Loading…
2
My buddy at the shop in Phoenix said I was overthinking a simple power supply fix.
He watched me spend an hour checking every single trace on a 2018 Dell laptop board when he just pointed at a visibly bulging capacitor near the input. He said, 'Your eyes are a better tool than your meter sometimes, start with the obvious.' Now I'm second-guessing my whole diagnostic routine. Do you guys have a mental checklist you run through before you even grab the multimeter?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
wells.amy5mo ago
Yeah, and that's such a good point about starting with the obvious! I always do a full visual check first, like looking for burns, broken parts, or anything that smells off. Then I check if anything is loose or if the board looks cracked. After that, I'll gently poke at connectors and sockets to make sure they're seated right. Only then do I grab the meter to confirm what my eyes already told me. It saves so much time to trust your gut and look for the easy stuff.
9
samf955mo ago
Honestly that visual check is huge. I've fixed so many boards just by re-seating a ram stick or pushing a power connector in all the way. Tbh the smell test is underrated too, a burnt resistor has a very specific smell. Saved myself hours of metering by spotting a bulging capacitor once.
4