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.
December 27th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
My power adapter is dead. As you mentioned in the post, I tested my adapter with a multimeter and there is no voltage coming out.
I have a question. My old adapter was rated 19V and I’m thinking about replacing it with a universal adapter, you know the one with a variable voltage output. The universal adapter puts out 12-24V. Should I buy it or should I search for the original adapter?
December 27th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Sam,
That’s a good question. I know that universal adapters work but I personally don’t trust them.
Just recently I was troubleshooting a laptop with a universal adapter. The laptop was working fine but it for some reason it didn’t charge the battery. The laptop worked with or without battery installed, so the adapter was providing power.
The problem was fixed as soon as I replace the universal adapter with the original adapter.
I would recommend to buy the original adapter. That’s my two cents.
January 1st, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I have universal adapter and it works with my HP notebook.
I had this adapter for 2 years and no problems.
Andrea
January 3rd, 2009 at 3:20 pm
I pulled the cable to hard and broke the power socket in the laptop. The center pin broke off of the socket and stuck inside the plug.
January 3rd, 2009 at 9:56 pm
ron,
You’ll have to replace the power socket, that’s for sure. If you cannot remove the pin from the plug, you’ll have to replace the power adapter too or cut off the old plug and solder a new one.
January 4th, 2009 at 1:19 am
Thanks. I found a new plug for my adapter and installed it. Looks goofy but works!
January 12th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
I have a 3 years old Toshiba notebook. It fails but I cannot figure out what’s going on.
The battery charges when the notebook is off. When I turn it on, it starts but the battery charge light goes off. I can make it work if I move the adapter tip in the laptop. When I release the tip the battery light goes off again.
Here’s the strange thing. When I turn off notebook than unplug the adapter and plug it back into the laptop, the battery starts charging again and the battery charge light works until I turn on the notebook. Do you think my adapter is failing? Should I buy a new adapter?
January 13th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Natali R.
I think there is a problem with the DC-IN power jack – the socket where you plug the AC adapter. Apparently, the power jack is not making good connection with the motherboard and has to be replaced or resoldered. I’ve seen this problem happening many times before on Toshiba Satellite M35X and A75 laptops.
I don’t think that a new adapter will fix your problem. The battery is charging fine when the laptop is off, right? Most likely the adapter is working correctly.
Here’s something to try. Turn on the notebook and wait until the battery charging light goes off. Now move the tip of the AC adapter inside the socket. Does the battery charging light light up or flicker when you move the adapter tip? If it does, there is a problem with the power jack.
January 21st, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Hey,
I got a Sony Vaio VGN-FZ240E, and a few days ago my power adapter seemed to have shut off and at the same time my laptop just shut down. Then from then on my power supply, the led light doesn’t turn on or even charge my battery anymore, all i hear is a faint “click click” noise as i plug in the power supply to the outlet. Just ordered a same power supply, but I rather know what the problem is first before it happens again.
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Semir E.
Could be bad power adapter. Try replacing the adapter first. If you still experience the same problem even with a new adapter, take a closer look at the power jack. There could be a problem with the power jack inside the laptop. Just recently I had to replace a broken power jack on a Sony Vaio VGN-FZ220 laptop. I think it’s similar to your Sony laptop.
January 30th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I have a ZE4800 that I have replaced my adapter with the replacement from HP. The replacement had a plug size adapter that went from a smaller size to a larger size to fit the laptop. I have broken the plug size adapter. The power adapter works, but will not fit the laptop now. Where can I find just the small plug adapter instead of buying a complete new power supply?
January 30th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
HP ze4800,
I really don’t like that adapter. I know what you are talking about, I’ve seen something like that on Toshiba adapters.
I think this is really bad design because you can easily damage the power jack.
I’ve tried searching but I didn’t find any. I doubt that you can find this piece separately from the adapter. Fortunately, adapters for HP Pavilion ze4800 are not expensive at all. You can find a new adapter here for less than $20.
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I have developed a tear in the AC adapter at the location in which it connects with the black box. The rubber is torn and the silver wire threads are showing and beginning to fray and be torn. Is there any way to fix this? Thanks
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Ara,
I don’t think that you can fix that. The AC adapter is a sealed unit and you cannot take it apart, cut off the damage part of the cord and reattach it back to the adapter.
If the power cord is damaged, you’ll have to replace the whole unit and in your case I would do that as soon as possible. If you accidentally short wires inside the power cord while your adapter is connected to the laptop, you can damage the laptop.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Hello. I have about the same problem with my DC power jack and I am convinced this is the’problem’ however, I only had my computer for two years now and I am not able to find the part I need; not even on the Toshiba website (Toshiba Satellite A135-s2266) I had to replace the power adapter once before and maybe that worked for about 2 or three months because the plug was tighter or something, I’m not sure but I really need to find a DC power jack because this is very frustrating – or buy a new computer which is really going to stress me out because I bought both my boys one for Christmas and we really cannot afford another. But on a good note, Toshiba pays you to recycle your old computer
–Makes me a little happier.
Thanks,
Kerri
Brohdaw AT comcast.net
March 10th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
HP ze4800 Says:
January 30th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I have a ZE4800 that I have replaced my adapter with the replacement from HP. The replacement had a plug size adapter that went from a smaller size to a larger size to fit the laptop. I have broken the plug size adapter. The power adapter works, but will not fit the laptop now. Where can I find just the small plug adapter instead of buying a complete new power supply?
———————–
actually try here…
http://www.targus.com/us/powerstore.asp
March 10th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Kerri,
Unfortunately, on that particular model the power jack harness is permanently attached to the motherboard. Toshiba doesn’t sell this power jack harness separately and there is no power number for that harness.
Basically, you have four options:
1. Purchase a new motherboard and replace it.
2. Find a damaged motherboard somewhere (maybe eBay) and use the power jack harness from there.
3. Purchase a generic power jack in RadioShack which fits your adapter and make a modification. Cut off the damaged original jack and replace it with a generic one.
4. Use a similar power jack harness from another laptop. I’m not sure if you can do that but I’ll take a look tomorrow when I’ll be at work. Maybe I can find something similar and give you the part number. Cannot promise.
March 12th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
I have a Acer laptop which erratically shuts itself off. I do not believe it is due to over heating based on several diagnostics I have completed. I do, however, have an AC adapter which shows wear around the area where the cord meets the Adapter. Through the rubberized area where the cord meets the Adapter, I can see the wires. I have wrapped this area with electrical tape to stabilize it, however, the problem remains. Do you think the erratic shut down is due to the AC adapter problem? Or, do I have two problems?
March 15th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Help Needed,
I don’t know but I think you can test the adapter with a voltmeter. Plug the adapter into the wall outlet and test the voltage output on the adapter. Now move the power cable and find out if power cuts off when you touch/bent the damaged area of the cord. If it does, apparently that’s your problem. It’s just a guess.
April 12th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Help with Toshiba,
I have a Toshiba P105-S6084 purchased in 2006. I purchased the extended “Geek” warrenty and didn’t have any issues until January of 2009. My screen had blue lines going down it, 2 usb ports broke and the AC adapter quick working. I took it to the retail outlet and they replaced the LCD Screen, Motherboard and mailed me a replacement ac adapter. All in all, a brand new computer for free. My problem is the AC Adapter had 5 different size heads and only one of them fit the outlet. This worked fine for 30 days or so and then the battery light started blinking and it would not charge. I went back and they mailed me a new battery. It arrived fully charged and the laptop functioned well, unplugged. Once I ran it down to 80%, the battery would not charge when plugged in but the icon read “80% plugged in, charging”. In would not charge and actual slowly discharged while plugged in. Now I have the icon reading 100%, plugged in, not charging”. When I unlug the adapter, the computer turns off. If I try and turn it on, nothing.
I believe this to be a AC Adapter problem as the motherboard is brand new. I called the retail store holding the warrenty and they are giving me the run around. Before I buy a new AC Adapter, or send it away for another 2 weeks, I thouht I would post to get some opinions.
April 12th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Rob,
I really hate all these generic AC adapter with multiple heads and variable voltage output. I don’t trust them at all.
At this point it’s hard to tell what is causing the problem. That could be just a faulty AC adapter, maybe it’s not providing enough power for your laptop. Or there could be something wrong with the motherboard, maybe the battery charging circuit is not working properly.
The only way to find out what is wrong is testing the laptop with another known good AC adapter. I would suggest testing the laptop with an original Toshiba adapter.
Just in case I’ll give you the part number for a new Toshiba adapter. You can use A000005020 or A000006140. Do you still have the power cord for your original adapter? If not you might need a new cord: A000001040.
Google part numbers and you’ll find them.
Yep, I would try replacing the adapter first. By the way, I don’t want to frustrate you but most likely the new motherboard is not brand new. Most likely it’s a refurbished one, so it might have a problem too.
There is not much you can do without new AC adapter, you’ll have to get a new one. If the laptop still fails even after you replace the adapter, there must be a problem with the motherboard.
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Hi, my laptop is from Toshiba brand, model A200-204,when i connect the power supply, it’s hard to insert it into the DC jack socket, i feel now that the DC power socket is not rigid anymore even my laptop still new, and i don’t have problem with electric supply.
1-Is the DC power jack builted on the motherboard or it’s external & wired to the motherboard?
2-the power jack ,can be damaged over time?, is it possible to fix it easily?
3-What is the good way to aboid damaging this power jack(inside the laptop), even i insert the connector with care ?
Thanks for your help.
May 4th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
mohamad,
In a Satellite A200/A205 the power jack is attached to a cable which can be unplugged from the motherboard. Take a look at the step 22 in this disassembly guide for a Satellite A200/A205 laptop.
You cannot tell which part is damaged until you disassemble the laptop and take a look inside. It could be damaged DC-IN jack or base assembly. Here’s an example of damaged jack and base in Satellite L305/L355 laptop.
Just be careful. Apparently it’s not a good design. But you can replace the damaged jack with a more rigid generic jack from RadioShack.
May 10th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
What if my original output in my box is 3.95a can i still use one thats 3.42a. I tried it works but i just want to be sure it wont blow up and set the neighboorhood on fire.
May 13th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Tom,
The laptop might run fine with a 3.42A adapter but I’m not sure what kind of damage it can cause in the future. Toshiba doesn’t recommend using AC adapters with lower amperage. If the laptop runs fine and the battery charges properly, you should be fine. I guess it could take more time to charge the battery.
June 9th, 2009 at 8:51 am
I need a new adapter for an R50e model IBM Lenovo Thinkpad. The adapter is fine, I think, but I lost the cord that connects the outlet to the adapter. Where do I buy a replacement – can I find it in stores like Best Buy or do I need to order it specially online? Thanks for any help.
June 15th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
hi again! can i ask where can i buy cheaper priced ac adapters. my puppy (sad) chew on the wire near the edge of the adapter [box-where all the voltages, amps and other languages are written] and it doesnt work now when i plug it in. thanks in advance. and i hope you reply. btw its a compaq, 2 years old. and it says at the back that i can replace it with hp spare 402018-001.
June 18th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I have lost my power adapter for my Asus M50Vc notebook and was wondering if i could use a smaller adapter to charge my notebook.
The adapter that i had originally:
AC adapter power dissipation – 90 W
AC adapter output current – 4.7 A
AC adapter output voltage – 19 V
AC adapter frequency – 50/60 Hz
AC adapter input voltage – 100 – 240 V
So is it possible to use an adapter that has a lower Amperage value? for example 3.4A instead of 4.7A
June 19th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Desperate,
The amperage value has to be the same or higher, not lower.
July 12th, 2009 at 3:11 am
I’m currently using an adaptor of 19v 4.22amps. The original adaptor was 19v 7.1amps. Is this safe? The adaptor does get quite hot but otherwise seems to be ok.
Also the battery will not charge if it is below 80% charge when I am using the laptop but as soon as I turn it off and providing the ac is still connected it’ll recharge.
Thanks.
July 13th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
what if we use 19v 6.3 amp instead for a laptop with 19v 3.95 amph
this much difference can be adjusted ?
July 13th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
manjesh,
No problem! The voltage is exactly the same and the amperage is higher than required by the laptop. It is safe to use a 19V-6.3A adapter.
July 14th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Hi, I was wondering if you have had any experiences with hp laptop supplies. The supplied Ac to Dc power (90W) supply outputs 19V dc. The dc connection to the laptop has a round connector, with three connect points, with voltages measured at 19V centre pin, 19.8V inner scraper, 0V outer scraper connection. I have purchased an non-hp dc-dc convertor (150W), 12V input, 19V output. I had to link the two centre and inner scraper connections together on the lead, to achieve a voltage on both of them. (Battery is removed). The laptop performs very very slowly with this dc-dc convertor, but still performs fine with the AC/DC supply. The dc-dc convertor should easily supply the power requirement of approx 70W, as it is rated at 150W. Any ideas?
July 15th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Hi,
I have 2 notebooks (one is Dell and the other one HP) I realized that I have switched the power adapter using the Dell for the HP. When I compared both the Dell has was 19.5V and 4.62A while the HP was 18.5V and 3.5A
I know you said that a higher amp was ok but I’m worried that using a higher voltage (+1V) on my HP would have damaged it.
I used the wrong adapter for probably 10 hrs. What damaging effect would it have on my computer or battery?
Thank you for your help.
July 16th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
John,
I don’t think it is safe. You can damage the motherboard.
Maybe it happens because the laptop is underpowered. Again, I would use an adapter suggested by the manufacturer.
July 16th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Duke,
Have you considered buying the original AC adapter? Maybe the laptop performs very slowly because it is underpowered.
July 16th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
joseph,
If the laptop still works fine there shouldn’t be any problem.
July 19th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Hello, I have a burned out LCD adapter(12V 4amps)for my PC. I used my toshiba power adaptor(15V 5amps) but it did not power my LCD. Does it means the toshiba adaptor fried my LCD? I did not put the adapter not even a minute.
July 21st, 2009 at 8:41 am
Hi, my power adapter for dell inspiron 1520 stopped working..so i bought trust adapter as a replacment.
Laptop: 19.5 [V] 3.5/4.9 [A]
New trust adapter: 19.5[V] 6[A]..
On boot windows is suggesting me that laptop is underpowerd and performances are bad. I can adjust voltage on adapter. Is it safe to go with higher voltage. Or to go with lower voltage. I do not get it, old adapter had less power(90W) new one 120W. How the hell is laptop underpowerd. Is there solution, and that is not to buy manufacturer adapter. Thanks
July 21st, 2009 at 10:49 am
Dajan,
I don’t really trust all these multi-voltage-amperage adapters. Apparently, your laptop doesn’t like it either because the adapter is not putting out what it says on the label. Do not increase the voltage. If your laptop requires 19.5V, you should give it 19.5V. Higher voltage can damage the laptop.
I would suggest buying an original Dell adapter.
July 22nd, 2009 at 6:45 am
Please tell me how to open tha casing of the AC/DC power Adapter… I have found the case that my adapter has a problem in AC adapter cable and adapter plug. So the cable component has to be replace.. But I do not know to open it, it is because there is no screw or hole for assembly the casing…
Thank you very much for your information
Tikaku
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:37 am
tikaku,
The AC adapter is sealed and not repairable. You’ll have to purchase a new one. They are not expensive.
August 21st, 2009 at 9:26 am
I have a dell inspiron laptop. The battery is failing (no longer receiving energy) and my kids broke the AC/DC adapter at the adapter end, which fits into the laptop. I tried to use electric tape to elongate the life, but tape is no longer holding. I’ve cut the black plastic covering and trimmed the silver wires, yet, there is not enough silver wire to stretch to the adapter end. Shall I replace the adapter end (and cut through the wires covered inside the white plastic, under the exposed silver wires) AND connect the new adapter to the exposed wires OR shall I purchase a universal AC/DC power supply until I can afford to buy a new battery? Please assist me! Thank you for your consideration.
August 21st, 2009 at 9:42 am
Dia,
I would suggest replacing the broken AC adapter with an original Dell adapter. Stay away for universal adapters.
My friend had a similar problem with his Dell Vostro 1500 laptop. The adapter tip broke off and instead of buying a new adapter he “fixed” the old one. After the fix the laptop was getting power but stopped charging the battery. The problem was fixed as soon as he replaced the “fixed” adapter with a brand new one.
August 21st, 2009 at 9:53 am
Thank you. I understand. My battery may indeed still be usable! I appreciate your advice and keeping my fingers crossed! THank you, again!
September 24th, 2009 at 9:49 am
I purchased a universal power supply and the end I need they did not have. So I cut off the end of my old one to put on the new one, but there is a blue wire in the middle of the new power supply. How do I make this work. Also there is no blue wire in the old power supply.
September 24th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Trey,
To be honest, I never trusted universal adapters. You never know if they work fine for your laptop.
Buy a factory replacement adapter.
October 6th, 2009 at 3:10 am
I bought a replacement plug for my adapter and cut off the broken plug from my adapter. I am now ready to solder the replacement on but am unsure of which wire goes where. There are two wires, one black and one white. Could you please tell me which goes where? The laptop is a HP Pavillion DV1000.
thanks in advance for your help.
October 10th, 2009 at 9:14 am
I checked the voltage output of my power adapter [toshiba 19V 6.3amp] and it indicated 48Volts. I am currently looking at replacing this adapter with a new one [$45.00 deleivered to my house]. This adapter has allowed me to continue working with the computer by charging the battery. I then can use the computer on battery power. It gave me a lot of the same symptoms as the failure of the power jack on the motherboard (which i re-soldered 2 years ago). I am just trying to confirm that the output is really 48 volts …. i find it hard to believe.
October 10th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Ok,
So I tested the voltmeter, it was giving me over double the correct voltage…. perhaps back to resoldering and a new battery.
October 10th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Billy,
I don’t know, all adapters are different. You can test them with a voltmeter. Find out which one is “+” and which one is “-”.
After that take a look at the AC adapter and look for the diagram. Find out if the “+” is inside or outside the plug.
October 10th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Russ,
I’ve seen hundreds of failed Toshiba adapter but never like yours. 48Volts! Are you sure that you measuring it correctly?
If your laptop requires 19 Volts, I wouldn’t plug this adapter even when the laptop is off. You can damage the motherboard.
Replace the adapter ASAP and do not use the laptop until then.
October 27th, 2009 at 7:35 am
If you have an AC/DC can you replace with just an AC adapter?
October 27th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Keri,
What? What do you mean just AC adapter?
December 27th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Please tell me how I can tell whether the problem I’m having is a bad DC adapter plug or a bad DC power jack (on motherboard). The problem is that pushing the DC plug in does not always create a connection. It has to be wiggled and maneuvered for some time before a connection is established. Thanks for your help! Ken
January 8th, 2010 at 3:07 am
Please tell me how to open tha casing of the AC/DC power Adapter… I have found the case that my adapter has a problem in AC adapter cable and adapter plug. So the cable component has to be replace.. But I do not know to open it, it is because there is no screw or hole for assembly the casing…
Thank you very much for your information
Tikaku
January 19th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
shashi,
Not sure if you can open the power adapter case without damaging it. The case is sealed and not supposed to be disassembled.
I guess you’ll have to look for a new adapter. They are cheap on eBay.
February 19th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
so i lost my ac adapter. an old one i found outputs 19v, 3.95A while my laptop requires 19v, 3.42A. so it seems like it would work, but i read from other places online to make sure the polarity is the same. i couldnt find my laptops polarity anywhere, online or printed on the laptop. is there a way to find out the polarity, or is this not necessary, since you dont seem to mention it in your article?
February 20th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Joe,
Yes, this adapter should work fine.
Yes, it’s very important but from my experience most adapters have the same polarity. “+” inside the barrel and “-” on the outside of the barrel.
Usually it’s printed on the adapter. There should be a diagram which shows the polarity. Let me find a picture and if I get one, I’ll post the link.
February 20th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Joe,
Here’s how the polarity diagram is printed on adapters.
The left one is most common.
Take a look at the old adapter, search for the polarity diagram and when you buy a new one make sure it’s the same.
March 7th, 2010 at 10:21 am
I have an External Hard Drive (EHD) that powers up and am able to hear it spinning. It seems normal by the sound.
Problem: After trying four different computers and trying four different data cables none of the computers can recognize the EHD.
Question: Could the AC Adapter be the problem?
I tested the output of the adapter with a Fluke 73 and it indicates 12.10 volts as it should according to the specs plate on the adapter.
However, in testing the amperage output, which is supposed to be 1.5A, the meter display does not show a steady output. Instead the digital display goes from 0 to up to a maximum of approx. 0.8 amps and flashing various other output readings in fractions of a second but never just a steady reading.
I’ve tested other random adapters lying around and none have that type of behavior. They just give a steady amperage reading, usually 50% or higher than that written on the plate.
Is it possible that this adapter is able to power up the EHD and sound as though it is functioning properly yet at the same time outputting defective, oscillating amperage and in turn cause an unreliable electrical signal to the computer disabling the computer’s ability to “see” the EHD?
I tried an Universal adapter that tested at 12 volts and displays 2.95 amp output. The EHD begins to power up then shuts down and continues to repeat that cycle, never steadily running. Wonder if the EHD has a “sort of circuit breaker” built in that works like a heat sensitive circuit breaker.
Normally devices restrict the amperage flow by what they actually use to run.
The simple answer is to buy another adapter, but is that really the problem?
Thanks, Jay
April 1st, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Hello. Is there an answer for Jay’s question? (the last one)
I have a problem with a laptops power too. The voltage is good but the amperage reading is very erratic and I would like to know if this is a clear indicator that the brick has had it’s day. I am sure it is but would like confirmation before buying a new adaptor as it could be a loose dc socket but I think I have fixed that. I was getting it to boot sometimes for a few seconds when I was holding the jack in the socket a certain way but not very often, so could be getting deceived if the current is maybe staying steady for a few seconds. Surely the amps reading should not be jumping about like mad when it’s not under load eh? Like Jay said aswell, I tried another adaptor and the amps seemed steady enough, although very low but surely that is because there is nothing drawing power from the brick, correct?
Thank you for any help.
April 1st, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Xer0,
How to you test the amperage? I don’t think you can do good readings until the adapter is loaded.
April 1st, 2010 at 4:00 pm
That’s what I thought. I tried it the same way as testing the voltage with a multimeter but with the amps setting. I tried another adaptor again and it actually goes to zero amps because there is no load, so it is very strange how I am getting that erratic readings with the suspected broken one. It must be knacked. Even though, I would like to know why it does that if anyone knows? The readings were jumping very fast to different values from anywhere between 0.something all the way up to 3.something amps. Very strange.
April 17th, 2010 at 2:20 am
Hello,
I have a power problem with my samsung M50 laptop. I can only get it to start with the battery installed and on AC power. pwer only lasts about 10 minutes before it drains. If I leave it off the battery charges ( led light turns from yellow to blue ) and I can re-boot again. I know I probably need a new battery as it is the original and I’ve had the laptop for 4 years. However I cannot boot up on AC power alone… led light is blue when off ( with Battery out) and plugged into mains when I turn it on it starts to boot up gets past the bios screen to windows logo then shuts off… led light turns yellow then back to blue.
I believe not all laptops will start on ac alone without the battery installed however I check with samsung and mine should. took it into a harvey norman and they checked with another ac charger and the same thing happened .. obviously something internal. I have tried several things I have read in blogs.
– wiggling the power input jack when starting up.
– checked the pins and plugs on ac jack and input to laptop
- plugging into several different power mains directly
- calibrating the battery
- resetting buy holding the power button down for 1 minute with all accessories removed ie cd drive,
Any idea’s or help is much appreciated.
Thanks in advance
April 17th, 2010 at 6:13 am
I use a little screwdriver I put the end on the midle of the power union.Make a little pouch and make his in all the side and thats it you can’t open them(push this first on the plg face side.
June 7th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
My daughter’s Gateway MT6707 has a power problem. The original dc jack area had smoke coming from it. I did not see any signs of damage. I replaced the jack with a radio shack brand. I read a short even now that I replaced the jack. I have unplugged the fan, dvd drive and wi-fi module but the short is still there. Am I on the right track for troubleshooting this problem? I’m about to the point of letting someone with the right equipment have at it to repair it.
June 26th, 2010 at 8:08 am
i have a emachine d620 laptop dog chewed my charger so bought one of ebay its not working my old one is input 100-240v 1.5a 50-60hz output 19v 3.42a myy new one is 100-240v 1.8a 50-60 hz out put 19v 3.42a is it not working because of .5a any help wold be grateful im stressed
June 27th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
stacey,
The new AC adapter should work. The output 19V 3.42A is the same as on the original one, so it should be compatible.
Your problem could be related to one of the following:
1. The new AC adapter is not good. Try testing it with a voltmeter.
2. The laptop motherboard was damaged by the damaged AC adapter.
If the new AC adapter is good, here’s what you can try:
1. Disconnect the adapter from the laptop.
2. Remove the battery.
3. Wait for a few minutes.
4. Plug the AC adapter and try turning it on.
July 7th, 2010 at 7:16 am
hello, I have a new dell xps that replaced and old one. I want to use the old power supply at home because I use the new one at work. The volts are the same at 19.5 but the amps on the old one is less. Is this a problem? thanks
July 8th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
Charles,
If the plug on the adapter has the same size, it should be fine.
July 10th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
my adapter is a 65wc-ac adapter computer and i need to know how to rest it so mycomputer quits saying plugged in not charging and it starts charging
July 11th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
please can someone help me i have been trying to get an adapter with with the capacity of 17 volts or 16.8 volts with 2.0 ampaere can someone help me with the store or on how i can get the adapter
July 12th, 2010 at 10:04 am
jide,
Do you still have the old adapter? Find the part number and google it. This way you can find the right replacement.