Acer predator no longer charging Predator Helios PH315-51

Krelly

Model: Predator Helios PH315-51

Hello, today I'm trying to fix my predator Helios 300 which is no longer charging. At first it was rapidly charging and not charging at certain times, usually when gaming. Then it completely stopped charging the other day.

I've used the search function to try to diagnose with no luck, I've went through all the steps of uninstalling the battery, using the button to reset the battery, etc etc...

 I bought a new charger which worked for a little while. However that abruptly ended a few days ago. I figured it must be the battery, since it was charging fine with the new cord but now wasn't. I ran the battery health report on PowerShell, it's 41000/47000mah or something which wasn't too bad I didn't think. Acer health center reported the battery as 'good.' 

Anyways, in preparation of receiving the new battery and installing it, I took my laptop apart a lo and behold I found another issue (aside from dirty fans I need to clean). From where my power cord plugs in, there looks to be a series of 3 black and 3 red cords bundled together running to the motherboard. The left side of cord is a bit burnt looking....the female side that receives the cord on the mobo looks passable, not too fried, but the cord is toast. I took pictures that I attached below.

(Thread was edited to add model name to the title)

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Question is; can I just purchase a new cord to run from where the power plug is to the mobo here and be A-ok? What caused it in the first place? Laptop is 3 years old, and has seen many high heat gaming sessions. Thank you for taking the time to read this entire post, I appreciate your time. 

xapim

Krelly said:

Thanks for you reply sir, I went ahead and ordered the DC jack to replace the faulty cord and planned on doing a fan cleaning as per my original comment.

I'm still not sure what caused the cord to burn there, seems strange that half of the internal cord would burn from high temps but not the other half. Almost like it was shorting out--are you sure it's not related to that, and strictly caused by high heat? This model does get way hotter than my buddy's Helios 300, even out of the box-- his is the blue one from a year or so later. 

 I do have some paste ready and was going to do that as well now that's it's all opened up.

Yeah better do it all at once since its open make sure to use a good thermal paste as i have mentioned above and use the spread method only a thin layer covering both diodes its enough too much its bad same as too less and make sure the back its lifter 2/3" at all times optimize your windows and undervolt with TS for a proper airflow also the 2019 models the fans are separated for better cooling and they come pre undervolted (2019 models only) but they might still get hot if not properly repasted as the stock thermal paste its just  cheap ***** with all manufacturers good luck and let us know how it went

xapim

Krelly take it to a repair shop they might be able to help you there and this happened due to too much heat youre lucky the mobo hasnt burned yet also clean your fans and exit airflow properly (i can see your fans are pretty clogged with dust) and repaste it with kryonaut or similar good luck

PS: again gaming laptops need constant maintenance they arent normal laptops that you buy and forget you need to constant clean fans and repaste when needed also to check the battery wear use hwinfo or battery bar pro if more than 15/20% wear get it replaced some of the cells are damaged (dead)

Krelly

Thanks for you reply sir, I went ahead and ordered the DC jack to replace the faulty cord and planned on doing a fan cleaning as per my original comment.

I'm still not sure what caused the cord to burn there, seems strange that half of the internal cord would burn from high temps but not the other half. Almost like it was shorting out--are you sure it's not related to that, and strictly caused by high heat? This model does get way hotter than my buddy's Helios 300, even out of the box-- his is the blue one from a year or so later. 

 I do have some paste ready and was going to do that as well now that's it's all opened up.

xapim

Krelly said:

Thanks for you reply sir, I went ahead and ordered the DC jack to replace the faulty cord and planned on doing a fan cleaning as per my original comment.

I'm still not sure what caused the cord to burn there, seems strange that half of the internal cord would burn from high temps but not the other half. Almost like it was shorting out--are you sure it's not related to that, and strictly caused by high heat? This model does get way hotter than my buddy's Helios 300, even out of the box-- his is the blue one from a year or so later. 

 I do have some paste ready and was going to do that as well now that's it's all opened up.

Yeah better do it all at once since its open make sure to use a good thermal paste as i have mentioned above and use the spread method only a thin layer covering both diodes its enough too much its bad same as too less and make sure the back its lifter 2/3" at all times optimize your windows and undervolt with TS for a proper airflow also the 2019 models the fans are separated for better cooling and they come pre undervolted (2019 models only) but they might still get hot if not properly repasted as the stock thermal paste its just  cheap ***** with all manufacturers good luck and let us know how it went

Krelly

Thanks for the info, and will report back soon when I get the new parts in.

Krelly

New D/C jack came in, just installed it earlier. laptop is charging and powered on. No issues so far! Again, not sure what caused it to short out initially but hopefully it keeps going smoothly.