T43p refuses to power on through power jack

[Medessec]

Hello everyone!

My roommate's T43p developed an issue, he says he's not sure how long he's had it, but his T43p will not power on if powered by the charger. The indicators won't even light up, and sometimes we can hear a high-frequency noise coming from around where the screen plug is.

Normally I'd tell my roommate the motherboard's no good, but the weird thing is that if the charger is unplugged and the battery holds power, the machine will proceed to power on normally, after which the charger can be plugged in to charge it, and the machine will function otherwise perfectly fine. So basically, the laptop's fine, except that he needs to power it on off of battery, and make sure he doesn't run the battery all the way down, otherwise his Thinkpad will need a "jump".

We haven't tested charging through the dock port, as the only T43 compatible dock we have around here is my Dock II which is buried with the rest of my nonsense somewhere. But what do you guys think? Is this an issue that can be repaired through Ohm-meter or other insane electronics trickery that's beyond my scope? Or is it just better to get another motherboard if he wants the issue to be repaired?

He's also somewhat interested in a SATA mod, but doesn't have the time to do it nor the money to buy one (at the moment). I've told him most of what I already know about it... he thinks it'd probably be best to get one from The Board Room if he gets enough money.

[ajkula66]

If you open up the machine you're likely to find moisture damage in the charging circuit area. I've seen a couple of T4x units which have behaved in this exact manner and that was the story with all of them. Obviously, YMMV.

I'm tempted to say that your friend will need a new board, sooner than later.

Good luck.

[Medessec]

We've opened it up, and there doesn't seem to be any cosmetic damage. His T43p spends most of its time under the desk, in his room, which isn't susceptible to moisture(albeit, always smells of french fries. go figure.)

I wouldn't be surprised if the board's condition became gradually worse, and I passed this diagnosis onto my roommate... hence why he's interested in possibly a SATA-modded board. He loves his T43p for typing, but can't use it for anything else due to how horribly underpowered it is. He's also considering installing Linux on it.