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”
Pages: « 7 6 5 4 3 [2] 1 » Show All
Pages: « 7 6 5 4 3 [2] 1 » Show All
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.
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!
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 9:26 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.
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.
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 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 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 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 16th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
joseph,
If the laptop still works fine there shouldn’t be any problem.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
June 19th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Desperate,
The amperage value has to be the same or higher, not lower.
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 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 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.
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.
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 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 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.