Repost: Predator Triton 500 not working, only fan turns on. PT515-51

Hey all,

I have an issue with my Acer Predator Triton 500 and hope any of you can help out!

The issue is that the laptop screen does not turn on nor does the keyboard lighting. However, the blue 'on' light on the right hand side of the laptop does light up and the fan turns on even though I never pressed the 'Turbo' boost button nor does the light on this button turn on. Pressing it doesn't change anything either, the fan stays on as if it's on boost mode.

I tried the following, which didn't resolve the issue either:

- Connected my laptop to 2 different external screens using 2 different HDMI cables; laptop was not detected.

- Connected laptop via Thunderbolt to HDMI; still not detected.

- Battery reset: pressed it and also held it down on separate occassions.

- Removed battery for 30 seconds, plugged it back in: including holding down the battery reset button for 10 seconds before startup and trying to startup while connected to power cable and without it, all on separate occassions.

- Start up laptop without battery, using power cable alone.

- Cleaned fans and laptop cover.

None of this fixed the issue. I'm leaving my laptop on for now to drain the battery and hope it will fix itself on a fresh charge.

After some research and help from tech savvy friends, we fear it might be the video card. Does anyone have any other advice I can try, though?

It's from the PT515-51 series, model number N18W3. I bought the device in May 2020.

Thanks in advance!

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title]

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JackE

Did you try to press the FN+F6 and FN+F5 to toggle the screens on and off?

isp89

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1145497#Comment_1145497

I did, and no luck.

On top of that, when I close the laptop, the fan keeps spinning the same way - as if I turned the Boost mode on, but it's not on. And it won't turn off either.

JackE

>>>- Removed battery for 30 seconds, plugged it back in: including holding down the battery reset button for 10 seconds before startup.>>>

Did you unplug the charger when you disconnected the battery and/or pressed the power button?

isp89

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1145568#Comment_1145568

Yes, I unplugged the charger when I disconnected the battery and held the button down with and without charger plugged (incl. With and without battery).

JackE

>>>the blue 'on' light on the right hand side of the laptop does light up and the fan turns on even though I never pressed the 'Turbo' boost button nor does the light on this button turn on. Pressing it doesn't change anything either, the fan stays on as if it's on boost mode.>>>

Press and hold power button till laptop shuts off.
The power indicator #2 shown below should not be lit.
Now unplug charger. The battery charge indicator #1 should also not be lit.
Plug charger back in. What happens to battery charge indicator #1?

isp89

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1145688#Comment_1145688

Apologies for late reply!

I tried this a few times and the result stays the same: once I turn off the laptop, the blue light turns off and stays off so long as the laptop is turned off.

When I unplug the charger, the amber battery indicator light turns off. This same light turns back on when I plug charger back in.

Unfortunately this did not help resolve the issue either. :(

JackE

Sorry this wasn't meant to resolve the problem. This was meant to identify what's causing the problem.

If the battery charge LED #1 never turns from orange to solid blue with the laptop shut off, the battery is very likely defective or may have an internal short circuited cell.

Google search the keywords PT515-51 & battery for vendors who ship new replacement batteries to your location. Price about $65usd.

isp89

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1147462#Comment_1147462

Just checking now: laptop is shut off, on charge and battery LED (#1) is blue. When I unplug charger it turns off. When I plug charger back in, it's blue again.

I might have been amber earlier because it was charging and my laptop was completely empty.

JackE

OK. Here's another attempt to further identify --- not fix --- the battery problem.

With the charger plugged in and the battery charge LED solid blue, does the laptop fan still turn on?
If the fan still turns on, what happens when you unplug the charger? Does the fan stop running and all signs of activity cease?

isp89

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1147559#Comment_1147559

With charger plugged in + battery charge LED solid blue, the fan stays on whether the laptop is actively on or I close it to go on 'sleep mode'.
When I unplug the charger, the fan stays running so long as the laptop is on or in sleep mode. The fan only stops runninv when the battery has completely run out.

JackE

How long does it take for the battery to run out?

isp89

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1147569#Comment_1147569

I haven't timed it but it seems to run out after its usual amount, about 8-10 hours.

JackE

OK. If nothing other than the 5volt fans & 2.5volt LEDs seem to be on, we need to measure battery output voltage with a multimeter. It must be at least 15volts for the mainboard to operate. Unfortunately, this will require taking the bottom cover off and unplugging the battery connector from the mainboard to measure the output between the two outer most red and black wires. Can you do this?

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