Dell's 17-inchers packing a jolt?
By Paul Miller 
posted February 6th 2007 3:23PM
posted February 6th 2007 3:23PM
Dell 9400 owner "ViriiGuy" is a PC repair guy by day, human lightning rod by night. His 17-inch laptop seems just dandy, other than a nasty habit of sending off between 19 and 65 volts of AC out of any screw on the bottom of the laptop. Along with the annoying result of making ViriiGuy "feel like a 9 volt battery" to his wife whenever he's using the laptop, the laptop also fried its own RAM and video card. After getting a replacement 9400 from Dell, along with couple more 9400s he was prepping for clients, VG noticed the exact same shocking dilemma on all three laptops. Reports have also surfaced of similar jolt coming out of a Inspiron 6400, and Dell's 17-inchers are mostly based off the same platform, so other Dell laptops of that size could be at risk as well. The latest word is that VG's own problems were solved by springing for a three-pronged grounded power adapter, but since Dell still hasn't fessed up to the problem, or offered up such adapters for free other than in a few isolated incidents, we thought we'd run this by you Engadget 
I have a Dell D510, whether it is plugged in or running off the battery, when it sits on my bare legs I get a light shock from screws in the base.
i've got a 17 inch macbook pro with a similiar issue... only shock doesn't come from screw, but virtually any edge of the laptop!
To all those who say this is not possible, or this is static electricity... I have been doing this work for 16 years, so A. I know what I am talking about and B. go to the thread and follow my instructions. Then tell me it is ESD. To those with the same problem as me, hopefully this publicity will make Dell speed up and issue a hotfix for this problem.
Thank you Engadget for picking this story up. Hopefully we will be able to get the word out, thanks to this article, to even more owners of these laptops. Let them test their own laptops and see if they have this problem as well. So far it seems to appear in about 40% of the 9400/6400 laptops tested.
Yep, my E1505(I6400) does this too.
Nothing has failed on it yet, but I've had a few things replaced on, most recently the LCD panel (which I received yesterday and will replace today) due to dust or something finding it's way INSIDE the LCD panel.
First, if it really is AC current then it's primarily a problem with the adapter. The laptop itself would have very little to do with it. Any laptop power adapter should have only DC current output to the laptop.
Second, for all those people who have that model laptop and claim you've never noticed it... have you ever made a point of touching a screw while you were also touching an electrical ground? You're not going to get zapped just sitting in your office chair.
Third, for those people who keep acting like this is no big deal... yes, it IS a big deal. It might be somewhat obvious that a non-grounded laptop would have some issues with this sort of thing, but no matter how you cut it it's still Dell's fault. Whether it's the fault of a non-grounded adapter or something internal to the laptop, they should have caught this and corrected it before the first such laptop ever left the factory.
I'm using an Inspiron 6400, and have had a few good jolts from it. Also (funny enough), I've had to have my hard drive replaced...it went on me with absolutely NO warning (which is odd for a hard drive).
I just bought a 1505 a few weeks ago. And I notice that when I use it on my lap, I will on occasion feel something almost like a burn, but my lap isn't heating up at all - there's no heat there. It almost feels like a warm zap going down my lap on my right leg. NICE. Guess it's time to call Dell *again*.
Awesome.
Yep ~ three weeks ago ~ brand new Inspron 6400 ~ left it running the first night, overnight, to burn it in. The next morning I touched power switch to bring it out of hibernation and got a shock. It also damaged the video card / chip / whatever. I called DELL and returned it under their 30-Day money-back warranty.
I had a short on my Dell Lat D600. The shock came through my headphones. Dell was nice enough to replace my unit with a newer refurb unit with little to no questions asked :-) Hmmmmm wonder why?
I bet the problem doesn't lie in the notebook but rather a faulty outlet in the guys house.
Perhaps he should get an electrical tester and check the outlet
I have a Dell E1705 and I'm not seeing (feeling) a problem like this. Anybody ever consider it's Winter time? The air is super dry. Ever hear of static electricity? I shock the $hit out myself all the time lately. This is a completely lame story. Probably started by Gateway or HP.
AJ: Do you still get the same readings when you swap power adapters (I'm curious if its an isolation problem with the adapter or a laptop problem)?
I also posted this at notebookforums.com ( http://www.notebookforums.com/thread188600-8.html ):
I have an E1505, which is only a week old and works great. It had 54V AC from a screw to the outlet ground. I called Dell and my tech spoke with Tier 3 techs. They said they hadn't heard of this problem.
He asked me if I'm getting shocked...no. I even tried and I don't feel anything. He did say the amperage is too small to worry about. As for causing hardware failures...I don't know. I didn't think to ask them at the time.
The guy told me they didn't make 3-prong adapters for the E1505. I would love to hear otherwise! I looked on Dell's site and couldn't find anything conclusive. Then we ended the tech call.
On other websites I see lots of people indicating their 3-prong plugs work on the E1505:
http://www.laptoppartsworld.com/products/26229.html
http://www.adapturl.com/laptop-dell-inspiron-e1505/dell-09t215-pa-10-90-watt-ac-adapter-p25958.html
(I entered another URL but engadget limits me to 3)
But note that this adapter is 4.62A and the adapter included with the E1505 says it is something like 3.5A. So even though the plugs look compatible, I don't know if they are. If anyone finds out definitively from Dell I would love to hear about it! I'm afraid to try the 4.62A adapter--even though I already have one for my work laptop (a Latitude D810).
Hello,
My name is Mike, I’m a Technical Analyst located at Dell corporate headquarters in Round Rock, TX. I’m part of an internet outreach team developed to interact with the online community regarding technical questions and issues that customers face with Dell products.
Dell is aware of the reported finding and plans to recover the notebook from the customer for analysis. All Dell products are designed and tested to meet or surpass applicable worldwide safety and performance standards, including IEC 60950. The compact two-prong power cord used with this Inspiron 9400 is now considered a standard in the industry, and it is sometimes possible that these more compact two-prong power cords would allow the current described by the customer. These industry standard power cords allow Dell customer’s greater flexibility in finding replacement cords or new cords when they accidentally leave them behind or when traveling through multiple countries.
Based on the information available to Dell in this customer's blog post, we believe that there is no safety hazard associated with the reported "tingling." All electrical devices powered by AC adapters with a two-pronged power cord (without a ground wire) may exhibit a small amount of voltage between the exposed metal parts of the device and earth ground, causing, on occasion, a user to feel a tingling sensation when the user touches exposed metal parts. This is very low voltage and does not present any risk of injury to the user. If any of our customers are concerned they should contact us online at customer_advocate.com.
Dell 9400 User for 3 months. Smooth, Silent, Bright, Excelent Sound. No problems. Using grounded adapter, 220V line.
I have had similar problems with other electronic equipment and this is what found in several instances. The wiring in the electrical outlet itself may be incorrect. Go to Home Depot and buy a polarity checker. It's a little yellow thing you plug into the outlet with lights on the front to show if the outlet is wired correctly. It can be OK, hot neutral reversed, or neutral and ground reversed. There is a little chart right on the front of the device. Use the checker in the outlet you normally use to power your system. If it shows a problem, call an electrician. While you are at it, check all the polarity of all your home outlets. Just to make a point, I was buyiing an older home a few years ago, and during the walkthrough I used the device to check all the outlets. The house had a basement that had been finished sometime after the house had been built. Sure enough, whoever wired the basement wired it wrong and all the outlets had the wires wrong. It would go unoticed by most appliances using a 2 prong plug.
E1705 with extra-shiny WUXGA and no such issues.
For the record, my power adapter is not polarity-sensitive. The two prongs on the plug are the same width, and it works just as well plugged in in either orientation.
My Fujitsu N6210 17" shocks me almost every day, and it has destroyed 3 GB of ram over the last 6 months. My company also owns some N6110s and they have the same problem. I am currently in Brazil though, and the power grid here is horrible. Maybe that is the problem.
Oh, the humanity...
Vinny's article is very short on facts. He thinks it's the laptop-- which is basically impossible-- more likely the adapter was dropped into the bathtub and now leaks current from primary to secondary.
And using a DVm to "measure" leakage between a "screw" on the botom of the laptop and an empty compter case is like *totally* bogus. Wrong endpoints, wrong kind of meter.
And if he has any other computers or light-dimmers nearby, it's quite possible to get conducted interference that can give minor tingles and high meter indications.
Absoolutely nothing to see here.
Yes, I have a Dell E1505 and was getting shocked. This laptop was still under warranty so I contacted Dell and got a replacement only to find out the new one is doing the EXACT SAME THING! When I plug the laptop into the wall I don't get the problem. When I use an extension cord it shocks me.
Alcohol increases body conductivity dramatically. It would be interesting to see if it is related to any of these incidents.
Each day I come in contact with a multitude of Dell laptops, ranging from the aged CPi to brand new X- series and D-series laptops.
I have yet to be shocked by a single one.
I'm typing this on a inspiron 9400 that is about 2 months old. I've had no problems with it, though this makes me a bit nervous.
This sounds like either of two issues:
1) A power adaptor problem. Isolation between the AC supply from the wall, and the DC load (laptop) has broken down. Replacing the supply would correct this. The laptop itself probably is fine, until it gets damaged by the fault in the power adaptor. This would be detectable by measuring a voltage as described with the laptop on or off, but plugged into wall power. This is the more likely fault.
2) The LCD backlight inverter has somehow shorted to the laptop chasis. Measuring a voltage as described with the LCD backlight powered on, but not when it is powered off would suggest this fault. The same symptoms would occur if the AC adaptor is unplugged from the wall (in which case, check for a voltage on the now unplugged cord). The laptop would have to powered up during these tests to indicate this fault. Its hard to how this could occur, and still have a working laptop.
I have a Dell Inspiron 9300 about 1.5 years old now, and it does this from time to time. I've got a 3-prong USA grounded plug going into an adapter (not voltage convertor) going into a 220-volt grounded outlet in the Czech Republic. When I'm laying in bed using this on my chest, it gives me quite a shock (continuous, ongoing) out of the bottom of the machine. Some of the paint is coming off on the bottom, so there is exposed metal. And I have the top-of-the-line screen. So what next? Call Dell? Don't wanna fry with this thing!
12VDC 40VAC from my laptop's screws to ground when on AC, I have a Dell Inspiron e1705.
No problems with my laptop - but I did have an e1505 recently that I had to get a new motherboard, new RAM, and a new video card for. Everything got fried and needed to be replaced. Maybe this could be the cause?
Ive actually had this issue with 3 Dell laptops already, starting in 2004. First was a Dell Inspiron 9200 which sent a shock out, Which gratefully Dell replaced. Than a inspiron 9300 with the same issue. Once again Dell replaced this with a new XPSM170. Then i got once more "The Shock of my Life" quite literally when i was sent a good 3 feet by a shock at the bottom. Right away Dell Replaced it (and when i say right away i mean i got a new one in less that 4 days.) and i now sit here typing this on a nother xps, this time the M1710. Great computers, just avoid scratching the bottom, i think any part unpainted in that black coating is conductive. at least thats part of my conclusion (CONSIDERING ALL OF THESE LAPTOPS ARE GROUNDED WITH FULLY GROUNDED ADAPTERS.)
So, Dell is a great corp, its just one could say there computers are quite... shocking, to say the least. and my dealings with there tech support was actually relatively sane. each time supervisors have discussed it with me, and sent me new laptops. (not including teh countless power adapter replacements, keyboards and dvd drives over the years.)
-Ben
There's little current, so there's no danger of a shock, but there is a danger to the hardware inside the case. Several people have taken their laptops to EE laps and had them checked out, so it's not just a faulty outlet, as the above commenters would have realized if they had bothered to read the thread.
Yea I love how 60% of the commenter's refuse to read the attached thread to see it is a REAL problem, and Dell is working on it as we speak. Dell has their own engineers in Red Rock Texas working on this issue, and they have the SAME problem. So it is not my outlets, it is not my stupidity and it is not alcohol related!!
I've been shocked by old lamp posts, a sewing machine footpetal, a photo enlarger and in the bathtub while touching the drain lever. I don't see why people would think it could not happen via a laptop. A quick test with a voltmeter would show if is was a quick static electricity transfer or something more problematic.
i have a sony vaio fxa47. occassionally, when i rest my hand on the keyboard and if i have very light moisture on my hand, i can feel an annoying current running through my hand. not painful but not pleasant either. so all you fags that say this is a b.s. shock (pun not intended) scheme, go to hell, maybe? it's real and it happens and it's not 'static electricty' due to the 'dry' environment. i haven't heard of anyone dying from this but, yeah, it is an issue with a variety of laptops.
I have a Dell Inspiron 8500 with a 15" screen and a grounded plug. Within the last 2-3 days, I started getting shocks when I touch the outer perimeter of the keys. I haven't experienced any problems with the screws on the bottom, and it happens when I'm just turning the computer on, so its not due to overheating (which some people here have suggested). I don't mind a little static electricity, I understand its natural, but this is *seriously* hurting my fingers and its happening a lot.
I've been through the wringer trying to get this resolved.
I am on my second laptop/batteries/power supply, and I've been "fighting" with Dell for 3 weeks.
I just don't understand the problem with getting Dell to fix the *!%$ing thing.