Repairing Lenovo Yoga not turning on

This weekend we have this lovely Lenovo Yoga laptop which had an unexpected problem. This Lenovo come to our Lenovo Repair Workshop in Adelaide with fault which was not allowing it to turn on. Even if it is connected to the power adapter, Lenovo Yoga will not turn on.

Lenovo Yoga won't turn on repair
Lenovo Yoga won’t turn on repair

When the power button was pressed there was no response from the Lenovo. Also, Lenovo Yoga was not showing a charging light at the port.

Repairing No charging light on Lenovo Yoga
Repairing No charging light on Lenovo Yoga

We were expecting to find terrible corrosion on the motherboard or a faulty charger which may have shorted a power chip on the board. But this was a different case. A case which we haven’t seen in quite a while.

The way how modern laptops are designed these days is to reduce components on the motherboard. And the way how they can achieve this is to rely on more complex IC chips which holds multiple modules and only need a small number of passive components around them to customize them for the particular configuration.

Macbook & Laptop Repair in Adelaide include a couple of simple steps:

  1. Quote for the repair before any work is done, online or over the phone.
  2. Free pick up in Adelaide for eligible repairs. Alternatively, book an appointment to drop in for a quick assessment while you wait if happy with the received cost idea.
  3. Have a look in front of the customer and confirm the repair cost while the assessment is done.
  4. Diagnostic while repairing the equipment. This involves part testing/replacing and component repairing as we progress through the repair.
    If the repair cost has to change, we confirm with the client and give an option to cancel the repair if exceeds the customer’s budget. Diagnostic fees apply!
  5. Repairing the device within the initially agreed or approved amended cost and ensuring everything works as expected. Plus 30 Days warranty and support.
  6. Returning repaired system back, or pick it up from our workshop at the pre-arranged time.

We start measuring voltages going into the system and was hoping that it is a simple broken charging port. But quickly we identified that power reaches the system, which eliminated faulty power jack.

Power jack on Lenovo Yoga won't turn on repair
The power jack on Lenovo Yoga won’t turn on repair

The customer was next to us when we narrowed the issue to motherboard related. We have quickly informed her of what we needed to do in order to repair it and gave a quote on the spot.
Although this laptop was 3 years old and quite beaten up, the customer knew that she needs to spend 3 times the repair to buy a new one. And rather than buying another laptop that may experience this problem out of the blue, she decided to save some money and also contribute to the environmental waste reduced by having hers repaired.

Locating Fault with Lenovo Not Turning on Repair

Measuring through the components of the Lenovo motherboard
Measuring through the components of the Lenovo motherboard

We start working on it straight away. The expected 5V line voltage was not produced from the voltage divider. Having the schematic of this model was very useful and from experience, we knew that capacitors on budget laptops are not of the best quality and they fail quite often.
However, to find which one out of 100 capacitors on the same trace is shorting was finding a needle in a haystack. So we start chasing the rabbit down the holes to figure out which capacitor was shorting.

Injecting voltage to the 5V voltage regulator of Lenovo Yoga
Injecting voltage to the 5V voltage regulator of Lenovo Yoga

We had to inject voltage into the system in order to determine where the short is. This is a technique allowing a high current with limited voltage to go through the component with the lowest resistance. A component that has the lowest resistance will pass through the current first and faster. And when that component is a capacitor, that current will rush to go straight to the ground causing a short.

Please note: This is not educational material. It is rather a showcase of the services we offer.
Therefore, it should be used as general guidance on what to expect of such repairs.
In case you have a similar device and need the repair, always rely on professionals. These are sensitive electronic devices, and small mistakes may cause irreversible electronic damage. Which may require whole part replacement for 2 or 3 times the cost.

Injected voltage showed that the 5V line was pulling more than 3A current when the laptop even wasn’t turning on. This was clear that there is a short on filtering capacitors. Their purpose is to smoothen the voltage ripples and ensure stable voltage.

A faulty capacitor on not turning on Lenovo Yoga motherboard
A faulty capacitor on not turning on the Lenovo Yoga motherboard

Repairing Lenovo Yoga Not Turning On

Once we identified the capacitor which was heating up like a light bulb, we desoldered it and measured it outside of the motherboard.

Desoldering filtering capacitor causing short on Lenovo Yoga motherboard repair
Desoldering filtering capacitor causing short on Lenovo Yoga motherboard
Measuring shorting capacitor on laptop repair case
Measuring shorting capacitor

Measuring the capacitor showed immediate short and very low resistance which was causing that high current drainage.

We have thousands of components in stock and by the time we identify the problem, as long as we have the components in stock we can replace it.

Replacement capacitors of laptop motherboard
Replacing faulty Capacitor on Not Turning Lenovo Yoga Repair

Locating a replacement capacitor was easy, due to our big component stock. Soldered it back to the faulty one’s place. These are 602 package SMD capacitors. smaller than a rice grain. Soldering them on a motherboard requires high heat of about 400*C and a steady hand.

Finishing touches to the replaced capacitor
Soldering Faulty Capacitor on Lenovo Yoga Not turning on Repair

Once short removed from the board, the voltage regulator starts producing 5V output as expected and allows the laptop to turn on

A repaired motherboard on Lenovo Yoga with a spinning fan
A repaired motherboard on Lenovo Yoga with a spinning fan

The last step was to assemble and test the laptop. We ensure that all Lenovo repairs run functionality tests and overnight streaming tests to ensure the stability of the laptop.

Successful Lenovo Repair in Adelaide

Repairing this Lenovo Yoga was a breeze, we are so used to repairing liquid and water damaged Macbooks, that a repair like this brought a fresh breeze to our workshop.

Repaired Lenovo Yoga which had a short circuit
Repaired Lenovo Yoga which had a short circuit

Do you need this Repair in Adelaide?

If your Computer or Laptop is causing trouble and need Laptop Repair Service in Adelaide, give us a call, and we will advise on the best scenario to get your device repaired.

Interstate? Why not Send IT for a Repair. Repairs take under three weeks, including forward and backward postage. Contact us to get an idea of cost and turnarounds.

We at IT-Solve, specialise in Laptop and electronics repairs. We will do our best to repair your Computer quickly without involving high costs and long waiting times in repair shops. Our average repair takes under a week!

Call us now on 0469317177 or drop us an inquiry via Text us via Whatsapp MessengerWhatsApp or Text us via Facebook MesengerMessenger
Our engineers will respond quickly to your query.

Repaired, not Replaced!

We are committed to reducing e-waste in Australia. How we do it is by educating our customers on the repairability and longevity of their devices, as well as providing affordable Laptop Repairs here in Adelaide.
Although our best intentions and hard work, this is not an easy task. Customers must accept that cost of high-quality electronic repairs, is between a third and half of the price of a new device. However, with the current trend of planned obsolescence in electronic design, we see more and more Laptops having shorter lifespans. To tackle that, while we do our repairs we target common planned obsolescence engineering design mistakes to ensure we extend the life expectancy of the Laptops we repair. Check some of our Laptop Repair Cases to get an idea of the process.

That said, if we buy a new one or write it off via insurance, it does not guarantee that the new one will not meet the same fate as the older one pretty soon.
As matter of fact, quite often we see accidents reoccurring within less than 2-year gaps. If we can save 1000$ or even 500$ today by repairing our faulty Laptop is great. That’s an extra half Laptop cost ready to be spent on another one when the time comes or our need for performance increases.
When that time comes is up to us to buy a new one or keep pushing the one we have, but delaying it by a year or three is always a good starting point and saves another abandoned Laptop from polluting our one and only Planet.