Guide to fixing a laptop power jack. A Do-it-yourselfer
February 15, 2007
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.
February 21, 2007 at 1:05 pm
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!
February 21, 2007 at 1:09 pm
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*
February 23, 2007 at 5:35 am
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!
February 23, 2007 at 11:09 am
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.
February 25, 2007 at 11:07 am
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
February 25, 2007 at 9:06 pm
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.
June 27, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I just did this on my Acer Travelmate 4060. Saved me loads of £££
Thanks!
July 1, 2007 at 7:10 am
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
July 14, 2007 at 1:17 pm
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.
July 14, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Glad it worked out.
July 26, 2007 at 9:18 pm
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???
July 27, 2007 at 7:19 pm
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.
August 14, 2007 at 9:55 am
one of the hooks from the old jack is stuck in the motherboard, and i can’t get it out. what now?
September 30, 2007 at 2:34 pm
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
October 3, 2007 at 7:52 pm
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
October 17, 2007 at 2:12 am
That is most helpful really simple instructions to fellow
Thank you
Byron
October 27, 2007 at 7:57 am
i cant wait to try this, thanks for this post.
i want to send you a donation.
please email me.
November 23, 2007 at 12:22 pm
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…
November 27, 2007 at 10:11 am
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
December 18, 2007 at 9:05 am
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.
December 19, 2007 at 7:57 pm
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
January 20, 2008 at 7:49 am
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?
July 28, 2009 at 5:52 am
They sell what is called desolder braid and it will suck up any remaining solder and also go along ways towards removing any remaining pins that are possibly left after removing the old jack. clean area well with alcohol and then insert new jack and re-solder. Hope this helps anyone that might be having problems, also if you find you can not get the old jack’s solder to heat up enough for removal, this may be due to the MB having a coating on it, that is primarily used to protect it from moisture or the possibility of getting wet. To rectify the dolution, don’t add more heat, just flow some high quality solder with the factory solder and it should start to melt together, as they begin mixing together and soon the joint will be soften enough to remove the old jack! If you are looking for any other hints or tips, contact me by email, thanks.
Jason
January 22, 2008 at 2:02 pm
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!
January 30, 2008 at 4:58 am
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
March 4, 2008 at 9:53 am
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.
March 17, 2008 at 9:43 pm
thanks for your how-to-guide. u do a very good job explaining the concepts.
March 25, 2008 at 1:40 pm
i have this problem and don`t know what to do
March 28, 2008 at 6:56 pm
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.
May 29, 2008 at 3:20 am
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
May 29, 2008 at 3:46 pm
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
June 3, 2008 at 9:06 pm
[...] To help you do this with a little less fear, go ahead and find your service manual here: http://www.http://defectivekit.com/2007/02/15/guide-to-fixing-a-laptop-power-jack-a-do-it-yourselfer/Jack Thompson tells me to rape a child: Advocating molestation is …Mar 17, 2008 … Jim if you sue [...]
June 5, 2008 at 9:45 pm
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
June 25, 2008 at 1:22 pm
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.
July 23, 2008 at 4:37 pm
This is an excellent guide for replacing the jack in a laptop. Unfortunately it was a little late for me. I did have a good experience with the company that I chose for DC jack repair. I sent my HP ZE4200 to Comprehensive Computing in Virginia ( http://comprehensivecomputing.net/laptop_power_jack_repair.htm ) and they did a good job for about 100 bucks. But, if I had found this earlier, I might have taken a stab at it myself! haha
August 26, 2008 at 6:50 am
I took my laptop in to have the DC jack resoldered. When I got it back the computer turned on (but booted slow) so I assumed it was fixed. The battery had been charged and I think, in retrospect, this is why my computer powered up. When it was on and running I checked 2 of my e mail accounts, took the battery out (while it was plugged in) and it lost all power. I tried to turn it back on with the battery out and it would come on for a second then die. I put the battery back in there and turned it on but, it would not re-boot. I had power (with the battery in) but could not get my computer to load windows and go to my homescreen. The service tech I spoke with assured me that the computer was just “repairing” itself and to leave it running and try to boot. I did as instructed, took a nap and woke up to a computer with NO power (battery and all). I am far from a computer expert but, I thought maybe 1. they didn’t fix what I paid them 180.00 to fix at Renissance Computer in Columbus, OH. and/or 2.0They may have done somehting to the motherboard when poking around or attempting to resolder my dc jack. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!
August 26, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Computers usually don’t “repair themselves”…take it back to the shop and have them take a look, they should guarantee their work.
September 2, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Read all of the helpful posts and I’d like to add another one. Now that just about everyone has a digital camera, one should not hesitate to take plenty of photos during each step during the disassembly of the laptop. Then when you’re finished with the repair and unsure of how something goes back together you can just review the photos you had taken earlier.
September 8, 2008 at 9:40 am
i have a compaq 700 laptop the dc jack finialy broke loose,unable to pay the $100 or so to fix it since my work has slowed down, i decited to try it myself. i am not a computer tech. but i have a lot of common sence and know enough to ask for help and study the net for information.after a weak of takeing my laptop apart slowly and cautiously i was able to get to the dc jack.it was broke loose and you can see where it has been burnt.im planning on putting a diferent type plug on it but im not sure where to sauder the wires at.i see the neg but im not sure about the pos. side can you please help me maybe with a picture, ive got this far i dont want to mess it up now. thanks robert cobb.
September 16, 2008 at 8:34 am
Thank you for the nice procedures. This worked well for me. I just changed out the DC jack on my Gateway MX3210. There were no visible signs of damage to my old jack so the problem must have been inside the jack. After following your steps I was able to disassemble, de-solder old jack, then solder on the new. Now it works perfectly. Your advice to draw the screw configuration on a piece of paper (step 5) is a good one. I even scotch taped the screws to my drawing…nothing got lost! One other step I did was I set up a video camera to record the entire disassembly, in case I messed up. Thanks!
September 16, 2008 at 9:18 am
Usually if anyone has any questions, I attempt to contact them personally through email. (Which is why you never see any responses). However I will say that I believe this comment from Jeff is the first time anyone has mentioned any success from the procedure. I want to personally thank Jeff for posting his success response. There have been minor tweeks to the post to make it easier, however I am glad someone was able to get through the DC Jack procedure and save tons of money. Thanks Jeff.
September 20, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I HAVE A PROBLEM WIHT A DC JACK I REPLACE IT BUT STILL DOING THE SAMETHING . THE COMPUTER WILL TURN ON BUT IF I MOVED IT. IT SHUTDOWN. HEL PLEASE
September 24, 2008 at 7:49 am
loking for tools to remove caddy from 2.5 hd a very fine hexagonal
driver i have got the other drivers but if it comes in a set good!
October 10, 2008 at 10:19 am
In trying to locate a replacement power jack for a Presario M2000, I was told I can only replace the motherboard at this point. I have checked the HP site, GeekSquad, compUSA. Any such thing as black market products. Also, I am unable to pull off the back with all viewable screws removed. Where are the latched or whatever that I am missing. The hangup is near the middle about where the battery cradle begins.
October 10, 2008 at 10:34 am
You won’t be able to pull off the back just from unscrewing the bottom. It doesn’t work that way. It’s literally a full disassembly process before you can get to the DC Jack. It’s almost always the last component you reach after the laptop is fully disassembled.
October 31, 2008 at 10:09 pm
[...] that come on when its plugged in? Also goto ebay, search the model of the laptop + dc jack. Guide That is a good guide, I have used it. The battery light on the laptop doesn’t come on, [...]
November 2, 2008 at 8:35 am
I received a laptop Compaq Presario M2000 the pin was bad Hp wanted $399.00 to fix it inc.power cord and battery.other places wanted at least $130.00,fixed it myself for $3.85,plus $3.99 s/h
make that diagram that some digital pics helps too,check the internet for repairing your computer to get diagrams and specs,It is easy with a lot of slow going,I have never taken one apart before .DO NOT FORCE ANYTHING!!!
December 3, 2008 at 12:31 am
I accidentally broke off the pins on the jack, all but one. How the heck do I get them out. I have been trying to remove the solder with a braid copper wire and heat it up, but no luck in the pins loosening. What can I try to get the pins out? Any ideas would be appreciated!!! I am using a Weller SP23L maybe it is not hot enough?
December 3, 2008 at 1:24 am
HOW DO YOU JUST SECURE A WOBLY POWER PIN?
December 31, 2008 at 9:36 am
If you really want to get the solder out of the holes, and are a “live on the edge” type of person, you can use a trick I’ve used before. Heat the hole enough to melt the solder. Then take a can of duster air and blast away at the hole while removing the iron. You are likely to get a little hot solder flying about but its less frustrating than a bridged hole. I take no responsibility for accidents.
January 1, 2009 at 2:58 pm
My dad is having this prob on a HP laptop, about 3 years old. He just went out and bought a new toshiba, and is giving me the HP. said if I can fix it, I can have it.
This guide will be great. Will be trying it sat night/sunday.
January 25, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Have gateway m505b2 laptop.
dc power jack is defective.
can’t get to dc jack because I cant remove the bottom cover.
Need a sevice manual or detailed insructions.
I removed all screws and still can’t remove cover.
Need help!
Kent sacramento,ca
January 27, 2009 at 12:23 pm
GHETTO WAY THAT WORKS!!!!
The peg inside my computer broke, and I was about to try to replace it, but if you like do things kind of ghetto like me, I discovered an option. First take out the brokenm peg if it is still in the end of the power adapter, and in is place, fit in 4 pieces of long copper wireing. Then cut them all at once, just so the copper is only slightly coming out of the end of the power adapter. Does not work perfect, and you need to wiggle sometimes, but better than getting rid of the computer, or trying to fix when you have no experience.
February 23, 2009 at 12:32 am
I don’t want to invest the money to fix the piece of junk Gateway that I have that is only 18 months old but I want my files and photos. It won’t power on AT ALL now after a few months of jiggling the cord just so. Is there anyway that I can just get the stuff of my computer? I have already bought a new Dell.
May 30, 2009 at 10:41 pm
jus take out da harddisk
March 20, 2009 at 7:18 am
Fantastic article used the write up to fix my Dell Inspiron 1300 thanks for taking the trouble to write it up. The only comment i will make is that you relly do need a good quality thin tipped soldering iron to help make the soldering an easy operation.
March 30, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Wanted to leave a positive comment for you. I read through your general instructions and, along with a service manual pdf from Dell, changed out a power plug in a Dell Inspiron 1300. took a couple of hours, switched it out and it is working fine. Thanks for a great article.
April 2, 2009 at 7:09 am
I just replaced my plug in my Toshiba Tecra. Ya!!!! Excellent instructions. I did not need anything but a screwdriver because I bought a new plug for $30 on laptop jack inc. I thought I was going to have to replace the motherboard but this worked great!!!!
April 3, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I have an Inspiron 1300. I noticed the power jack has six posts and one post has no solder on it. Is this normal or do I solder all six posts?
April 4, 2009 at 8:19 pm
thought I had a powerjack problem. turns out its fine. trouble apparantly is one of the diodes on the motherboard closes when AC is on. laptop runs fine on battery. just can’t charge battery via laptop, and of course laptop won’t run on AC. Have you ever seen an external battery charging source, or figured out a way to make one?
April 13, 2009 at 5:37 am
Hi i have issue with Charging the Battery on my laptop. i bought the Battery Brand new, but still would not Charge
any sugestion of what might be the problem?
i realy thank you for the steps by step power Jack fix. that is good. let me know if have any idea about my battery not charging?
thank you
April 15, 2009 at 3:00 pm
sounds very good, my son has a gateway mt66824b laptop that just wont charge, the plug used to have to be wiggled very hard to get to charge (apparantly!!) have tried resoldering the connectors, but to no avail, i have checked the earth part of the jack is connected to the motherboard, but i cannot seem to confirm that the centre jack/pin is connecting ok, (all my meter tests fail) does anyone have any diagrams or schematics of the power path and where i can test to, or alternativly solder a jumper wire to from the centre pin directly, (as i think it is not makign contact with the motherboard correctly.
any help would be great as my son is without his laptop and i cant afford to buy him a new one at the moment!! thanks. Kevin.
April 22, 2009 at 9:12 am
Hello guys
This article is great 
I am considering doing it myself. However, i was wondering if anyone could tell me if it would be possible to replace my current size jack (a smaller one that is difficult to find) with a slightly larger one that is really common, because it is so expensive to replace the chargers that fit my current jack D:
I would really appreciate it if anyone could let me know their opinions
Thanks very much
Mia
September 4, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Mia, did anyone help you out with this? I’m having the same problem..and need to find a way to make the male end of the power cord larger to couple better with the socket in the laptop. thanks!
May 13, 2009 at 5:38 am
my acer power pin has broken!!
wat to do??
its urgent!!
plse help!!
email me!!
May 19, 2009 at 7:47 am
Hey – great guide – thanks!
My Dell XPS Gen 1 laptop has had power problems that are well documented on the net – regarding a message that states the AC power adapter type could not be determined doring startup.
Due to this apparently, the battery won’t charge, and the laptop will not run on battery power.
It runs fine on AC power, and it recognizes when the battery is in, but it will not charge it.
Does this behavior indicate that the power jack is the source of the problem?
The majority of cases i’ve read about have resulted in dell replacing motherboards for computers under warranty.
I used my meter to test the AC adapter, and it’s putting out the correct amount of power – it’s not the adapter (certified dell AC adapter).
Thanks!
May 30, 2009 at 9:40 am
Thank you so much for ur guide, i followed exactly as u said on my Travelmate 2480. Documentation was not a problem for me as i found a disassembly and reassembly video on youtube. da hardest part was the soldering. My soldering iron was not hot enough to melt the old solder so I had to borrow a more powerful soldering iron from my friend. I did pretty bad on da soldering but still manage to turn on da notebook afterall. I’ve learnt many from dis guide and again thank you so much!!
May 30, 2009 at 10:39 pm
all u dumb fools should jus get a Mac, no power pin problems!!
July 15, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Any port that requires something to be plugged into and unplugged from eventually wears out–laptops and apple notebooks alike. If papa wants to treat, I’m sure we’ll all be happy to switch to Macs…lmao!
June 1, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Macs are expensive, papa, and I’d rather fix the thing I’ve got (if possible) than buy a brand new one.
Taking laptops apart is really not that hard but I have no soldering iron thing so I am not sure what I am going to do yet. But this is my exact problem so thanks for posting the instructions and some really good ideas about how to not forget what you did to take it apart in the first place.
June 3, 2009 at 12:04 am
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June 3, 2009 at 12:22 am
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July 19, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I used Comprehensive Computing and it cost about $125 with shipping. But after six months, I have a loose connection again. Their new warranty allows a free repair if it is their fault. Anyway, for about $4 (US) you can get a plastic C-Clamp that will allow you to clamp the power cord to the monitor or base once your battery indicator shows that you are connected (charging). Of course the downside is that you must ALWAYS have your system plugged in. I purchased mine at Orchard Supply Hardware.
August 1, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Hi,
I’m trying to replace the DC jack in my Acer 4620, but can’t seen to get inside to access the DC jack. I removed the external battery, all screws from the bottom of the laptop, CD rom drive, but can’t open the laptop. What am I missing?
Thanks in advance,
Rooibos
August 1, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I’m looking for an exploded view that shows how to disassemble an Acer 4620 laptop.
August 14, 2009 at 1:19 pm
I seem to have fixed my broken DC Power Jack after reading only the first part of your guide about looking at the jack.
Everything looked fine, no cracks, but the plug was loose and wobbled from side to side. It was due to the jack being a bit larger than the plug by design. Well, it seems that the 4 prongs of the jack (that make contact with the metal outer cylinder of the plug) were not protruding much (if at all) into the plug. I took a tiny screwdriver, put it into the jack and slipped in under one of the above mentioned prongs, thereby bending the prong. Did this to a second prong also. Then I plugged in the power plug and it pushed in about 3 times as hard as normal due to the bent prongs, but the problem of intermittant contacts and erratic switching to battery power is FIXED. Suggest that you mention the possibility of limp prongs in your guide. It took longer to write this than to fix the problem.
August 19, 2009 at 3:12 am
I managed to open my Fujitsu c1020 laptop and replace the dc power jack with a new one i bought from a seller on ebay. After managing to put all the pieces back together i was anxious to see if my laptop would turn on. I plugged the dc cord and suddenly i saw the red light of the battery, only problem is that the laptop doesn’t have a battery and therefore it doesn’t turn on. Anyone know what the problem might be
August 28, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Successful repair/replacement of power jack on Inspiron 8600. As others have noted, jack exhibited no external or otherwise noticeable signs of damage/looseness/shorting. Per my experience and based on what I’ve read, however, odds were on the power jack given the symptoms. Quoted cost of repair (if successful) from the only reputable shop in town: $264.00 with preliminary diagnostic, $200.00 if they simply did what I asked and replaced the power jack (no diagnostic). The last thing they heard before the click of disconnection was me chuckling sarcastically. My actual do-it-myself cost of repair: $33.00. $24.00 at Radio Shack for a 25-watt soldering iron, desoldering braid (copper) and 60/40 rosin-core solder. And $6.99 for the new replacement jack from http://www.notebookworks.net shipped first class for an additional $1.99. Truly impressed with the seller/shipper I just mentioned. And I get to keep the soldering iron…already used it again to repair a long-ago broken spare car remote (compared to $150.00 for a new one). Anyway, this guide was genuinely helpful. As a couple of other posters have mentioned, I would reiterate the wisdom and benefit of cleaning (gingerly) the desoldered area with isopropyl alcohol BEFORE seating and soldering the new jack. A tightly folded corner of cotton cloth worked well for me. This neatly cleans the solder points and removes any residues that might impede conductivity of the newly soldered contacts. Cheers.
November 17, 2009 at 7:19 pm
I’m working on a gateway ma7 Do you know where to jumper the + pin on the dc jack back to the motherboard. When the jack solder joint came loose it lifted the small soldering ring that connects it to the motherboard. Im looking to jumper from the pin to the next spot electrically to the motherboard. any ideas?
January 22, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Thats an tutorial. thx a lot
January 22, 2010 at 9:17 pm
I have a Dell Inspiron 8500. The battery I had was not holding a charge. Since it was the original battery I assumed that it had died. The battery charge light on the laptop would flash yellow three time, then once green, then repeat the process over and over. I bought a new battery, but now I am not getting any activity out of the charge light, and after doing some checking have determined that the battery is not being charged. Any ideas or suggestions?