Dell Laptops Have Shocking New Problem

dapsychous writes "A friend of one of my coworkers has noticed a problem in Dell notebook computers (also covered in this engadget article about a problem that has been popping up lately in Dell 17" notebook computers). It seems that these computers are putting out between 19 and 139 (65 according to article, 139 according to him) volts of AC power as measured from any chassis screw vs. earth ground. This has led to several problems including fried ram, blown video circuits, and a stout zap on his left hand. According to him, Dell has tried to keep him quiet about the problem and has even gone so far as to have him banned from a few websites, and threatened him with legal action if he tells people about the problem."

Comments

Only in America!

[aslate]

Okay, not really, but shouldn't happen in the UK. According to the article:

"The latest word is that VG's own problems were solved by springing for a three-pronged grounded power adapter"

You can't get a non-earthed plug in the UK, the earth pin is physically required to open the plug socket. This can be a dummy pin, but you're only able to do that if the unit itself is double-insulated.

Watch the ESD

[Whip-hero]

For a while, I thought I had a similar problem with both my new Dell laptop, and an old dumpster-diver I had before that. I was getting shocked occasionally when I touched the machines. I initially blamed it on poorly grounded wiring in my house (a rental), until I realized that the problem was electro-static discharge build up from sitting on my Durapella couch.

I worked it out recently when cold winter temperatures drove the humidity way down. Whenever I got up from the couch I would feel the charge build up, then I would inadvertently discharge myself of a light switch, a metal corner post in the drywall, or worse, on some home electronics. After I accidentally blew out the panel of buttons on a DVD player, I did some experiments. By rubbing my hand on the couch cushions for a few seconds, then using a piece of metal held in my hand (less painful that way) to discharge myself to ground, I found I could jump a spark 2 cm or more. Sometimes, I can get multiple sparks on one charge.

It's kind of cool, if you know to expect it. And, the remote still works for the DVD player...

Verified

[mrfunnypants]

I just checked all the Dell laptops our company owns, about 10 of them (E1505 and E1705 models). All of them are producing around 3-5 Volts of AC off the screws. In fact the one producing the highest voltage is currently on a service call as the system has stopped working.

I am currently in contact with Dell about this issue and I am being informed they are letting the engineers know of the issue and hope to have a resolution soon.

The funniest thing I have read regarding this was a post in notebookforums from aindfan:

"I took my E1705 up to the Senior Design EE lab here. The two seniors that were there glanced over at my oscilloscope and realized what was going on, most likely assuming that I did not ground properly. When we took it over to the new, more advanced scope, the measurements reported were of a 60Hz periodic function with a peak-to-peak voltage of ~150V.

Being curious EE's, the next natural step that the seniors suggested was to see if we could pull any current out of the screws. A few moments later, we had a circuit with a laptop screw connecting to an LED in series with a 1K Ohm resistor connected to the ground node of a power supply (connected directly to the ground of a wall socket). I am happy to report that the LED turned on and there was a measured current of about 1.4 (mille or micro, I forget which) Amps flowing from the screw to the resistor.

Remember, folks, there will never be current flowing out of the laptop without a load attached to the screws. So don't hook up any 1 Ohm resistors if this is happening to your laptop, you might fry a few things (due to the large current, remember V=IR).

I'm opening up a Dell chat now to see about getting this resolved.

Thanks for starting this thread ViriiGuy. It was quite interesting to play around with the testing for this.

EDIT: When I asked the dell chat support tech if she could send a 3 pronged power adapter (after I explained the issue), she replied "I cannot do that.""

Good stuff.

Re:Oh shit.

[skiingyac]

Rubbermaid.

Called them up twice because one of their guaranteed for life tupperware container cracked in my dish washer on 2 separate occasions (similar size/type). They apologized, suggested putting them on the upper dishwasher rack to reduce the chance of this happening, and sent me a coupon good on anything rubbermaid up to the value of the thing that broke. I asked how I needed to send in the broken container (which their warranty terms say you have to do), and they said I didn't have to because they trusted that I was telling the truth.

Otherwise, never had a problem with any of their stuff and the only remotely bad thing that I know of that they did was try to get retirees of a company they bought to pay $40/mo for health insurance.