Guide to fixing a laptop power jack. A Do-it-yourselfer
Fixing a DC power jack on your (or someone else’s) laptop can be difficult. Not knowing what you are up against is a sure sign that you won’t ever get it back together. However with the proper steps, repairing a DC Jack can be accomplished with little headache.
This is by no means an official super user manual. This write up is a check list and a general guide to help you replace a DC jack without having to purchase a new motherboard or a new laptop.
Disclaimer: I claim NO RESPONSIBILITY for anyone who fails in their attempt to replace a DC jack or any damage laptops can receive following this guide. I am just trying to inform others from the steps I have taken for DC replacement and the blunders I have performed myself.
0) As step zero, it is important to make sure that you identify a bad DC jack. If a laptop isn’t charging when it’s plugged in combined with a very loose power jack port usually indicates you have a bad DC jack. I have also seen DC Jacks that are just fine, however when looked inside, you see it has been physically destroyed on the rear end of the jack itself. Each case is mostly different, but you will run across 3 possible scenerios.
a) The DC jack has cold solders and it just needs to be resoldered (the most common).
b) The DC jack has been broken in unseen areas of the jack itself (common diagnosis is the wiggling of the jack with the adapter).
c) There is nothing wrong with the DC Jack and it’s an issue with something else onboard (uncommon, but it happens).
1) Do your research.
So you conclude that you have a bad jack. Find out what style or sort of power jack you need for the laptop. You don’t need to open the laptop to find out what type of power jack you need. Go to ebay and search for model laptop + dc jack. For example, if you have a Dell Inspiron 2300, search ebay for “inspiron 2300 jack”. You will be greeted with some useful results. Not only will it give you results for DC Jacks but they they look like in general. It would suck if you ordered a random DC jack that doesn’t even fit inside the notebook.
At this time, it would be best to check to see if the laptop powers on. If here is enough battery juice left, turn it on to ensure that the laptop works fine. It will be essential after reassembly which I will explain later
Some models like Toshiba Satellites will have a DC jack with different pin sizes. The pin in the middle of the jack will be a different gauge or different size. It’s crucial that you check to ensure that you get the correct jack size. Failure to do so will ensure you some problems when you plug in your Power adapter (ie: it won’t fit). When you receive your DC jack in the mail, fit it on the power adapter that goes the notebook to make sure that you received the right DC jack.
2) Prepare and gather the tools you need. Make sure you have the right tools for the job.
- Screw Drivers (different sizes and shapes)
- Paper
- Pen or Pencil
- Packaging Tape
- Soldering Iron (and soldering essentials)
- Volt meter (to check continuity)
- Basic electronics and soldering knowledge
Make sure you have different types of phillips screw drivers, flat headed screw drivers, hex screw drivers, torque screw drivers, etc. If you have never been inside your laptop, then you don’t know what to expect.
3) Visual overview and time to get to know your laptop. This one is I consider an important step, but it can easily be missed.. Before I am ready to disassemble a laptop, I always look at every single screw hole, removable piece and potential issues. It’s just a practice that I myself perform to help me remember where the nooks and corners are. Take about 5 minutes to sit down and rotate the laptop around and look at it in more detail.
Time to get started…
4) Remove the external devices. By external devices, I am talking about the Hard Drive, Battery, PCMCIA devices if you have any, etc. When you remove these devices, you will see screws in new places and it will obviously make it easier to access the laptop when disassembly occurs. The CD ROM from a laptop, most of the time, cannot be removed at this point. When you start removing screws, it may be easier to remove the CDROM later but not in the beginning.
5) Disassembly and documentation of your steps. This is where the paper and pencil come in. The super duper most important tactic you need to perform during the disassembly process is the documentation. I cannot emphasize enough the need to document where every single screw location and size.
The most general place to start disassembly is on the bottom of the laptop. It has the most accessible screws. Generally what you want to do is draw on a piece of paper a rough diagram of one laptop. Draw one side of the laptop per page. On the diagram, label where screws are located on the laptop. Be as descriptive as possible about the location of the screws and their location. Here is a general example of a diagram.
When you remove screws, use the tape to stick them near the hole where they came from. In case the tape fails, the diagram you draw will assist you in putting them back where they belong. Document the order in which pieces are removed. Another solution (and what I personally do) is to collect all the screws from a section, tape them in a little bundle and stick them in a notable location.
Some laptops have only 2-3 sizes of different screws. There are many laptops that have many different sized screws. Take the time and document where each screw comes from. IBM Thinkpads are nice. They actually have a sticker that shows the label of screws and screw sizes. It comes in handy. Some Toshibas also have a label next to screw holes and give you unique identifiers.
Once again, it’s essential that you document each step you take during the disassembly of the laptop!
6) Handle with care. The Plate connector beneath the LCD is the most fragile piece of the laptop disassembly. That’s why I gave it it’s own mini-section.
It’s the most fragile because if you force to plate too hard, you will snap or damage it. Some models have it just tied down by a few screws underneath the laptop. Most models have a snap action to it. It comes in handy to use a very super duper thin flat head screw driver to probe the plate. If the screw driver bends too much, then it’s time to probe in a different section. Please be cautious when doing this. A good place to probe is on the hinges where the plate overlaps next to the LCD hinge. When you start pulling up on the hinge from the corners, it will start exposing the parts underneath it.
(Note: The LCD display will not have to be disassembled fully. Just the cord and hinges can be removed alone. You do not have to get into the insides of the LCD.)
7) Motherboard access review. You’ve disassembled the laptop and you have the motherboard in your hands. Look at the DC jack and it’s connection to the motherboard. The most common issue I see with DC jack failure is cold soldering or failure in the solder itself. Most of the time, the jack can be repaired by re-soldering the current DC jack in place. Some of the time, the DC Jack itself is damaged and needs to be replaced.
8 ) Replace / Repair the DC Jack. If the DC Jack needs to be replaced, use your soldering iron to heat up the solder from the DC jack and remove the old jack. If you have a DC jack with hooks or curves in the connector, good luck. I know how much it sucks removing this type of DC Jack, but with some patience and persistence, it can be done. When the DC Jack is removed, go ahead and solder in the new DC Jack into it’s slot.
Warning: Some motherboards have very thin rings around the DC Jack connectors themselves. The older sony Vaio laptops have them. If you heat the solder too hot or too long, these rings come off. When that happens, you might as well call it game over. These rings connect the DC Jack to the motherboard using extremely thin connections. The rings are vital to the DC Jack connection to the motherboard.
When you get the new DC Jack in the slot, you have the option of putting hot glue around the corners of the new DC Jack. It’s an option to prevent the DC jack from getting bumped and pushed too much from the AC Adapter. It’s just added strength. Just don’t over-do it if you decide to put some on.
BE CAREFUL ABOUT THE CHIPS AND ELECTRONICS AROUND THE DC JACK!
I have destroyed chips on laptops because I was not careful when I was de-soldering and soldering. A sharper soldering iron is a better tool than a blunt rounded soldering iron. Trust me on that.
9) Test your continuity. It sounds impossible, but you can test to make sure that you connected your DC Jack correctly. Most volt meters have a continuity checker on them. Check to make sure the grounded section of the DC jack properly grounds, and if possible, check to ensure that the positive pin on the DC Jack is properly connected to the motherboard. You can do this by touching some of the diodes on the motherboard close to the jack. You will know if it registers.
10) Reassembly with a little faith. This is the moment of truth. If you documented your disassembly well, then it will be your roadmap to reassembling the laptop. Start reassembling the laptop in the reverse order in which you disassembled it. Make sure you plug in every little cord, and ribbon back into your laptop. Disassembling the laptop again because you forgot a wire or ribbon is just annoying to the max.
11) Testing the laptop. Test the battery first to make sure that the laptop turns on without the DC Jack. There have been a few laptops that I have worked on that didn’t turn on after I reassembled it. It sucks, but it does happen. Sometimes you damage something during the whole process, but with caution it can be avoided.
Once you verified the laptop turns on with battery, then go ahead and plug in the DC Jack. First sign it works is the “Battery charging” light turns on and you know you have a successful replacement. At this point you can turn on the laptop and your job is complete. If your laptop doesn’t turn on .. well.. go back to step 4 and 5 and go from there. It can happen, but I haven’t seen it too often unless there are more problems with the laptop than originally thought.
I hope this gives you a general idea on how to replace a DC jack on a laptop. It’s not a perfect guide and I will edit it as necessary to clear the rough edges up.
I’ve recently had to replace two DC adaptors in the same week for friends. Just found your guide via Digg.com, and have to say it’s brilliant. I wish I had read it before opening the first laptop!
I started my documentation and then got lazy as I got further and further into the “surgery”. Ended up having two screws extra and a random black cable going to nowhere!
If people take one thing away with them from your guide, it’s to document EVERYTHING they do in the process!
I agree with you 100%. Documentation is key. Even still I end up with extra or too few screws from time to time. It does happen. *shrug*
My boss gave me his laptop to repair this same problem, but unfortunately, it seems that the power connections inside the motherboard were damaged, so it won’t take power from the AC adapter. Is there anyway that you can run power into the battery socket? I understand that there are a number of connections, but there must be a + and a - in there somewhere. My boss is insistant that I get this laptop working again, but I’m not confident. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
If the power jack is broken and you cannot replace/resolder it, you can try allocating the jack outside the laptop case. Here’s a guide witch shows how to do that: Broken laptop power jack workaround
This is instructions for a Toshiba laptop but I don’t think it will be much different for any other notebook PC.
Hi, my laptop’s power jack was broken I guess. I can use the battery to run laptop but not the Ac adapter, and I used my Ac adaptor on other dell laptops, they all work well.
So, what kind of soldering iron should I use, mine soldering gun is 100 w, not hot enough to melt the pinpoint on mainboard.
Could you recommend some tool for me? Thanks
Robon,
I use Weller’s digital soldering station (WESD51), here’s a picture: http://www.action-electronics.com/grc/wewesd51.jpg
You also need a solder sucker when you are removing the jack, something like this: http://www.mainelectronics.com/imag/ds017.JPG
I set temperature to the maximum – 850F, it’s hot enough to replace the power jack.
I just did this on my Acer Travelmate 4060. Saved me loads of £££
Thanks!
The information given by you is very good and I am going to try this power jack removal process soon. Its a hp laptop and needs the jask replaced.
Thank you
Thanks! We just replaced our dc jack in our Gateway notebook ourselves. I’m sure that the universal power adapter we bought about 6 months ago caused the problem. I won’t make that mistake again. We used a solder wick to remove the old solder, instead of a sucker and set our gun at 30W. Our total cost including the soldering materials was only about $30.00. I was quoted about $400.00 to have it sent out and repaired! Thanks for taking the time to share this info with us.
Glad it worked out.
Hi there , we have replaced our DC jack but the screen didn’ t turn on, Do you think that I have damaged the plate conector beneth the LCD???
I just got my laptop back from a company called laptopjacks.com, they were recommended by HP. The laptop seems to be working fine again. I was unable to disassemble it all the way so I decided to have it fixed by pros.
one of the hooks from the old jack is stuck in the motherboard, and i can’t get it out. what now?
I have an Acer Aspire 3000 with the model number 3004WLMi. I have went to ebay’s websites, contacted Acer America, and to DCJacks.com. I have ordered three jacks, all of which have been too small. Do you have any suggestions on how to determine which dc jack would work? The computer repair shops will not order the piece for me since they are not going to repair the laptop themselves. Thank you for any assistance.
Linda
On a ARIMA W720-K8M laptop the center pin in the power jack has broken out and one of two little devices with a minute cable between has come off the board. I think I’ll recomend to owners to BUY a new laptop. I’ve got a photo of it but don’t seen to be able to add it here
That is most helpful really simple instructions to fellow
Thank you
Byron
i cant wait to try this, thanks for this post.
i want to send you a donation.
please email me.
I am also attempting to repair my laptop’s power jack however I have decided to use the method shown here http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2006/05/27/failed-laptop-power-jack-workaround/ so that I don’t experience the same problem in another year or so…
Can anyone tell me what type of wire that I need to purchase…
750 Watts to work on a mother board? I would be scared to death to work with something that hot on a computer mother board. 30 Watts max
Nice guide.
Several laptop manufacturers have published full maintenance manuals on the web which cover step-by-step disassembly and reassembly, effectively saving you the trouble of documenting everything yourself. The Dell manuals in particular are excellent - they even include a printable screw classification sheet to place your screws onto when you remove them from the computer!
Regarding soldering irons, a 30W iron should be enough most of the time, although we did have a Dell with some “magic solder” once that needed 50W to desolder. A question to those who are struggling to melt solder with 100W+ irons: You are tinning your irons, aren’t you? You don’t need a very high temperature for this kind of work. Using excessive heat while soldering will (1) burn your flux and (2) risk cooking nearby ICs on the motherboard - neither of which is desirable.
Good Guide & advice
This might help some of you. Make your screw location diagram and as you take the screws out push them through the paper diagram in their proper locations.
Terry
I like this guide, but there is one problem that I am having that wasn’t adressed. In the process of de-soldering and soldering, after removing the old jack there is old solder that isn’t alowing me to insert the new jack. I have tried for a long time to get the old solder out of the holes but it just remelts or goes to the other side of the circuit board. Is there something that I can do to remove the old solder?
WISH I HAD FOUND THIS GUIDE SOONER. I fixed both of our laptops….Slow tedious careful work without someone else having already done the heavy lifting. One thing I found was that the constant tugging and pulling on the cable seemed to be the culprit. As such I bought a couple of (weird name) jerkstoppers to keep the tension off the poorly designed and pitifully fragile connection. SOURCE: http://www.jerkstopper.com I think!
I’m having similar problems with my Compaq Presario M2000 notebook too. I had to wiggle the adapter to the power connector of the notebook or my laptop battery won’t charge and won’t turn on if it doesnt have it’s battery on. That metal thing which I plug into the DC gets extremely hot very quickly in matter of minutes also.
I’ve been looking for information on how to dismantle my notebook to get access to the DC power jack but looks like there’s too much risk involved. Too many screws to look out for and thin wires in the way. Almost made me feel like Im defusing a bomb or something. Im a college student living on college budget and couldn’t afford to buy a new laptop and the warranty is already up. I bought the laptop only 2 years ago.
I would really really appreciate it if anybody could give me a guide on how to dismantle my laptop and get access to the DC power jack. I’s gonna cost me $120 if I were to send it to the shop to repair. My email address is hafiz_felix2000@yahoo.com or Instant Message me at hafiz_alone2006@hotmail.com
It’s hard to go to sleep without knowing what’s to come
A couple of weeks ago I saw the mention about a cable retention device (Jerk stopper) in the comments. I ordered two for our laptops…..Wow, it really works well. I wish I had these before I paid Sony to fix the power pin on my old 505ZSK. Repairs were worth more than the system I think.
thanks for your how-to-guide. u do a very good job explaining the concepts.
i have this problem and don`t know what to do
thanks for the guide, took apart laptop and thought i fixed problem, took apart again to investigate better because it did not work first time. still got problem. going to order jack and replace this time. as for documentating, if you have one of the all in one printer scanner copier machines– try and make a photo copy and place screws on to that when removing. beats drawing it.
Hi, Wondering if you can help. I did the repairs but must have done something wrong. Could you tell me or show me, (by diagram) what the pos+ jack post should read continuity from and the neg- When I solder the jack in I get a pos+ continuity reading when I touch the pos+ and the neg- (with continuity tester) please help me, this is all I have left to do. Thank you, Thank you
I replaced the jack on my gateway but now when I boot up it will only run on the battery. If I remove the battery it runs fine on AC power. The battery does not charge unless the laptop is off. Any suggestions? Thank you
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the link is dead m8. i had a go repairing my acer aspire 9300 with no luck on replacing jack. the solder wouldnt melt at all, so i soldered wires to the + and - points (if anyone wants to know, + is directly behind the black plastic pin that hold jack in place and - is the 2 pins close together to the right of the +). soldered te wires to the + and - on nw jcak then superglued it to outside case. the jobs a good un. thanks for the guide tho, it really helped when having a go
Hello
I have a Gateway MX8711 laptop. I left it working fine ysterday morning, battery dead so I plugged it in. Got home, wouldn’t turn on. Had the adapter checked and it’s fine. Best Buy Geek Squad said it’s probably the mother board. This computer is less than a year and a half old, is only used for personal stuff and doesn’t travel (also, no kids or pets). Two months ago I had to install a new hard drive. Gateway tried to tell me hard drives only last a year. Insane, I have an old compaq presario going strong after 5 years. Anyway, is there a way to determine if it’s the d/c jack or the motherboard? Honestly, I don’t know or trust any repair shops around here, Tampa. My husband has done some easier things with our computers, like replacing hard drives, cd roms, adding memory etc. Any feedback appreciated. Thanks.