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L530 brief puff of smoke and getting hot

L430/L530 and later Series
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abjumpr
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Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2018 9:38 am
Location: Ames, IA

L530 brief puff of smoke and getting hot

#1 Post by abjumpr » Wed Aug 26, 2020 5:36 pm

Hello all,

Was just doing normal things on my L530, and suddenly I saw a puff of smoke in the air and smelled something hot. I immediately noticed the right hand hinge and surrounding area was VERY hot so I powered it off and unplugged it/removed battery ASAP. It's cooled off now, nothing appears damaged externally. I've never abused this laptop. The only thing I was doing at the moment was moving the ethernet cable around a bit (it was plugged in to the laptop), but I've done that many times before and the same cable is working just fine on my L520 (my backup machine.)

Any ideas what I should start looking at? Is there a fuse of sorts in that area?

Any help is appreciated! This is my daily use laptop and while my L520 will suffice for most stuff I'd rather use my L530...
Current: L530 (daily), L520 (backup/class), 770x, T23, X200s (broken)
Past: T41p, T61p, E530, X200, X61, 760XL, T420, and many many more.

MikalE
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Re: L530 brief puff of smoke and getting hot

#2 Post by MikalE » Wed Aug 26, 2020 6:52 pm

"...nothing appears damaged externally..."

I don't think the damage is external.

Something o the MB smoked. Any time the smoke fairies make themselves visible it's always something catastrophic.

Does it turn on? Does it boot?
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abjumpr
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2018 9:38 am
Location: Ames, IA

Re: L530 brief puff of smoke and getting hot

#3 Post by abjumpr » Wed Aug 26, 2020 8:31 pm

Yeah, it will turn on and run and everything works, which is just odd. Nothing appears to be wrong as far as operating goes, other than something gets hot.

I may have to just disassemble it down to the system board until I see something wrong. I was hopeful if maybe there was a common problem I could go in having an idea. But alas, it's not always the case.
Current: L530 (daily), L520 (backup/class), 770x, T23, X200s (broken)
Past: T41p, T61p, E530, X200, X61, 760XL, T420, and many many more.

RealBlackStuff
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Re: L530 brief puff of smoke and getting hot

#4 Post by RealBlackStuff » Wed Aug 26, 2020 10:59 pm

You may have dislocated the ethernet port and/or its wiring, so that it now makes contact with the chassis.
Look in that area for telltales.
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
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TheForgottenKing
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Re: L530 brief puff of smoke and getting hot

#5 Post by TheForgottenKing » Thu Oct 01, 2020 2:20 pm

It might have been clogged with dust, that would explain the heat and the puff of smoke. I've never seen a laptop release so much smoke that it was visible while assembled.
theforgottenki.ng
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atagunov
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Re: L530 brief puff of smoke and getting hot

#6 Post by atagunov » Thu Oct 01, 2020 3:43 pm

Perhaps wouldn't be such a bad idea to disassemble and look carefully at all parts.. If nothing else it will be a good chance to repaste the CPU.
High % IPA (or another type of alcohol) is your friend when cleaning anything that needs cleaning.
X220, 2 *T520

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