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 copper 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.
UPDATE: If you accidentally removed the internal sleeve, check out this post: How to fortify damaged power jack connection.
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.
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March 4th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
This is very useful information that you have on your website. The pictures are very clear and give a good idea of what to look for. Thank you for taking the time to leave posts like this one here.
March 4th, 2010 at 4:41 am
Hello,
I have a Dell XPS M1330. i only turn on the laptop with battery but can’t turn on with ac adapter (no power). i though something wrong with the power jack…so i replaced a new jack but still have same problem. i bought a new ac adapter still same problem…Please help!
February 28th, 2010 at 7:25 am
My Notebook Dell D610 did not fully boot with battery eventhough the battery is fully charged. The notebook try to boot when the power button is press, however after the dell logo it totally went blank.
I do not have problem booting with the ac adapter. The notebook works fine.
It is only when I want to use the battery power the problem arise. Appreciate assistance.
February 16th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
My two year old laptop’s battery couldn’t hold charge for a while now. I have to connect DC power all the time while using it. Last few weeks, the charger couldn’t hold charge anymore. There is no light lit on the laptop. I have to wiggling it. Yesterday, while I was wiggling it, suddenly I saw a bit of a smog and I smelled something burning. It was the power port. The laptop is still working though. I already ordered the power port and will follow this instruction to fix it. My question is: do you think it is still fixable? I know it is burning but the laptop is still working.
February 15th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Scott,
I’m a fan of the solder braid, I’t usually works very well for me. You might try a vacuum action solder sucker. But if I were in your shoes, I’d find a pointy/narrow tip for your soldering iron and try to push the pins through. Also if you have adjustable heat range on your iron, 30 to 35 watts would be my preference.
-tom2- aka Hondaddy
February 14th, 2010 at 11:54 am
Hi, i have the exact same problem with my dc jack on my laptop acer and it was hard to remove the dc just by desoldering it so i snap it and i end up with some (6) pins left inside them 6 tiny holes i tried to desolder it using the braid but somehow the it doesnt suck up the whole solder and the 6 tiny pices of the pins got stuck in them holes, so i can not put the new dc in there, can you please help me about how to clear the holes? thank you for your time.
February 12th, 2010 at 4:31 am
I’m going to try to attempt this with an Acer Aspire 5735 but have no luck finding a service manual for it, anyone know if this is going to be difficult to do? As I may just bite the bullet and pay £90 to get it done without the possibility of breaking it.
February 11th, 2010 at 12:05 am
James,
It’s either power jack problem or there is a damaged wire inside the power adapter cord.
1. Test your AC adapter with a voltmeter. If power cuts off when you move the power cord, replace the adapter.
2. If the power adapter works fine even when the power cord is moved or wiggled, most likely it’s bad DC-IN jack inside the laptop. You’ll have to resolder the jack or replace it with a new one. I cannot tell without testing the laptop.
February 9th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
I have an Asus G50 that receives no power at all, no lights no nothing. So I tested the AC Adapter with a multimeter and it is fine. I disassembled the laptop to the motherboard to look at the DC Power Jack and, though I do not exactly know what a bad power jack looks like, on this one the solder pins are not discolored or broken. I want to test the voltage at the DC Power Jack to see if the power jack is bad (or not receiving power). So, I was going to plug the AC power adapter into the jack and put the multimeter on the DC Jack to see if it reads 1.9 volts, but I don’t know what DC Jack pin is the positive and which is the negative and I’m afraid I’ll short the motherboard if I touch the wrong pins.
Can you tell me how determine which pins to test with the multimeter?
Thanks.
February 6th, 2010 at 2:40 am
I have a similar problem to this. My Laptop only charges when the wire is pushed up on the DC jack. So to charge my laptop i have to put a book or something under the male side of the plug on the cable to keep it up…. Is there a way to fix this
… any help would be appriciated..Thanks…