[Blackwiddow]

I have an HP Dv4155CL laptop and it will not charge ( or run on ac power) when I plug in the ac adapter. It WILL however, charge when I have the ac adapter AND an external monitor plugged in, so its not the power jack or ac adapter.

What I have done so far: I have replaced the motherboard. I have also replaced the vga daughter board. Right now I have taken apart an LCD monitor and carry the "guts" in an anti static bag so I can have my laptop semi portable and still have it charge. I dont know what else I can do to make it charge without the monitor, and HP is being less than helpful.



Thanks!!

[crazy4laptops]

i wonder if you have a grounding problem in your home...

idk how smart laptop power bricks are but yours might shut off due to a grounding/polarity issue in wiring

[rgreen4]

You could be right. It may be as simple as a bad power cord. I have seen several cases lately of bad cords via broken internal wires, one was a VGA cord (everything was green) and USB cord (intermittent error messages). When the cords were replaced, everything was fine. I know both of my HP laptops have the HP triangular connection to the power brick, so you either have to replace the entire power brick or go to a generic.
Of course if you have access to someone who has a similar model as you, try their power brick. I don't know if the 5000 series will work or not, the 6000 uses a newer connection to the laptop itself. It looks the same but is a slightly different size. (They also snap in place now).
I don't think it's the ground so much as lack of neutral as the wire from the power brick to the laptop is only two conductor. I would have suggested the MB connection, but you have replaced the MB so scratch that. It could be it is seeking the neutral through the VGA port through the monitor through it's power cord.

[Blackwiddow]

I have tried another dv4000 adapter with no results. HP suggested the bios, but I already updated them on my own trying to fix it. Not a ground issue at my house as it happens everywhere I go. What else deals with power on the laptop that the vga monitor would have any bearing on? It isnt software lke hp suggested. only things that havent been replaced are the keyboard, tochpad, and on/off / quickplay panel. Do you think that panel is malfunctioning somehow?

[rgreen4]

I do not think it is the BIOS. The only logical explanation is that it is seeking neutral. Not ground as there is no ground when it enters the case. The brick is grounded, but not after that. The BIOS would have no way to affect the neutral.

It probably needs to be taken in to a certified HP repair tech. You should be able to find one in your area, look in the yellow pages for Computers, and find a location that has the HP logo. (Not all sellers of HP products are certified repair locations. Best Buy and Circuit City are not). That is one thing their website could do is list the certified repair locations by zip code.

[Blackwiddow]

One peice of information I forgot to mention: this all started when the computer was accidentally stepped on. I thought that the power jack was broken, so i repleaced the mobo, after that is when i found out about the vga thing... could the chasis be whats causing this issue? If the vga monitor is acting as the nuetral, wouldnt a usb or anything else plugged in act as such as well? ( I have tried usb devices to no avail)

Thanks

[crazy4laptops]

does the old mobo still work, or did you send your computer off to the repair center?

[Blackwiddow]

I think the old mobo still works. It worked fine when the battery was charged. I never got to test it with the monitor plugged in, but I would assume it would work the same as the new. No, I never sent it to a repair center, I do my own repairs.