This laptop has a power problem. The battery stops charging when I move the power cord on the DC adapter. When I start moving the cord left to right, the power LED light on the front goes on and off and the battery charge LED goes on and off too.
I removed the battery and tested the laptop again. The laptop starts fine from the DC adapter when the battery is removed, but as soon as I start moving the power cord the laptop shuts off. It looks like the laptop looses power immediately.
If you have a problem like that, most likely it’s related either to the power adapter or the DC-IN power jack.
First of all, I tested the power adapter with a multimeter. The power didn’t cut off no matter how badly I moved the cord. The power adapter output voltage was 15.45VDC all the time. That means there is nothing wrong with the power adapter and most likely there is a problem with with the power socket inside the laptop.
By the way, I just purchased a brand new FLUKE 179 multimeter here for less then $160. The retail price at Sears for the same multimeter is $240. FLUKE is a really good brand. Just a side note.
Now I’m going to test the power socket inside the laptop.
In order to access the power socket I had to disassemble the laptop and remove the top cover assembly with the display.
You can find disassembly instructions for many HP, Dell, IBM, Lenovo, Sony and Toshiba laptops in these service manuals and guides.
In the laptop I was fixing (Tecra M2) the power jack is attached to a DC-IN harness and this harness can be unplugged from the motherboard.
As you see, I removed the DC-IN harness from the motherboard, plugged in the power adapter and tested continuity with my multimeter as it shown on the picture.
When the power cord is still, the voltage output is 15.45VDC, the same as on the plug.
But as soon as I start wiggling the plug inside the jack, the power cuts off and voltage goes to 0. It means, the power harness is bad.
The problem was fixed after I replaced the defective DC-IN harness with a new one.
In some laptops the power socket (DC jack) is soldered to the motherboard.
If the battery stops charging when you wiggle the power plug inside the jack, either you have a bad power adapter (test it with a voltmeter) or the power jack is broken or loose.
You cannot simply unplug the jack and replace it with another one. You’ll have to unsolder the old jack and solder a new one back on the motherboard as I described in this post.
If the power jack is not broken but loose (not making good contact with the motherboard) you can resolder the old jack without replacing it with a new one.
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November 22nd, 2011 at 3:47 pm
If you go to home depot and buy a small clamp for $1 you can pull the cord along side the laptop and clamp it wa-laa is now charging fine.easy fix but kinda ghetto. But for me works just fine! cheap and easy
September 7th, 2011 at 11:20 am
i had this problem with my samsung laptop first time it broke i had it fixed and battery dosnt even charge on it any more and recently the chargers gone again is there any way i could wire a new connector to it like the one used on lawnmowers the 2 pin cable connector just wire 1 side up to my laptop charger ( mains) and hav say a inch of wire coming owt my laptop with the other conector on it then use hot glue to keep wire secure (inside laptop)
August 26th, 2011 at 10:32 am
Have a hp laptop where the two leds either side of the power jack only remain on for 2 seconds and then the laptop does nothing at all. Have tried a known good power unit.I suspected the power socket and have done all the usual tests with the MoBo in bareboard state. I am quite competent electrically but am stuck with this one.I have re-seated the processor with fresh compound. However as the pc booted just once before dismantle without the battery and allowed me to shut down properly I was convinced it was the jack. It’s a colleagues pc and has been causing trouble for a while I believe. I suspect the outer contacts of the jack are not perfect now from repetitive use but that clearly is not the primary cause. Any hints would be much appreciated.
August 24th, 2011 at 3:42 am
Hello,
I am 13 years old. I got a laptop for my birthday, I seem to have bad luck with them breaking so quickly. This is my third.
My PC stopped recognising my old charger and wouldn’t charge(Dell Inspiron 1564). I purchased a new one that has worked fine… till now. The charger only works at a particular angle.
There is a light on the end of the wire(hard part that connects to PC) and it only lights up/ charges while in a particular position. I hate using battery power because I always think; Please don’t run out!.
There is nobody I could ask to look at it other than the shop wich will probarbly charge me a lot of money =(. I could have asked my Dad but he died a few years ago.I tried your suggestion of taking the battery out and turning it on but it only works at an angle. When I put the battery back in it made a crackling noise! Last time they charged us £90 for a new charger and I think it will be more now. Untill I get a chance to have it looked at, will it damage my PC to use the charger? Is there an alternative to a new charger? Though there is a light that goes off, is there still a chance that it is the laptop?
Please reply to my E-mail because I may forget to check this site again.
Cheers,
James =)
P.S. Just want to say I hate the london riots and was not involved in them, so dont think stupid teen probarbly on drugs and stuff, I hate those people and avoid them).
August 9th, 2011 at 3:30 am
Dear sir,
i have lenvoY410 Model laptop,i have battery problem,when i connecting adapter,it shows charging symbol,but symbol of pluged in,but level of charging not showing.if i disconnecting my adapter it becomes shutdown directly,what is the problem,how can i solve this problem?please help?
thank you
December 31st, 2010 at 10:15 am
I’ve read your article and it matches problems I have been having with my HP Pavilion dv4 laptop. For a long time the charging cable would sometimes not work when plugged in, and have to be coaxed in at the right angle in order to work. However now I cannot seem to coax it for love nor money.
I assumed that the cable was at fault but have tested the adapter and it is pushing out a stable 19.8V which should be fine. The laptop is not charging though, instead the LED flash is indicating it is getting insufficient power.
Is there any other test I can do on the cable adapter before stripping the laptop to pieces? I’m not to keen on doing that (but I’m going to anyway) but would appreciate your thoughts.
Happy New Year as well.
December 26th, 2010 at 8:47 am
hello, i have a microsoft, windows XP Laptop, home edition,versoin 2002,service pack 3. Recently ive been having problems with my usb drives and scanners. My power plugin is not responding unless i wiggle it to a certaint spot, but everytime when the power cord is not respinding a send it in to get fixed since its under warinty. Though, the same problems (listed above) keep on happening over and over again. So my quistions to you are: should i just buy a new laptop? should i fix my XP laptop manualy? Or should i simply call the acer company on the phone to actualy fix it so i wont have the problems again? please awnser these quistions clearly and thankyou for reading this.
November 26th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Jorge,
It’s hard to tell what is causing all these adapter failures BUT I would really suggest using an original factory replacement adapter, not a generic one.
It’s possible that original factory adapter will work properly for a long time.
Make sure you have the latest BIOS installed on your laptop. Updated to the latest version if possible (make sure laptop runs on AC power while updating the BIOS).
Not sure what’s going on with the battery. Try discharging it completely and charging again.
November 26th, 2010 at 6:50 am
Hi,
I’m so sorry for asking a question on an old post, but after hours of research this site seems the only one to really know their stuff.
I have a two year old toshiba laptop. I’ve used it A LOT. After I lost my 1st charger, I bought a generic one. I lost that one too. The thing is after my second one all my other chargers (my current one is my 5th one) stop working after 2 months!!! Now I started getting a “Consider replacing your battery” from Windows 7.
My question is: Is this an internal hardware problem? is this a battery problem? only a charger problem? or what? … I’m just very confused because I have no idea what to do and I don’t know if it’s smart to invest in another battery just to see another charger last for only 2 months.
Really appreciate the help!
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Greg,
If you have the latest BIOS installed, most likely reflahsing the BIOS will not help.
If the laptop runs fine from AC adapter with battery removed, most likely the AC adapter operates properly.
I think it’s either bad battery (more likely) OR possible motherboard failure (less likely).
I think replacing the battery is your best bet.