Seeking general advice - alienware 15 r2

Hi!

This is probably the 2nd time I'm due to replace my batteries in this baby's 4, going 5 years of life. (got her sept 2015)

I've ran into the burnt DC cable issue twice as well.

First time around - I wasn't aware of the dc cable issue - just that I ran mostly with OC lv1 a good chunk of the time [say 95%] and didn't think it would be an issue - it also had express charging on.
Fast forward some time November 2016 - about a year after my warranty expires - the battery dies, sorta. It stopped charging. It was then I found out my cable got burnt as well.

I recall playing WoW and suddenly my screen dimmed a momentarily. Didn't think of it at the time until I opened the underside of my laptop and found a burnt cable. Insue freakout.

by the end of 2016/early 2017 - resolved.

Come end of 2019 - around early-mid december - battery died again while laptop was on the living room being quiet and idle.

Suddenly, the batteries ran out - it got unplugged. Then when I charged it again, it won't go past 11%. Death by battery I assumed. Opened up the back and found a REALLY BURNT DC cable. So much so that when I took it out, it cracked.

I'm now using my first burnt cable that looks tame in comparison.
top left is the second burnt cable. top right is the first cable.

bottom left is the first, bottom right is the second.



as far as where I got the parts - if they matter.
2nd batteries - currently not charging - ebay.
2nd cable - even more burnt - dell

My typical usage - OC1 and high fans. Play games, do stuff.

on rare times I'd test OC3 and just dial back to 1. Express charging has been off since day 1 of current pair of cable and batteries.



is it fine to get those parts and batteries off of ebay if dell ones kinda burn anyway?

WHY DOES IT EVEN BURN?! Bios and everything is updated.

 

something on the board is operating out of spec. That's why it burns. I don't think it's the cable at all. You can get dell genuine OEM parts from e-bay. Buy from US sellers, they're pretty certain to be Genuine.

edit:
Oh I guess it's also possible that it could have just been two bad cables, but coincidence like that is rare in computer repair.

 

From what I've read, it's a pretty widespread thing and a bios update to a certain version was supposed to fix it. didn't help for me, granted I'm not sure of the bios dates and when mine started to burn.

 

If it were my responsibility to fix it, I'd start with replacing another cable. If the bios is responsible, and an update fixes it and we can't be sure on dates. Update it immediately, and hope for the best. if it burns again, then I am guessing its the mobo.

 

This is the msot severe i've seen m. I recommend strongly to disable all overclocks. Even with my old unlocked 6700HQ I could get it to burn a bit when I would overclock the 980M GPU. In the end the best thing to do is just to spam Dell with this and claim it is unsafe and a design flaw (which it is) and make them send you a new system. This is just unacceptable.

ALso disable express charging.

The cable is just not thick enough to handle the load (most likely there is a slight resistance at the connector solder joints that overheat.

 

If it already burned two cables, it will burn more, because the male connector that mates with that connector is beyond FUBAR'ed, and should be replaced, or it will keep having bad contact.

 

Yeah, I said this was a design flaw, long time ago. The sad part... The owners usually pay for it from own wallets. All affected models whatever age should be withdrawn for refund without a notice. I called it a fire trap. If this have been a component in planes this would put Dell or any company on fire. But as we know... Product recall program is damn expensive + it will hurt reputation.

Everything went down the hill after the 2012 models. Burning and smoke has become regular the last years. And now topped out with firmware crippling meant to stop the fire in their latest flagship.

 

FOr me personally it ran fine after they did the bios update (which disabled express charging). But it seems the margins are jsut too thin and an added overclock still pushes it over the edge. I could get mine system refunded though after showing them photos etc.That is the reason why I got the Alienware 15 R3 afterwards which was doing its job until today still but became my secondary laptop.

THe DC powercable in the 15R3 is like triple the thickness for each wire.

 

My AW 14 also has a burned dc cable, but was only temporarily fixed it by cleaning. Will replace the dc Jack soon.

 

Little off-topic, but this makes me wonder about the Alienware m15. They run, what I am pretty sure is the cable that provides power, right under the heatsink and it touches the heatsink. I never suffered damage like you did, but now it has me wondering if they are doing something intentional. I mean, a power cable itself should get hot... but running it along a heatsink that easily hits 80-100C?