Dead 17R4 - something is shorting

So one day I started playing a game and the laptop just turned off. After some investigation I noticed that the power brick light was off and it goes off as soon as it's plugged into the laptop. Google searches say that's usually caused by something shorting on the motherboard and the brick is turning itself off to prevent a fire.

So I disassembled the laptop component by component and tried the brick every time, but no luck. Then I repasted it with Kryonaut, but still no luck. I had Conductonaut on it so I was worried that might have caused the short, but after taking off the fan assembly the liquid metal looked good and hadn't spilled anywhere it shouldn't be - I also had electrical tape around tie CPU and GPU dies to prevent this just like in the guide.

So next thing I tried is to check the power connector that plugs into the motherboard. I disconnected it form the motherboard and plugged into the brick and the light stayed on. So it's not the power connector, it's something on the motherboard that's dead.

I also tried another brick. My sister had been using it with my old M18xR1 (GPUs removed), they have the same connector. It was not an official brick and a bit smaller. The light on that one stayed on, but I immediately noticed a burnt plastic smell coming between the power and battery connectors (attached photo) on the MB and unplugged it. I guess the cheap brick doesn't have safety features. The components around there also got quite warm, but I didn't notice any burn marks.

So yeah, something is shorting around there. Is it something that could be replaced by a competent laptop repair shop? Any idea which component it might be?

The warranty ended about a year ago so I can't get a replacement MB from Alienware. I'm hoping it's something that could be fixed by replacing the dead component.

I was running stress tests with some external fans the day before, I guess that stressed out my old buddy too much. I want to get a Legion 7i, but I can't get one easily where I live, so no gaming laptop for me for the foreseeable future. At least I have a work laptop that I can keep using for work stuff.

 

Wow, I'm having the exact same issue with the same laptop. However, in my case, I have a puffy battery. I haven't tried plugging into the DC port without it connected to the mobo yet, though. I could deal with replacing the DC port ($15), or a battery ($75-$100), but the price of motherboards is unfortunate if it comes to that.

 

I assume you tried unplugging the battery? The laptop should work without it.

 

Yeah, I did unplug the battery from the board, same result.

 

I just tried plugging into the disconnected DC-in port, and the light stayed on for me as well.

 

A good repair shop would test this easily with a thermal camera that will show which component is heating up. In most cases, that’s the component that will need to be replaced. You need a shop that can do micro soldering. Other than that, find another motherboard on eBay or ask Dell for a quote.

 

I'm cutting my losses, I think. Probably gonna sell it for parts and shove a 3080 into my desktop and take a break from laptops.