back of the all in one monitor/pc.

 

That's an inline power supply.
The voltage(s) and pin plug diagram should be on the adapter.

 

I don't see a diagram on the label but it does say
input - 100-240V~2.5A[2,5A] 50-60Hz
output - 19.5V[19,5V] === 6.7A[6,7A]

model #DA130PE1-00
dell p/n ADP-130DB B

There is a lot more writing but most of it's in chineese ??

 

Your power supply has a round coaxial power plug.... correct ?
Not a three pin plug.

The center hole is positive and the shell is ground.

 

That looks like the label on mine. The pins coming out of the black box are round with the top pin slightly larger. There is a cord that plugs into it with the other end going to the back of the pc. That plug is round resembling a speaker plug [if I remember correctly] but fatter/bigger diameter. The male end is on the cord with the female end being part of the pc.

 

How do you check the power supply? Is it as simple as using a multi meter with the ground on the bigger prong and then test the other two? What is the reading supposed to be? or am I totally off base?

 

According to the label that PJ posted, the voltage should be 19.5 V. How much does the power supply cost?

 

I'm a little unclear here Mark.

1) Desktop computers don't normally use an inlline power supply.
2) Every picture I've found of your stated power supply shows a coaxial type power plug which is only two conductors. Center pin and shell.

Are you confusing a laptop power supply for your desktop ?

 

It's an all in one touchscreen desktop,

something like this?


so it uses a laptop style power supply.

 

It isn't a touch screen but it is an all in one pc like Hal pictured. The end that plugs into the pc looks like what the arrow is pointing to in post #12. The power supply is under $25 [not sure about shipping] I'd like to determine if that is the issue before ordering one.

 

Yeah, that arrowed plug is what you should measure. One probe in the hole and one on the outside. Unloaded you might read 24 or more volts. DC of course.

The 3 conductor end is your AC input. Since you are getting a light likely you are getting AC.

A little off the question...but is this really Mark? It sure doesn't read like most of your posts. You ok?

 

It's me There has been a lot going on this week. Took my wife to the doctor twice and will be headed out shortly to take her for a colonoscopy. Since my pc died I've been using my old pc and while I always liked xp, it's hard to navigate the net with it today.

 

Ok I tested the prong on the end with it plugged in and got 18 volt with my trusty analog meter and 19.8 with my cheap HF digital meter. Am I right in assuming that means the power supply is good? If so, I assume whatever is wrong with that pc is internal and I'm probably better off replacing the whole thing ??

btw - I was looking at the power supply wrong earlier, somehow I thought the 3 prongs were on the end going to the pc, not the side coming from the receptacle :

 

Well, I just checked my old IBM laptop supply and it's rated 16V @4.5A. Unloaded, it read 16.5V. So mine is .5V over, yours is .3V over...unloaded. It seems a bit low to me, but your p/s could just be better regulated. It may be fine, but it really doesn't absolutely verify it without a known working unit to compare.

Unfortunately, spending $25-30 to maybe find out isn't best practice. If it were me...and it's not...I'd probably try and rig some way to plug another p/s that's got the same or close specs in to the PC and see what happens. Or I'd stop by some shop and just ask if they had a way to test the PC and/or the p/s. Of course, I just happen to have both of them in the car. Around here it's unlikely they'd even charge me for just a simple test...or maybe $5 max.

Heck, I just had 20 min of TIG welding done and the guy looked pretty sheepish when he told me it would be $5. Like he felt bad charging me at all.

 

Usually those power supplies are close to their voltage rating. They are pretty well regulated switching power supplies. It's possible but not likely that the power supply is failing under load.

I have a male to female test coaxial cable that I use to measure the voltage with the supply connected to the computer. A more typical failure in that type of connection is a loose power jack inside the computer.

 

Wiggling where it plugs into the pc doesn't help so I assume if that is the issue it's more complex than that ?

Since power supply appears to be good I'm thinking it must be something else causing the pc not to turn on.

 

If the Dell Inspirion is anything like the Dell Latitude,, the weak spot in this circuit is the DC Jack . . . . which seems to receive more use and abuse than the original engineers planned for.

Here's a short video showing how to replace the DC Jack in the rear of an Inspirion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIIAHE2I64c

This is a lot easier than on a Latitude where you have to solder a new jack onto the MotherBoard.