DC power jack repair guide. Do-it-yourself instructions.
This guide will explain how to repair a failed or loose DC power jack on a laptop computer yourself. Here’s my previous post related to DC power jack related issues.
Disclaimer: I’ve made these instructions only for people experienced with soldering and repairing computers. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this job, please do not open the laptop or you can permanently damage your computer. Take your laptop to a professional repair shop instead.
Use this repair guide at your own risk. 
First of all, you’ll have to disassemble your laptop and remove the motherboard. Here you’ll find disassembly instructions for some major laptop brands such as IBM, Dell, HP, Compaq, Toshiba. If your laptop is not on the list, you’ll have to figure out yourself how to take it apart.
For this repair you’ll need the following tools.
1. Soldering iron or soldering station. I use Weller WES51 soldering station and for this job I set temperature to about 800-850°F.
2. I use high-tech rosin core silver-bearing solder from Radioshack with diameter 0.022″ ( Catalog #: 64-013 ). I think standard rosin core solder will work just fine.
3. Desoldering pump for removing solder around component leads. I use Edsyn Soldapullt pump, model DS 017.
4. 99% isopropyl alcohol and tooth brash for cleaning the motherboard from flux.
5. A new DC power jack, you can find a cheap one here.
Laptop DC power jack repair guide.
As you see on the following picture, the solder drop on the positive terminal looks different than on other three contacts. That’s where the problem is. The positive pin is not making a good contact with the motherboard and because of that power to the laptop cuts off when I move the power plug inside the power jack.
I’m going to desolder the power jack from the motherboard, clean contacts on both power jack and motherboard and then solder it back in place - this is the proper way fixing the power problem.
Start desoldering process with adding some new fresh solder to all three contacts. This will make old solder more flowable, easier to remove.
While heating one of the contacts, remove the solder from this contact using the desoldering pump. Repeat the same steps with all power jack contacts until you remove as much solder as possible.
Grab the power jack and carefully try removing it from the motherboard. Most likely you will not be able to remove the power jack the first time because there will be some solder bridges left between the contacts and traces on the motherboard. Carefully wiggle the power jack without applying any significant force and at the same time heat up all contacts one by one. This will help you to remove the power jack.
The DC power jack is almost removed from the motherboard.
Be careful. Inside the positive hole there is a sleeve witch connects the terminal on one side of the motherboard with the traces on the other side. If you are removing the power jack with force, you can pull the sleeve from the hole. You don’t want to do that. So, do not apply any force and make sure the solder is melted when you are removing the power jack. I hope you understand what I’m talking about.
After the power jack is removed, clean all oxidized contacts with a knife.
Apply a fresh coat of solder to all contacts on the power jack.
The power jack terminals will look dirty because of melted flux.
You can remove the flux using the tooth brash and alcohol. It’s not necessary but it will make your job looking clean.
Apply a fresh coat of solder to all power jack terminals on both sides of the motherboard.
This side has been coated.
And this side has been coated too.
Now you can install the power jack back on the motherboard. Put something under power jack so there is no gap between the jack and the motherboard. Now you are ready to solder the jack back in place.
Solder all power jack pins.
The job is done and the laptop DC power jack is fixed. B-E-A-utiful!
Now just install the motherboard back into the laptop and you are done.
Entry Filed under: Laptop Tips and Tricks
125 Responses to “DC power jack repair guide. Do-it-yourself instructions.”
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Pages: « 13 … 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 [4] 3 2 1 » Show All
February 10th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Tried this on my A70 and it worked! The disassembly guide is very accurate! Thanks and more power.
February 9th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
This is a very good right up, nice clean pics to boot.
Hi, one thing that some of you may find a little more useful is a de-soldering iron like in the link. I’ve found that between this and the regular soldering iron much easier to use than a de-soldering tool like in the guide.
However, if anyone is interested, I own a shop call The Computer Doctor of Richmond and this is one of the most common repairs we do. We are a very very reasonable in our pricing. See our site for more information. www.TheCompu-Doctor.com
February 9th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Thank you for the tutorial. My gf’s HP notebook wasn’t working anymore and the little power symbol would only briefly flash when you stuck the jack in. I researched and assumed it was the same common problem and came across this site.
Taking apart the notebook was a bit of a hassle though I got it all apart, bought a solder iron and solder and a magnifying glass and seen that the back pin wasn’t making a good connection with the motherboard. I tried to solder it and then solder sucker it off, but that was futile. Also since I have never soldered before it was a little harder then I thought though I suppose a smaller tip would have made it easier. So I just put fresh solder all around the connectors, used some epoxy to hold the jack on a little better and put the notebook back together.
Everything is working great, and I saved $175 which the local shop quoted me. And best of all, my GF leaves my computer alone now!!!
February 6th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
thanks for this write up. I sought out a repair shop, but the ones that I called said they would not do it and referred me back to dell. they were lookin to charge around $200 bucks for the repair. I only bought the machine for $350 so it didnt seem worth it. This guide provided the extra look that I needed to do the repairs. thanks
February 5th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Greetings from Scottsbluff, Nebraska …. Thank you for this wonderful advice and instruction. Harry
February 3rd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
I would like to say thank you for this guide. Before I found this I was about to give up completely.
you see, recently, the power pin connector bent backwards inside my laptop and I had to leave the ac adaptor plugged in all the time to prevent the module from bending back in from re connecting the adaptor. Even more recently, the adaptor was knocked loose on the corner of the desk and the power pin broke completely. since I have had no experience replacing parts in the past, I tried looking for replacement motherboards, or alternate ways to power the laptop, but that didnt work out well.
The laptop, by the way, is an HP Pavilion ze4240
now I just need to collect the rest of the materials and a new power jack and I’ll be set. thanks again
January 31st, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Nur Hafiz,
Here you’ll find links to HP/Compaq maintenance manuals. Find your laptop and download the maintenance and service guide, you’ll find step-by-step disassembly instructions in there.
January 31st, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I see a lot of guys in over their heads here.
Guys, like said in the article, don’t do this if you’re not familiar with soldering techniques.
Pick up your phone book and find a local computer shop (NOT a box store, but a shop that does real repairs). Ask them if they do DC jack replacements. If they say “huh?”, hang up and call the next guy, until someone knows exactly what you’re talking about. Plan to pay $75-175. It’s a 2-3 hour job on most models.
January 30th, 2008 at 4:47 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.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Does anyone have reviews of repair sites for the dc plug. I’m just going to send mine in to have it fixed.