Laptop Loose Adapter Connection

[Ape]

I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop that works just fine except that
the power adapter connection on the rear seems faulty - it won't hold
the connection on so as to charge the battery as well as run the
laptop off 110. The blue indicator light should stay on but blinks
and often simply goes off.

I have read somewhere that these connections often fail mainly though
careless and abusive adapter connecting. I also remember reading that
the connection is repairable through re-soldering. But that of course
would require dismantling of the laptop to get at the internal
connection. That may be asking for problems.

Has anyone done this? Is it simple? Or should I just toss the
laptop?

Thanks

Apeman

 

[Pen]

I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop that works just fine except that
the power adapter connection on the rear seems faulty - it won't hold
the connection on so as to charge the battery as well as run the
laptop off 110. The blue indicator light should stay on but blinks
and often simply goes off.

I have read somewhere that these connections often fail mainly though
careless and abusive adapter connecting. I also remember reading that
the connection is repairable through re-soldering. But that of course
would require dismantling of the laptop to get at the internal
connection. That may be asking for problems.

Has anyone done this? Is it simple? Or should I just toss the
laptop?

Thanks

Apeman

Are you sure it's the computer. Is the Blue Light in the
cord? If so in my experience it should be on whether it's
connected to the computer or not. I've had to replace the
power supply in such a case.

 

[philo]

I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop that works just fine except that
the power adapter connection on the rear seems faulty - it won't hold
the connection on so as to charge the battery as well as run the
laptop off 110. The blue indicator light should stay on but blinks
and often simply goes off.

I have read somewhere that these connections often fail mainly though
careless and abusive adapter connecting. I also remember reading that
the connection is repairable through re-soldering. But that of course
would require dismantling of the laptop to get at the internal
connection. That may be asking for problems.

Has anyone done this? Is it simple? Or should I just toss the
laptop?

Thanks

Apeman

Disassembly is typically difficult but if you do a Google search for
your model of laptop, there are usually tutorials as to how to get it apart.

On one newsgroup a guy simply used a Dremel tool to cut open an
inaccessible portion of his laptop to perform a repair, the just taped
the section back.

If you are going to throw your laptop away, you don;t have much to lose
by trying to repair it yourself.

 

[Ape]

Are you sure it's the computer. Is the Blue Light in the
cord? If so in my experience it should be on whether it's
connected to the computer or not. I've had to replace the
power supply in such a case.

It is on.

Apeman

 

[Ape]

Disassembly is typically difficult but if you do a Google search for
your model of laptop, there are usually tutorials as to how to get it apart.

On one newsgroup a guy simply used a Dremel tool to cut open an
inaccessible portion of his laptop to perform a repair, the just taped
the section back.

If you are going to throw your laptop away, you don;t have much to lose
by trying to repair it yourself.

That is true enough, and I have nothing to lose - just time.

Apeman

 

[Ape]

Reassemble the laptop while the dissembly is still fresh in your mind,
and wait for your replacement jack to arrive. This may seem tedious to
do the disassembly twice, but its easy to underestimate what you can
forget about how the laptop fits together in that week while you wait.

I can certainly believe this! Especially due to my senile status.
Maybe I'll just forget it.

Apeman

 

[Pen]

It is on.

Apeman

That is not what your 1st message says.

 

[micky]

I doubt if my friend was careless or abusive, and I know I wasn't, and
his Acer Aspire Netbook that I use when I go out of town has the same
problem

By positioning the cord right, we use the limit of the cord's
flexibilty to put a little pressure on the plug/jack. Or with a
small table sometimes I just let the cord hand down, and the weight of
the cord.

Don't toss it. Send it to me. Seriously. I'll pay 10 dollars plus
shipping charge. Or give it to the Freecycle group in your area.

Disassembly is the largest part. Find a guide, take pictures as you go,
and keep the parts your remove organized by stage of disassembly.

Now that I'm old enough to take pills, I find that those 7 sectionj
Sun-Sat pill dispensers work well for keeping the screws separated by
stage, and in order by sequence.

I bought at the dollar store a 42 section pill container that I
thought came apart differently. I'll be 95 before I take that many
pills, but it should work wel for a really complicated camera or
laptop.

Once inside, you may find the jack is actually destroyed, and reflowing
solder is not going to be a good solution. Maybe you'll be lucky enough
to have a model where the jack is modular, and easily replaceable.
Something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LENOVO-T60-...PORT-Adapter-Unite-USED-OK-BEST-/321068923666

Is it common for it to use 6 wire jacks even though the power plug,
iiuc, only has two wires? Add one for the jack casing, that still
makes only three.

Because what I would suggest is an inline female connector and a wire
an inch or two long coming out the hole where the jack used to be.

If it's something more like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-POWER-JACK-Asus-eee-pc-eeepc-900-1000-1000H-LAPTOP-/110615320212

... you're in for more of a challenge.

I typically order my parts while I have a good view of the broken part,
so I can be reasonably sure I'm going to get the correct one. If the
parts are cheap enough, order an extra.

Then, I cut the busted jack up with a Dremel for easier extraction. Be
careful not to nick the motherboard or other components. The idea is to
get the jack broken up enough that you only have to desolder one pin at
a time to remove a chunk.

Once you have the jack gone, take a little time to desolder the through
holes where the jack mounts. If you're careful, you can use your
soldering iron and a straight pin, but don't splatter. A desoldering
pump or braid might be a safer technique.

Reassemble the laptop while the dissembly is still fresh in your mind,
and wait for your replacement jack to arrive. This may seem tedious to
do the disassembly twice, but its easy to underestimate what you can
forget about how the laptop fits together in that week while you wait.

I took apart a digital camera with zoom about 6 months ago, then spent
4 months failing to find the right battery before I bought a battery
that may be too long. It's going to be months before I have time to
put the camera back together again, and I will probably have forgotten
how it gooes by then. I have the factory repair manual, downloaded
from the web, but I'm also 66 now and forgetting new things left and
right. (I still know all the old t hings.)

 

[Ape]

That is not what your 1st message says.

I was talking about the blue indicator light on the back hinge of the
laptop. It blinks or goes out. the blue light on the adapter itself
stays on.
\
Sorry

Apeman

 

[miso]

That is true enough, and I have nothing to lose - just time.

Apeman

It has been my experience that Dell has the best service information of
any of the notebook peddlers. It is one of the reasons to buy a Dell.
The documentation should be on their website. At least this is true on
their business grade laptops like Latitudes.

I've used the Dell documents for RAM upgrades and to put in a SSD on my
Latitude. Disassembly was trivial.

 

[Paul]

I can certainly believe this! Especially due to my senile status.
Maybe I'll just forget it.

Apeman

There are two ways the power jack on the motherboard can be packaged.

On older laptops, the jack is soldered to the main board. It can be
removed by cleaning solder out with a solder sucker, until the
mechanical support points and electrical connection points are
visible. In theory, you should be able to remove it without a
Dremel. It might be different if there was a steel rivet or
something, but as far as I know, the housing of the jack
can have little legs that get soldered in place. When the
thing gets damaged in this design style, the PCB fiberglass
can be cracked from the abuse (such as if the laptop was dropped
while plugged in).

On newer laptops, the jack is located on a small removable PCB.
It has a barrel connector on one end (for the external power
connection), and a different form of connector to get the power
to the motherboard in the laptop. For those, you get a new PCB with
jack, as a field-replaceable part. Anyone handy with a screwdriver
can fit a new one (subassembly held in place with a screw or two).
Assuming you can find that part for sale.

If the blue charge light is flashing, it could be a problem
further inside the power distribution. It might not be the jack
at all. If repositioning the plug and jack causes the light to
come on solid, as it should, then perhaps it's a broken wire
or something limiting current flow. If moving plug and jack
doesn't change the symptoms, it might not be the jack area
at all.

From a repair perspective, the main issue here, is if the
components are held steady enough, to run the thing while
it is partially disassembled for inspection. Some laptops,
the entire structure is too flexible.

About all I could do here, is probe with a multimeter and check
the voltage coming in from the adapter. See if it stays
at 19V or not, or whether it changes. I have one old
analog meter, and analog meters are sometimes better suited to
detect glitches in power. The analog meter I've got isn't
very sensitive, but that doesn't matter when checking power
systems. That only matters if checking sensitive circuits.

I don't know enough about the power distribution setup
in a laptop, to comment on how you'd debug it. All I could
do, is check whether the power was stable, going into it.

Paul