A bad connection between DC-IN power jack on the system board and the system board is a very common problem with Toshiba Satellite M35X and Toshiba Satellite A70/A75 notebooks. If your laptop is out of warranty, then you can fix the problem by resoldering DC-IN jack on the system board. If it’s still under warranty, it would be fixed at no charge to you.
Problem symptoms:
- Laptop randomly shuts down without any warning.
- Power LED and battery charge LED start flickering when you wiggle the power cord or the AC adapter tip on the back or your laptop.
- The battery will not get charged.
- When you plug AC adapter, the laptop appears to be dead and there is no LED activity at all (DC-IN jack on the system board is broken).
To fix the problem, you have to take your laptop apart, remove the system board to resoleder or replace the DC-IN jack. Toshiba Satellite M35X and Toshiba Satellite A70/A75 disassembly guides will help you to remove the system board. Take a closer look at the power jack on the system board with a magnifying glass. In most cases you get the power problem because of a bad connection between the DC jack and the system board, you’ll see a crack between the DC jack connector and the system board.
Here is an example of Toshiba Satellite M35X power jack. The crack occurs between the DC jack pin and the system board.
In some cases the connection is good, but the DC jack is bad itself. You can find a new DC jack for Toshiba Satellite M35X and Toshiba Satellite A70/A75 laptops here. Search for DC jack M35X or DC jack A75.
How to resolder laptop power jack yourself.
UPDATE:
Sometimes, after you replace the jack, you can see that the system board doesn’t get power at all. The battery will not charge and the power LED will not light when you plug in the AC adapter. So, here’s a possible explanation.
When a connection between the positive pin and the motherboard breaks (cracks), the power jack gets loose. You can feel it when you plug in the adapter plug. A loose power jack can damage the trace inside the hole in the system board. Take a look at the picture.
As you see, the positive pin goes through the hole in the system board and you solder it on the top side. Right? What if the trace between the top side and the bottom side is broken somewhere inside the hole? I’ve seen it before a few times. In this case everything looks nice and clean on the top side. When you plug in the AC adapter, you get normal voltage readings between “+” and “-“ pins on the top side, but the power DOESN’T go to the motherboard at all, because there is no connection between the top and bottom sides. Test with a multimeter if there is a connection between the top and the bottom.
If the trace inside the hole is broken you still can fix it. You can run a wire to connect the top and the bottom sides. Be careful not to short something on the board.
Update:
Here’s another solution to fix the power jack problem, it shows how to relocate the power jack outside the laptop base. Check it out here: Toshiba Satellite A75 failed power jack workaround.
When you repair a loose power jack, it’s a good idea to check the jack on both sides of the motherboard. When you remove the top cover from a Toshiba Satellite A70/A75 laptop you can see only points where the jack is soldered to the motherboard as it shown on the second picture in this post, but you cannot see the jack itself as it shown on the first picture.
Removing the motherboard from Satellite A70/A75 laptop is a good idea because the jack itself might has a broken “+” pin, as it shown on the picture below. If the “+” broke off the base, you’ll have to replace the jack.
UPDATE:
Today I received another well written and well documented guide about fixing Toshiba Satellite M35X power connector issue. This guide was submitted by Stephen Macuch. Thank you Stephen for great pictures and detailed instructions.
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October 10th, 2006 at 11:45 am
Is there any way to bypass the battery and run stricly off the AC adaptor?
I have given up on this laptop and just want to transfer the files to another computer.
October 10th, 2006 at 9:05 am
I’m having trouble finding a technician that will do soldering work, is there another way to go about it? If someone knows of a techie that will do the work in Dublin, Ireland, let me know.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
hi
i was wondering if you could help me i’m currently in the process of replacing the power jack in my advent 7081 laptop i am having trouble removing the keyboard to get into it any suggestions.
thanks
October 5th, 2006 at 8:13 pm
@Kevin
Yeah, I experienced the overheating problem as well. What I did was buy one of those cleaners in a can.. I don’t know what it’s called exactly.. but the ones that spray pressurized air. I clean my fans regularly, as the dust causes the overheating.
October 5th, 2006 at 7:26 pm
I have a couple of these A75 machines. Erratic light flashes and clicking are both indicative of a loose power supply. Do not go out and buy a new power adapter. You will need to have a technician solder the jack.
Also notorious on the A75 machines is an overheating issue. This causes the computer to shut off without notice. Always leave a space for air to get to the fans if it is on your lap. If you are using it on a desk, invest the $30 to get a laptop stand. Go to keynamics.com to view some nice stands. These hold the laptop off the desk so more air can get to the fans. That will fix the problem for sure (I have the aviator stand).
October 2nd, 2006 at 3:45 pm
I have a Toshiba A75-S231 and I cannot charge the battery while the computer is on and it charges once the computer is shut down. I am hesitating to re-solder the jack since it is perfectly charging while the computer is off. (Sometimes it does charge even when the computer is on)
October 2nd, 2006 at 2:25 pm
Thanks for the great website. I had a friend with this problem. I am Dell certified but did not have access to Toshiba manuals to do the disassembly. I had our Instrumentation guys resolder the connection and everything is fine now. Thanks for posting this material.
September 30th, 2006 at 6:44 pm
I have the same problem! I was told that this is the main problem with toshiba laptops. at first, my laptop shuts down without warning so im not sure if its the cooling fan or the battery or the hard drive. then somethings wrong with the power too when i plug in the powr cable (connected to wall and laptop) sometimes the light that indicates u have it on ac power comes on while the light for the battery doesnt come on so its not charging er
September 30th, 2006 at 4:12 pm
cj2600,
thanks for the reply. no, i don’t think it’s the fan, the sound only clicks when there’s erratic light flashing. also, i hear a clicking sound even if it’s turned off. after reading this text on the common failures of A75 laptops, i’m pretty sure it’s a jack problem. *sigh* good thing i haven’t bought the AC adapter yet.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:30 am
Rika,
Looks like a power jack issue to me.
Are these sounds coming from somewhere under the keyboard? I do not have a straight answer to this question. It could be a failing fan, a bad HDD, or something else. I cannot tell you until I hear the sound.