Thinkpad 560 power problem. open vias, Schematics?

I have a Thinkpad 560 that won't power up. The internal switcher chips are in shutdown mode. The signal from the power switch ain't getting to the power supply. The signal comes from a maze of unmarked smt chips. I gave up tracing it to the connector and went looking for visual clues.

The vias are not solder masked and don't appear to be plated. There are several with some corrosion. I put wires thru the worst ones. Now, the power supply will come up if I bend on the main board just right.

I have no idea how to find open circuits on inner layers without a schematic for reference. The service manuals I downloaded from IBM are useless in this regard.

Is there a way to obtain the schematics for at least the power control part of a Thinkpad 560? Even the pinout for the connector between the main board and the power converter board would greatly simplify the search.

Gotta be free cause this thing is gonna be pretty much worthless even if I get it working. I just hate to see it go to the landfill.

Thanks, mike

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Reply to
mike
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I have run into this problem before. I had to replace the power control board (I believe) with a unit I bought on Ebay. I tried for a while to fix it, and believe it was an intermittant mechanical failure (maybe via/internal trace), since it would work if I flexed it right.

These are nice machines, but had some problems. I think this is a common problem. And yes, none of the vias are plated on the several TP560 models I have owned.

Yes, it's sad. I have a box full of old thinkpads and hate to throw them away. When I have some time I want to see if I can get at least one to work well from all of the broken ones.

Later, -ingo

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/* Ingo Cyliax, cyliax@ezcomm.com, Tel: 812-391-0895 */
Reply to
Ingo Cyliax

Thanks for the tip. I found several unsoldered connections on the power interface. Machine worked perfectly, put it back together, ten minutes later it just quit...never to return. I'm very sad ;-) Ok IBM, round two!!! mike

Reply to
mike

In article , Ingo Cyliax wrote: ...

My 560 failed in the same way, about a year and a half after I bought it (new, years ago). It was a wonderful little machine while it lasted.

I seem to remember that the hinge for the display basically sat on the motherboard, using it something like a washer between the case and the hinge bracket. I don't know if that was really a problem, but it always seemed like the motherboard (near the power supply section, in particular) would get flexed every time the display was moved.

-Mike

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Reply to
MSCHAEF.COM

I have a 560e which also failed in the same manner. I bought a junker to use for parts, which got it going for a few more years. I, too, tried all sorts of fixes before using the 'nukular' option. I had the machine apart multiple times, flexing, tweaking, shimming...minutely examining every joint. When I got the parts machine, I was sure that replacing the DC converter board would fix it...no soap. Even after I got it going, it never again charged the battery despite the fact that I swapped DC boards. I had to use it on AC for the rest of it's life.

Once it started acting up again, I gave up on it.

jak

Reply to
jakdedert

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