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Latitude C510/610 Turns on, then shuts down

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I have Dell Latitude C510/C610 500MHz that my friend gave me to fix. The problem that he had is that when he would turn the laptop on, it would turn on for a couple of seconds, then it would turn off.

I tried everything from changing the battery, hard drive, power cable, etc. with known good ones. This did not fix the problem. I then began to open the case and found an infestation of roaches. I took the whole thing apart piece by piece cleaning everything with an electronics spray. I put everything back together and by miracle it turned on perfectly.

I had the laptop with me for about a month and it worked fine. After I gave it back to my friend, he told me the next day that the same thing happened to the laptop. I took it again and performed the same steps. Found new roaches in it. After I was done, it did not turn on again and this is how it is now. It will turn on and within a few seconds, it turns off. Nothing shows up on the LCD screen, no beeps, nothing. Any ideas?

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Reply To: Latitude C510/610 Turns on, then shuts down

In reply to Latitude C510/610 Turns on, then shuts down

Roaches lay lots of eggs, should have used roach spray the first time. In addition the user should stop dropping crumbs onto the keyboard.

Seriously, the biggest problem with laptops is heat. Are the fans working and clear of debris?
I believe the motherboard got fried when it was full of roaches. Sorry not much to offer other than a new motherboard.

Reply To: Latitude C510/610 Turns on, then shuts down

In reply to Reply To: Latitude C510/610 Turns on, then shuts down

The roaches did lay a lot of eggs, but I cleaned everything up. 🙂 The problem with the user was not crumbs, but he left the laptopr for “storage” in his garage.

I checked the fan and in the little time that it turns on/off it does not come on. I had thought about buying a new motherboard, but I wanted to see if anyone else had any suggestions in regards to the problem.

Solution that worked for me

In reply to Reply To: Latitude C510/610 Turns on, then shuts down

I acquired a c610 that did the same exact thing. After doing some research, I found out one of the main culprits for that behavior. There is a magnetic reed switch located in the middle of the right side of the motherboard. This switch is triggered by a magnet located on the right side of the screen (only visible when the screen is taken apart). When the screen is closed, the magnet in the screen moves close to the reed switch on the motherboard and triggers it. That is how the laptop knows the screen is closed. Well, this switch will eventually start failing, causing the laptop to turn off soon after powerup. I simply unsoldered the reed switch from the motherboard and the problem disappeared! Of course, now the screen won’t turn off when the lid shuts, but I can hardly complain considering the laptop was free. NOTE: the reed switch is very thin, less than an inch long, and encased in glass. It almost looks like a fuse. If you don’t want to deal with a soldering iron, you can simply use some snippers to cut (break) the switch in half, thus disabling it.

Where exactly located the Reed Switch on the mother board

In reply to Solution that worked for me

I have the same problem (when I power on my latitude c610 it switchs off the display after 3-5 minutes). To use the solution you have posted, I would like to know exactly where the REED SWITCH is?

Txs

Reply To: Latitude C510/610 Turns on, then shuts down

In reply to Latitude C510/610 Turns on, then shuts down

Hi I saw your issue I have an identical laptop and I need a screen would you be willing to sell the laptop

my email is ericss9(at)hotmail.com

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