# Dell Inspiron 5160 problems



## groots (Sep 1, 2006)

I'm new to the forum, and I have quite a few questions for those of you smarter than me. I just bought a refurbished motherboard, due to various parts of my original MB burning up. I swapped the motherboards, and now I am getting no image on my screen, or permanent power up. I can hear the fan spinning, and it acts like it is going to come on, then it will die. I have checked all the connections multiple times and I haven't found anything obviously wrong. Also, when I plug the charger into the laptop, it will flash green and then won't take a charge. I have no clue what is wrong, and due to my college budget I didn't want to have to take it somewhere to get it fixed. Any insight is helpful, thanks.


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## JamesO (Mar 30, 2005)

Not sure why your MB burned up and what may have been take out with it??

A few problems I see on a regular basis are bad connections (broken solder joints) to the coaxial power connector on the MB and that the CPU is not properly seated. 

If the CPU came out attached to the heatsink, you need to rotate the heat sink off the CPU. Then unlock the ZIF socket for the processor so it can be easily inserted. Make sure the CPU pins are all straight, none broken, gently insert the CPU in the proper way and then close the ZIF socket latch.

Clean up the CPU and heatsink really well, add a good quality heatsink compound (Arctic Silver) on the CPU and then re-install the heat sink. If you use a good heat sink grease, the vacuum will pull the CPU out of the ZIF socket when you try to pull the heatsink!

These are the most common things I see in laptops.

JamesO


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## crazijoe (Oct 19, 2004)

The power connector on the motherboard of the Dell 5150 and 5160 Inspirons were prone to defects.


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## groots (Sep 1, 2006)

The CPU did come out when I took out the heatsink. I noticed that a couple pins were bent, so I straightened them as well as I could. Is there a "wrong" way to re-insert the CPU? As in, is there a certain direction that it needs to be facing, or just as long as it is in and locked down properly? Also I haven't noticed any obvious solder problems, other than one I created and am in the process of fixing. I will try to explain as best as possible...The wireless card has a black and white wire attached to it. I broke the white wire's connector that attaches to the wireless card. I have ordered a new part to repair that, but would that not being attached make my computer not turn on? (providing that the CPU is installed correctly?) Thanks again


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## crazijoe (Oct 19, 2004)

groots said:


> The CPU did come out when I took out the heatsink. I noticed that a couple pins were bent, so I straightened them as well as I could. Is there a "wrong" way to re-insert the CPU? As in, is there a certain direction that it needs to be facing, or just as long as it is in and locked down properly?


Yes, the CPU will only go in one way. If you look at the corners, 2 of them are missing pins. Therefore it can only be installed one way.


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## groots (Sep 1, 2006)

Thanks for the help everybody, as of right now everything works except the wireless internet. (waiting for the part) Thanks again to everyone who replied.


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## JamesO (Mar 30, 2005)

Yep the old CPU not properly seated problem, I see this quick a lot!!

Hope you used new heat sink grease on the CPU after a good cleanup?

The black and white wires for the wireless card sound like the antenna connectors??

Good luck if the antenna wires are broken, they are usually routed up into the sides of the display housing!

JamesO


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## groots (Sep 1, 2006)

Ok, I received my new wires for the wireless card in the mail today. I swapped them with the old ones, put everything back together, and now I get nothing. The left LED (power) shows green, and the right LED (battery) shows amber. It worked fine prior to the new install and without the wires connected. I undid the wires and it still won't come on, any ideas?


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## groots (Sep 1, 2006)

*More Dell Inspiron 5160 problems*

Anybody have ideas? As of right now everything is believed to be hooked up correctly. If I take out the battery and use the power cord, I get the same light configuration. This is the same with the battery. I can't find what that lighting sequence means anywhere, even that knowledge would be helpful.:upset:


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## JamesO (Mar 30, 2005)

More details please?

What were the black and white wires for on the wireless card?
How far did you need to disassemble the machine to replace the wires for the wireless card?

The LED's look "normal". One shows AC power applied, the other shows the battery charging. The Amber LED should go out once the battery is charged.

What happens when you try to power the machine up? Any noise or beeps?
Does the hard drive attempt to spin up?

If you took the bezel off between the screen and keyboard, did you get the screen switch caught under the bezel?

JamesO


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## groots (Sep 1, 2006)

The black and white wires are the remote wires for the wireless card. When attached to the card itself, they are labeled Main & Auxillary. The wires run along the bottom plastic base, so I had to take the MB completely out to replace the wires. I know the LEDs "look" normal, but they aren't giving me any information. With the battery installed, pressing the power button only turns on those two LEDs (solid GREEN power & solid AMBER battery). I get absolutely no sound, no video image, no fans spinning, or anything else. If you try to remove the battery and run off AC power the result is exactly the same.

I took it to the computer tech at my school today, and he was going to try basically everything that I have already done. Check the processor, connections, etc. I even tried taking things out in stages to see if I could single out the problem. Ultimately, he said that it appears to be a faulty motherboard. If more info is needed, I will do the best I can descriping the problem. Thanks


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## laboye (Apr 11, 2006)

Sounds like you shorted the motherboard. The WiFi antennas should be sticky in the back so you can stick them to the back of the monitor. Once installed, flipping a WiFi switch should activate a WiFi light, if the card is compatible with that function. If it is not, the switch and light will not affect the card, but the card will operate via software. What MiniPCI card did you get?


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## groots (Sep 1, 2006)

The wireless card isn't new, sorry if I made it sound like it was. It was installed when I bought the computer. As for the make, it's whatever Dell uses standard, I think a 1370 something-or-other. The wires are on the inside bottom base, not sticky on any surface. They attach directly to the card, and the base itself. But yes, everything I keep hearing is the motherboard. Any ideas on how I could have shorted the MB since it worked fine prior to the wireless card re-install?


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## JamesO (Mar 30, 2005)

Pull the RAM then reinstall it and see what happens.

JamesO


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## groots (Sep 1, 2006)

That is exactly what the tech as school suggested. After pulling the RAM, nothing was gained. The same LED lights persisted with absolutely no computer activity. I'm in the process of contacting the person who I bought it from in regards of a warranty. My grandma bought it off ebay, but I am pretty sure there was some form of warranty involved.


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