HP spectre x360 13-4005dx will not turn on

[jlonomo]

Great point @BJameson. It would seem to make sense that a short on the power input could be responsible for the fried chips.

Do you think there are any preventative measures we could take to avoid this power jack failure? Hot glue, epoxy, tape, more solder on the connection?

When mine went in for repair, the motherboard was replaced but I don't recall if the power jack was too. It wasn't specifically mentioned by the technician, so I don't know whether both were, or just the motherboard.

[louis25th]

I checked mine and the power jacket looked fine. Also the failure happened when my laptop was peacefully sitting on the table. I don't think the burn is related to the power jacket.

But your experience aids the fact that this laptop was terribly designed, mechanically and electrically. It's my first and last HP laptop.

[BJameson]

@jlonomo, the preventive measure is to remove the single screw and add a thin double sided tape at the bottom of the unit and double sided mounting tape at the side where it meets the case. This will firmly hold it in place and prevents it from moving while plugging the power plug in and out. It is also best to add a threadlocker adhesive (Loctite or equivalent) to lock the screw and prevent it from loosening up.

[firstapex88]

I advise against @BJameson's fix if your power wires look OK upon visual inspection. This is unlikely the issue for many of us that have damaged motherboards. If we were to carry out this "fix" without it being the root cause it can (1) cause other power problems if done incorrectly (2) does nothing to mitigate the original problem such that when it occurs HP can blame the owner for an unapproved modification when they open it in the repair center. 

[jlonomo]

@firstapex88, thanks for your concern, but many of our devices are now out of warranty and HP seem to be completely ignoring the fact that these failures are due to their design faults, so I would bear all repair costs anyway.

I'm not going to pay through the nose for a fix to either issue (fried chips and loose wires) if there is something simple I can do to prevent the failure occurring in the first place. I feel just as comfortable pulling my own device apart as I do letting a repair technician take it apart, considering that when I received my device back from its repair the base plate wasn't correctly seated.

I'm just a little annoyed now that I never opened it up before sending it in for repair to find out exactly what had happened to mine.

[BJameson]

It's not rocket science. It's a piece of tape and tigthening the screw. Knowing that this is a design problem, if it didn't happen to anyone today, it will happen in the future. A simple preventive measure will extend the life of your laptop without having to worry about it in the future.

If it happens, it will cost $300 to repair it. HP will not bear the cost of this known design issue.

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/spectre-x360-battery-charging-i...

Here's a post from someone who it traveling when the power problem happened.  Great for him, he can solder!

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Boot-and-Lockup/HP-Spectre-x360-will-not-charge-nor-boot/m-p/5...

[firstapex88]

@BJameson, I was a few months out of the warranty but after posting to these forums, HP contacted me for a free repair. I would PM some of the HP representatives that frequently post on these forums if you have a dead motherboard. So it seems HP will intermittently bear the cost of this known design issue. Try PM'ing @JeffHelp

[BJameson]

@firstapex88, I do not see any reason why I will not contact HP first for a dead motherboard but that is when it already happened. The point of my post is to alert anyone with a power jack that wiggles and, even if it does not, do a quick preventive maintenance work because, chances are, one will experience the broken port in the future. Some will not wait for a problem to happen if it can be prevented in the first place. It's too much hassle to deal with HP and find the right HP Representative that will back you up particularly after the warranty already expired.

[ginovellie]

I have the same issue with the the burn spot on the motherboard.  I did find one pin of the power cable to be loose.  It was on the end next to the motherboard connection.  I called hp and they wat $450 to repair the board.  I tried to order the part but you cannot.  Hp got me too.

[Omar-E]

@ginovellie

  I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details). If you are unfamiliar with how the Forum's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.
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