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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April 19th, 2006 at 12:44 am
HOW DO YOU TEST THE DC JACK TO SEE IF ITS FAULTY?
I have a multimeter, but don’t know how to use it or where to test it for connectivity. I have a Toshiba Satellite A65. It shows the same syptoms of DC jack failure (no power or power light, battery dead and won’t recharge). But unlike everyone else’s solutions, I cannot see any physical problems with the jack or its solder points so therefore I dont want to desolder and replace the jack if its not the problem. And fiddling with the multimeter, I think I got a voltage reading from both sides of the pin (while plugged in) on the board. Could the DC jack still be the problem?
April 17th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
Hi David,
Toshiba Satellite A70 and A75 disassembly guide .
Actually you can find a link to the disassembly guide I’ve created for Satellite A70 and A75 in this post. Just in case if you do not want to scroll up click on the following link.
April 17th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Hey Danny,
Sure I can look up a system board part number for your laptop. There are over 10 different boards for Toshiba Satellite M35X-S346. To find out exactly witch one is for your laptop I also need model-part number. You can find it on the bottom of the laptop, something like PSA72U-01400U.
April 17th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Is there a manual that tells me how to get into this thing? I’m trying to fix my Toshiba Satellite A75 S276. I am having the same DC In connector problem that seems to go with these machines. If I can get to it, I can resolder it. But I can’t get to it and can’t find a manual or procedure that tells me how to get the thing open. Anyone know where I can find something like that?
April 17th, 2006 at 6:45 am
Had the DC power issue with my Toshiba M35X. Bought a new DC jack off of ebay for $9.99, took the laptop apart as per the instructions at(http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/ToshibaM35X/satM35X_1.htm). Removed the old jack and reinstalled the new one and everything works perfectly. The instructions are excellent. Thanks!
I forgot to look at the part number for the motherboard on the M35X-S349. Wondering if you might have it. If so please let me know.
Thanks again for the help and confidence.
April 16th, 2006 at 7:32 am
cj2600…thanks.
I’m pretty sure I’ve fixed the problem with the DC jack, I’ve proved it by doing simple continuity checks with my multimeter. But I think I have put another fault on somewhere, it looks like it is shorting across the cooling fans. Any ideas?
April 15th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite A75, and it has been having the overheating problem and the DC jack problem. A friend and I opened it and cleaned out the heatsink. We also tried to resolder the DC jack back in. When I turned it on and attached the adapter, I smelt a burning smell, and now my laptop does not power up at all. Would you happen to know what is wrong with it?
April 15th, 2006 at 10:55 am
Hi Dave,
You can try to remove the battery and try to start the laptop from the AC adapter. If your laptop will not run when the battery is removed then I guess you didn’t re-solder the jack correctly. When I re-solder the jack, I usually test it before I put inside the laptop. To test if it works properly you need only the system board, the CPU with heatsink and fans attached and the memory. Connect it to an external monitor and plug the AC adapter. When you turn it on you should get a video on the external monitor. If you cannot start it, check the DC jack.
April 15th, 2006 at 6:51 am
I have a Toshiba Satelite P30, and have had the same problem with the DC jack, I have stripped it down and resoldered the faulty pin. When I switched it back on first time it worked fine until the battery went flat. Now when i plug it in, the DC LED on the front flashes (approx 2 or 3 times a second) and the fans go on and off. but I cannot charge the battery or switch the machine on.
Does this mean I have not fixed the problem at all? Or have I done more harm than good by having a go myself?
Any help appreciated!
April 10th, 2006 at 8:36 pm
Hey Frank,
That is a tough one. I just looked up on Toshiba Tech website a diagram for Toshiba Satellite A45. Even though the DC jack is not connected to the system board directly, it is still a part of the system board. The DC jack harness is soldered to the system board. I went through the part list for this model and didn’t find the DC jack listed. I also tried to search eBay without any luck. Sorry, cannot help.