smoke came out of my helios 300 but the computer is working just fine, any help?

was watching videos on youtube and a little bit of smoke came out of my computer then the screen want blank but the keyboard lights were still working. decided to open it to find what was wrong and as far as i can tell i coulndt find what was burned. after closing the lid turned it on and its working just as normal. Any help to find out what burned and the cause? dont feel like bringing the computer to a specialist because they overcharge but if necessary ill do it.

Extra context that may or may not help: computer was charging, thunderstorm going outside, i was charging something on the usb, smoke came out somewhere between the left corner of the computer and and the "escape" key, computer wasnt hot

Accepted answers

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/701342/smoke-came-out-of-my-helios-300-but-the-computer-is-working-just-fine-any-help

Its a bit hard to tell you exactly where that fault came from if you don't tell us the exact Helios 300 model laptop number that you have e.g. PH315-xx etc etc. But if its from the underneath of the Esc Key then its either from the cpu fan plug or its even from the USB board that is a separate board on the left side of the laptop, check these components out and see if there is a burning smell coming out from there or a slight discoloration or any burning traces on any circuits, as smoke does not necessarily mean a component has burned out and looks burned and looks black/brown, as it could mean that a circuit could have overheated and didn't leave a visible burned mark behind but produced smoke.

Also, a laptop can work perfectly with capacitors or a mosat that has burned out as mainly these components like capacitor and mosats are designed as a safety stage and to protect major components like the cpu gpu or ram and they are the first to burn out and smoke, but the laptop will still work. But if smoke came out then it means that something has definitely overheated causing that smoke and could be because of irregular power surge. Make sure that you test your laptop if all its ports and cpu, gpu, ram are working. Good luck and hope thins work out for you.

Below is a Helios 300 laptop mainboard and the top right corner of the red circled area is the underneath the Esc Key:

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1262115#Comment_1262115

The Predator PH315-54 is the same as the caption above and if your laptop is working and all the side laptop ports are working then don't worry about the smoke, as it didnt do any damage and you are VERY LUCKY😁so don't do anything as the laptop wil work perfectly. If your laptop has side port issues or a gpu issue then take your laptop to a technician.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1262124#Comment_1262124

This happened because you operated the laptop in an electrical storm and the laptop got a minor power surge, you need to use a surge protector power board so that any electrical storm and power surges DO NOT get transferred into your laptop through the power plug, as you were very lucky that your laptop didn't short out and burn out beyond use and you would have needed a new mainboard, as the laptoop must have gotten a very slight power surge through the adapter. That is the reason why that smoke happened.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

All comments

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/701342/smoke-came-out-of-my-helios-300-but-the-computer-is-working-just-fine-any-help

Its a bit hard to tell you exactly where that fault came from if you don't tell us the exact Helios 300 model laptop number that you have e.g. PH315-xx etc etc. But if its from the underneath of the Esc Key then its either from the cpu fan plug or its even from the USB board that is a separate board on the left side of the laptop, check these components out and see if there is a burning smell coming out from there or a slight discoloration or any burning traces on any circuits, as smoke does not necessarily mean a component has burned out and looks burned and looks black/brown, as it could mean that a circuit could have overheated and didn't leave a visible burned mark behind but produced smoke.

Also, a laptop can work perfectly with capacitors or a mosat that has burned out as mainly these components like capacitor and mosats are designed as a safety stage and to protect major components like the cpu gpu or ram and they are the first to burn out and smoke, but the laptop will still work. But if smoke came out then it means that something has definitely overheated causing that smoke and could be because of irregular power surge. Make sure that you test your laptop if all its ports and cpu, gpu, ram are working. Good luck and hope thins work out for you.

Below is a Helios 300 laptop mainboard and the top right corner of the red circled area is the underneath the Esc Key:

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

BrazilMan

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1262114#Comment_1262114

thansk for awsering, i have a model PH315-54. is any replacements needed for this?

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1262115#Comment_1262115

The Predator PH315-54 is the same as the caption above and if your laptop is working and all the side laptop ports are working then don't worry about the smoke, as it didnt do any damage and you are VERY LUCKY😁so don't do anything as the laptop wil work perfectly. If your laptop has side port issues or a gpu issue then take your laptop to a technician.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

BrazilMan

No damage to gpu, cpu or ports as far as I could tell, guess I’m lucky. But could you tell me the probable cause on how this happened and precautions to take? Thank you in advance.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1262124#Comment_1262124

This happened because you operated the laptop in an electrical storm and the laptop got a minor power surge, you need to use a surge protector power board so that any electrical storm and power surges DO NOT get transferred into your laptop through the power plug, as you were very lucky that your laptop didn't short out and burn out beyond use and you would have needed a new mainboard, as the laptoop must have gotten a very slight power surge through the adapter. That is the reason why that smoke happened.