AC/DC Power adapter
AC/DC power adapter as known as power supply or power brick converts the high voltage AC power from a wall outlet into the low voltage DC power needed for your laptop.
The AC/DC adapter provides power for the laptop and charges the battery. It’s very important to use the right adapter for your laptop.
If you are looking for a new adapter, you should check the following:
1. Your new adapter must have exactly the same plug (adapter tip) as the original one.
2. Your new adapter must output exactly the same voltage as the original one.
3. Polarity on the new adapter’s plug must be the same as on the original one.
You can find the output voltage and amperage on the adapter’s label. As you see on the picture below, my adapter outputs 19V-3.42A.
When you buy a new adapter, you can follow this rule:
The output voltage must be the same, the amperage could be the same or higher than on the original power adapter.
For example, if my laptop requires 19v-3.42A adapter, I can safely use 19v-3.95A adapter.
HOW TO TEST OR REPAIR POWER ADAPTERS.
Most newer laptop power adapters are sealed and you cannot repair them. If the adapter is dead, you’ll have to buy a new one.
1. How can you tell if the AC adapter is dead? You can test it with a voltmeter. On the picture below I’m testing a 15V adapter and as you see the output is 15.45V. It’s pretty normal and there is nothing wrong if the output voltage is a little bit higher but if you are getting 0V, the adapter is definitely bad.
2. If you accidentally damaged the adapter plug, you can replace it with a new one. Just make sure the new plug has the same size as the old one. Cut off the old damaged plug and solder a new one. You can search for a new adapter plug (adapter tip) here.
Laptop parts | Repair Man | 
December 26, 2008 2:51 pm
171 Responses to “AC/DC Power adapter”
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Pages: [7] 6 5 4 3 2 1 » Show All
January 26th, 2012 at 3:36 pm
@ yve,
No problem. The laptop will take as much as it needs.
January 26th, 2012 at 2:30 pm
yeah it has the same plug,so theres no issue with the amps,from 4.74 to 6?
January 26th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
@ yve,
If your 19V~6A adapter has same plug type you can use it.
January 26th, 2012 at 8:51 am
My toshiba use a 19v 3.74a adapter.It crapped out,I have a 19v 6a adapter,can I use that?
January 24th, 2012 at 11:03 am
@ Tana,
What is your laptop model number? Acer Aspire ###?
January 24th, 2012 at 1:41 am
I am looking at buying a new power adapter for my acer aspire laptop. It is giving me 2 options, the fixed U-tip or the fixed C-tip. What is the difference between the 2???
Thanks
January 23rd, 2012 at 10:42 pm
@ carlos,
You cannot do that. Laptop AC adapter not repairable and usually they are sealed units. Just buy a new adapter.
I wouldn’t use the laptop with a 15V adapter. You can damage the motherboard.
January 23rd, 2012 at 10:30 pm
@ Bashara,
Most likely the laptop will work with 19v-3.42A. It might take longer to charge the battery but it will work.
I wouldn’t recommend using it for a long time. It’s better to use the same adapter as the original one.
Also, do not buy cheap third party and compatible adapters. Buy the original adapter.
You can buy genuine 19v-3.95A adapter on eBay for about $15-20.
January 20th, 2012 at 12:32 am
Hello sir, I need a new charger for my laptop. It is 19v charger. On the other hand, I have some 15v charger from my old toshibas. Is there any way to mod my 15v charger into 19v charger?? Its OK if I have to prick my 15V charger apart. (i’ve done that several times). I will greatly appreciate if you send me a copy of your answer to my e-mail. Thank you in advance
January 18th, 2012 at 2:35 am
I have a 19v-3.95A adapter. Can i use 19v-3.42A?PLS i need an answer ASAP.tanx
January 4th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
@ joey,
Do not look at the battery voltage.
The most important is matching your new adapter voltage with the original adapter voltage. The motherboard will convert it into 11V as required by the battery.
January 3rd, 2012 at 11:09 pm
i’m using the huntkey adapter for my hp mini 1000 instead of using the proper hp adapter. my question is the hunt key adapter output 19v. but my battery 11v. it’s got any side effect. thanks
December 27th, 2011 at 11:56 am
@ Big dog,
Using a 19v~6.3A adapter instead of 19V~6.32A? You should be fine.
December 27th, 2011 at 11:32 am
@ benj,
Can you switch between 18 volts and 20 volts?
I really don’t like adapter with multiple voltage output.
December 27th, 2011 at 2:57 am
Hi repair man.
I have been reading through you Q & A’s and you have said that when replacing the adapter the voltage must be the same, however the amperage can be equal to or more than the original adapter.
You did not say what would happen if the amperage was lower. For example could you replace an Adapter with an output of 19v 6.32amps with one that produced 19v and 6.3amps?
Or would doing this cause potential damage or problems with the laptop?
Many thanks
December 20th, 2011 at 3:11 pm
Hello ! I have laptop the AC adapter is origenally 18.5 volts 3.5 aperes is dead… i am using temporarely 18 volts 20 volts amperes, there”s no side effect in laptop? thanks….
December 19th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
Thank you so much Mr. Repair Man ! Appreciate ur help so much ! =)
December 17th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Hi,
Thanks for your valuable information! I got it!
Cheers
December 15th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
thank you very much for everything, I intend to buy one…
December 15th, 2011 at 11:55 am
So, it does require a 90W power adapter (19*4.74=90).
If you going to use the laptop with a 60W adapter you can face the following issues:
- it’ll take a long time to charge the battery.
- there is a possibility of damaging the motherboard. It’s not good for the motherboard to use underpowered AC adapter.
Most likely you’ll be fine if you use the laptop from the 60W AC adapter with the battery removed. Also, it’s probably OK if you use the 60W AC adapter to charge the battery while the laptop is turned off.
I would suggest buying the proper AC adapter.
December 15th, 2011 at 11:38 am
It’s 19V~4.74A
December 15th, 2011 at 10:36 am
@ Ivan,
Take a look at the bottom of the notebook. There should be AC adapter voltage and amperage mentioned somewhere on the sticker. Something like 19V~3.42A
Let me know requirements for your laptop.
December 15th, 2011 at 10:08 am
I would like to ask what may happen if for example my 90w power adaptor died and now I use a 60W one, the notebook seems to work, but can it damage the notebook?
thx
December 14th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
@ Shyuan,
Yes, it should work fine. Your AC adapter input is 100-240V ~ 2.0A and the cable is 240V~5A. The power cable has higher ratings and that’s the way it should be.
For the power cable replacement you should refer to the input: 100-240V ~ 2.0A 50-60Hz.
December 14th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Hi, thanks a lot for replying me.
1) In fact, I already have a Travel Adapter (for global travellers visiting UK) with the info as below:
–
Max 13A 250V
–
I need to use my US laptop in UK for a long period, I am afraid that I shouldn’t use travel adaptor, hence I choose to change the power cord, is there such a thing?
2) And besides, what if I insisted to change the power cord (yes, it is the “cable between the wall outlet and your power brick”, like you said)? I found UK power cords in some stores just now. They shown me UK power cord which can handle up to 240V with 5Amp. So with this power cord 240V 5A, it supposed to be able to work with my power brick requirement right?
3) I also wanna ask, should I refer to the Amp in “Input: 100-240V ~ 2.0A 50-60Hz” or the Amp in “Output: 19V — 6.32A” when facing issue like this? By looking at your reply, I assumed that I should refer to the Amp in “Input” right? Correct me if I am wrong.
Sorry for asking so many questions, I hope you could help me on these. Otherwise, it is totally okay with me if you can’t comment on them.
Your help is much appreciated. Thank you.