Long story short; small case crack near power attach point. returned to CITRUS MICRO repaired $328 lasted a week "get battery tested" reply??? 2 local shops "unit doesnt work without battery, probably not battery.I agree. tore down unit could not see any circuit damage(I'm not a real tech). Citrus might have replaced power board?. Sales rep could'nt tell me what was actually repaired; " Problem.. repaired notebook logic board.... $328.74" any idea's??? All help greatly appreciated, Skypilot
You hit exactly on the head with don't move the unit when plugged in - there are many people with the MS-1036 having this problem if you search the web. MSI does cover the bare-bone itself, however this falls into that damaged not defective area. Many shops would replace the entire board, making it costly as looks you had done once already. Good idea is to look to Asus 17" bare-bone and move your items over, much better made. Citrus Micro - see you worked with them, so have I, always had good luck with them, they make great contact and sometimes too honest, prices are great to - like any etail store with returns, manufacturer warranty tells most etail stores how they are to handle things. Could be why you see them getting rid of selling MSI products? Looks like you found the best idea, take to walk in repair shop - hard to beat that or again, buy new bare-bone.
Hi, Your best bet probably would be to bring it back to Citrus Micro for them to rework on your unit. I believe that you are entitled to warranty. If for some reason you prefer not to, then you would need basic knowledge of electronics, a VOM, a low wattage soldering iron and familiarity with surface mounted components to perform a do-it-yourself repair, otherwise you're back to Citrus City or some other qualified repair professional. It is possible that you have: 1. cracked board; 2. cold solder; 3. defective components such as diodes, fuse(s), charging transistor, resistors etc.; 4. looses connection. Hope this be of some help/idea. Post back how things are or should you need further information. Good luck and kind regards.
Hi again,
Even if the battery is dead, the unit should work when used with the AC adapter.
You initial post "2 local shops "unit doesnt work without battery..." led me to assume that the unit works with a battery. A standard check amongst us who do this for a living is to check if the AC adapter is putting out the correct voltage, so I would presume that when your unit was checked/repaired, they gave the adapter a clean bill of health which leaves us only the laptop in question.
Maybe to settle the issue between the battery and their repair, you can try getting hold of a similar battery known to be good (or purchase one if reasonable) and try. If problem persists, you have your proof that the "repair" might be in question. Otherwise you have proven to yourself that indeed it's time for a new battery.
Cheers.
The "dead 1036 w/o Hdrive" looks promising. Possibly source of spare battery and power circuit board and some others.
I will assume then that you agree with me that the "CITRUS MICRO ...logic board...$328.74" raises concern and possibly you still have problems with "power circuit board".
AC adapter output voltages should be slight higher than rated battery voltage. The terminal leading to the battery should read higher than +5VDC. A car charger/power supply for your laptop/battery should be 12 in +17 out (chances are it will be a DC to DC converter).
In any case lots of luck and do post back how things turns up for your 1036.
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When I asked that question I was told to have battery tested, not there repair problem.
About voltages: I'm not a practiced tech, just a home hack.
Power supply potential is 17V dc
without diagrams/voltage reference charts I'm unsure of my testing abilities but I measured appx 5V at what I think is the battery input point when power cord attached. Could be reverse from battery??. Battery too dead to post unit.
Having RKcomputers check with MSI on power circuit board availability(special order part).
will purchase($56+ ship).
Also may buy car charger(cheapest choice)
to charge battery for better testing possibilities.
RKcomputers are an MSI affiliate and sell parts for new & old units.
also found someone with same problem wanting to sell his dead 1036(w/o Hdrive/).
If cheap enough I may start an MS-1036 repair project.
Just hope it won't be good money after bad.
NOTE for anyone owning new model MSI's;
DON'T MOVE OR TRANSPORT THESE UNITS WHILE THE
POWER CORD IS JACKED IN!!! - SUICIDE.
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