X1C5: Fan Connector Socket Came Off Motherboard

[ArtShapiro]

The title says it all. My best X1 started to give a "fan error" upon waking up or rebooting. It was sporadic, but was getting worse over the last few days.

I opened it up and was rather unhappily presented with the fan plug and socket dangling above the motherboard.

It's not even obvious how that tiny white socket was attached in the first place. Indeed, when I hold it over the box silk screened on the motherboard, a small blob of solder seems to be in the way.

So: am I doomed? Is this something that some facility has the ability to repair?

[dr_st]

Attaching a simple socket with a couple of connection points to the board should be a pretty easy job for someone with small electronics soldering skills and the right equipment.

Could you post a picture? I'm a bit surprised how that 'small blob of solder' could have gotten there. Was this X1C in your possession from the start, or maybe it had been refurbished/repaired before?

[ArtShapiro]

Picture: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1smZt-q ... E5S8R/view

Houston, we have a problem!

First of all, when I took this picture, it showed something totally unexpected and not visible to the naked eye: the "blob", which I thought was just a solder pad, turns out to be a small hook that probably holds the TINY connection points on the little white rectangular socket in the extremely critical correct position, and that might be remnants of a dab of adhesive next to it. i hope the picture shows up - only the raw URL shows up when I preview this message.

The problem: I had the socket in the plastic case for my Wiha miniature screwdriver set, sitting on the couch where I was investigating the failure, and during the night one of the kitties must have jumped up and upset the case. There's no sign of the socket. It could well be in an inaccessible cranny in the sofa, or somewhere on my very light-colored carpet. I'm going to be really, really lucky if I ever see it again.

I'll miss this machine!

[dr_st]

The picture shows up if you copy and paste the link. The IMG tag does not seem to work.

It should be possible to find a matching socket, but hopefully you can find yours. It will be a pity to lose the machine (or have to replace the board) over something so small. Good luck.

[ArtShapiro]

I'd like to post the final "resolution" to this if anyone wants to be amused.

I found the connector, and by VERY carefully positioning the jack/socket combination over the tiny motherboard solder pads, I was able to get the X1C5 to boot exactly one time. But I couldn't replicate the apparent success after numerous stabs. It was compounded by the difficulty in reaching around and pushing the power button on the downward-facing keyboard side while simultaneously trying to hold the assembly in position on the upward-facing bottom side. I finally gave up after several weeks of sporadic effort.

I purchased a USB-powered digital microscope which let me clearly see the solder pads, magnified a zillion times. And I still couldn't get the machine to boot. Theory: my futzing around probably blew a fuse on the hidden side of the mainboard.

I discovered that pushing ESC during the bootup process would enable the "diagnostic splash screen", from which pressing any key would allow the machine to bypass the fan error and boot. I've been using the machine in this manner for four months with the bottom cover off, just to allow heat dissipation in the absence of the fan. Not wonderful, but it's a workaround.

In the meantime, I purchased an X1C9 and love it. What a nice upgrade over the fifth gen machine. The facial recognition logon is fantastic. So I now have the "bad" fifth gen, another properly-working fifth, and the ninth. And three T500 and W500 machines that I keep around because they work and I can use them when soaking in the tub, not concerned about getting them wet and failing, although I do my best to keep them from getting splashed.

[RealBlackStuff]

Anybody with halfway decent soldering skills could fix that fan-socket.

[ArtShapiro]

That would be I!

But you don't understand: the socket was - amazingly - not soldered on. It was contact-only via a blob of adhesive to hold it in place. Not impressed with Lenovo on this one.