WLAN Antenna Cable Connector Replacement?

[mblouir]

Hey guys,

I was referred over here by glc as he said some of you guys disassemble laptops on a daily basis and might be able to help me out.

Laptop:
Dell XPS M1530

Short background of what happened:
We just hit Thanksgiving break at the university so I decided to disassemble and clean my laptop. I decided to clean it out now because I wouldn't need it in the case anything went wrong. Well, I got it disassembled all the way. Was pretty simple for the most part. Found dog hair in places you wouldn't imagine.

Upon reassembling it, though, I ran into a problem. As I was reconnecting the antenna cable connectors to the WLAN card one of them was just a bit too short. I routed it just a hair off where it was originally so I tried to give it a slight tug to reach. Bad idea. It hit a corner and snapped right in half. I should have known better, especially since these wires are only about 2mm in diameter. They are tiny.

I considering trying to solder it back together, but it seems to be multi-layered, which would make it extremely difficult. I also figured a quick solder job would sacrifice wireless signal, anyway.

So my two options now are to try and replace the cable or call Dell. I didn't want to have to bother calling Dell since I might have voided the warranty upon disassembly. I'm not sure on that, though, since I didn't break any seals or cross anything that mentioned voiding it. Their manual doesn't really mention anything about it. Dell themselves have a service manual on their site for disassembling in order to replace parts.


My question:
Do any of you guys know where I can find a replacement cable? In the case I do find one, how difficult would it be to replace? It seems that it ran straight from the WLAN card into the lid. I stopped going at that point, though, because my other goal for disassembling was to fix a loose hinge. I didn't want to take my entire screen apart for no reason. How hard is it to take apart the screen if I try to replace the cable myself?

If it's going to prove too difficult to either find a cable or replace it, I will call Dell. In that case, does anyone have any idea if I voided the warranty? If so do you have any idea how much it would cost to get this replaced? I would, of course, have the laptop disassembled again prior to a tech's arrival. That way I could save $$ on the labor charge for a tech disassembling the laptop.



A few links:
The instructions I used for disassembly. Very similar to Dell's own service manual except it's all on one page: http://ahwee.com/how-to-disassemble-...dell-xps-m1530

Dell's service manual: http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...n/SM/index.htm

Picture of the antenna cables I'm referring to that attach to the WLAN card (I broke the white one): http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...M/minicar8.jpg




Sorry for the long post but I thought I'd provide as much detail as possible. Thank you in advance for any help/guidance you can offer!

-Matt

[Panama Red]

The wireless wires run around the perimeter of the lid on most Dell's and connect to two metal brackets up near the latch release area. Removing the lcd panel isn't difficult, just a little tedious with the small screws along the sides. You might want to check ebay for parts. If you can't find the wires, look for an entire lid minus the screen. That would most likely come with the wlan wires.

[mblouir]

Great idea! I didn't realize that the lids would come with the cables---I assumed they would be separate. I went ahead and ordered the lid on eBay and will install it when it gets here. Was less than $40. That greatly simplified the situation.


Thank you!

-Matt