Replacing Power Jack in Laptop

[abisdabis]

Would anyone be able to walk me through replacing a power jack in a laptop? I have attached a picture of the replacement jack.

 

[Ronald_Jeremy]

That is not the hard part. There are 3 solder points.

The hard part is disassembling the case. They are all different and they are all a royal biatch!!!!!! Usually the thing must be almost entirely dissassembled to get the bottom cover off.

 

[Peter Parker]

Interesting. My son has the same problem.

 

[cybertrip]

Actually there are 4 solder points. 3 of which are ground/anchor points. 1 of which is the positive connection for the DC circuit. At least it looks like there is an additional pin in the center of that connector.

 

[Mike500]

Try Notebook and Laptop Reviews

They have dissasembly instructions for many laptops, there, especially Toshiba.

 

[abisdabis]

That is not the hard part. There are 3 solder points.

The hard part is disassembling the case. They are all different and they are all a royal biatch!!!!!! Usually the thing must be almost entirely dissassembled to get the bottom cover off.

I am able to get the part out of the case. Luckily it is not part of the system board directly but instead connected by wires. It simply screws out. I am not sure what to do to remove to solder.

 

[mdonnelly]

I am able to get the part out of the case. Luckily it is not part of the system board directly but instead connected by wires. It simply screws out. I am not sure what to do to remove to solder.

Not sure what you mean. Why is there solder if it isn't connected to the board? If you really need to unsolder the wires, go to Radio Shack, ask for "solder wick". Use that with a soldering iron to remove the solder. Then use needle nose pliers to wiggle the wires from the bottom of the board until they're free.

 

[JKElect]

Go to a local electronics store or radio shack and get some "solder wick". They make cheap one's and then there is the solder wick brand. The cheap ones do work, but not as good as the real stuff, so for a novice, I would try to get the good stuff. It is a braid of copper wire treated with a powder flux to wick the solder from the board by placing the wick on the solder and heating it with the iron. Be careful if you move the wick around using too muck force when the board is hot from the iron you could damage the trace on the board. I would recommend trying on something that is junk to get a feel for it as well as soldering if you are not proficient. Good luck.
Or since the jack is on a separate board. You should be able to take it to any local TV or Electronics repair shop and just have them swap it out. When I had my shop I would usually do this for little or no cost.

 

[66N33]

I had to replace the power jack on a dell 2650 laptop once. Luckily, I didnt end up needing to replace the actual jack. I did have to disassemble the entire laptop to get at the motherboard but I just took pictures at each step of the way and tried to segregate the screws that I was removing.

I at first tried to remove the solder but soon realized that the solder sucker I bought at radio shack was a piece of crap. In the end, I was able to heat up all the soldered pins and add a bit of new solder. It worked well and I havent had any problems since then.
And I didnt have to buy an overpriced $40 power jack that costs two cents to make in Taiwan.

 

[tonyp56]

First of all, remember static electricity is your enemy, keep this in mind while you are messing around inside your laptop, making contact with bare metal is better than nothing, but consider a grounding strap while you are handling the insides of your computer.

Dis-assembly isn't the hard part or even the tricky part... (if you have decent memory that is, if you forget things easily, then taking pictures often will help) Soldering anywhere on/near any electronic board without frying said board and getting it to work in the end is the hard tricky part... Before doing this, look for replacement motherboard or whatever power port is attached to, never know might save yourself the trouble by buying $100 board... (or you might end up having to get it if you fry your motherboard)

If wires are soldered onto power port (with other end soldered to motherboard) and it is screwed to motherboard (not soldered directly to board) then remove it, use soldering gun to disconnect wires from it (taking note of each wires location, make yourself a map and showing the pins of the power port and saying which wire goes where, or label each wire top/left, top/right, bottom/left etc. being sure to note the orientation of the power port). On new power port, carefully solder wires on the correct pin, making sure not to over heat wires and making sure mother board and other electronics are protected at all times. If you aren't good at soldering, think very carefully before you attempt this, you can ruin your motherboard with one simple slip...

Another alternative if you have enough space is cutting wires off, leaving yourself enough room to splice them, solder wire onto new power port, then splice wires back together using heat shrink tubing to insulate wires (being really careful where you aim your heat!) and then finally screwing power port back down on motherboard.

 

[snathanb]

I've replaced the same part on a friends laptop. What a pain!!!

Grab a digital camera and take lots of pictures as you disassemble. I typically go so far as to take out a sheet of white paper, and tape down tiny screws as they come out, and write beneath the screw where I removed it from.

 

[abisdabis]

The jack will be delivered tomorrow and I hope to give it a shot tomorrow night. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[hbk409]

Interesting. My son has the same problem.

my wife has had this problem twice on a compaq and once on her gateway. its almost like every year for some reason right around the anniversary of when we get them or work was done

 

[Larry1]

When the power jack is replaced and soldered in place, check the mounting in the case and if you have enough room, put some epoxy on the sides of the jack where it meets the circuit board for it will not break loose again.
When you have the jack removed and are ready to install the new jack, first prepare the new jack by cleaning the connections and also the area of the metal shield by the side where the shield goes through the board. You want to solder the connections on the bottom and also add a small amount of solder to the shield from the top of the board to make sure you have a secure connection. A little bead of epoxy at the sides of the metal shield where it meets the circuit board at the top will prevent this from happening again. This is also what the manufacturers do with the replacement boards. Just make sure you have cleaned the connections sufficiently first, and if using epoxy, you only want a small amount. Your bead of epoxy should be no larger than the shaft of a Q-tip. Some will also epoxy the back of the connector, but just make sure you are not going to get it where it will interfere with the operation of the jack or interfere with it being reassembled.
When mixing the epoxy, remember to mix thoroughly. If the directions say to mix for 30 seconds (minimum), time your mixing. 30 seconds can seem like a long time when you are mixing it together.

 

[snathanb]

Yep, the last one I replaced wasn't even soldered in. Just plugged into the motherboard, without being soldered or epoxied down. Like it would add that much to the price of a laptop for 3 dabs of solder and a spot of glue!

 

[Andrewwski]

When opening electronics like that, I'll repeat someone above and say watch for static electricity. Doing it barefoot in a basement isn't a bad idea...by no means is it a proper way to ground your body, but it's much better than wearing woolen socks on a fuzzy carpet.

If you've got a decent soldering iron the tip and possibly handle will be grounded.

When desoldering, make sure to apply the heat only as long as necessary. Things melt and fry out quite easily if you hold it there too long. Using a heatsink clamp is a good idea if there's room. Same goes for soldering too.

 

[abisdabis]

When desoldering, make sure to apply the heat only as long as necessary. Things melt and fry out quite easily if you hold it there too long. Using a heatsink clamp is a good idea if there's room. Same goes for soldering too.

I am having a hard time removing all of the solder. I can get about 80% of it but the solder around the pins is causing some trouble for me. I am using soldering wick from Radio Shack and a pencil tip iron. Any suggestions or is it just time conusimg and slow?

 

[JKElect]

As I was reading the last few posts it dawned on me. The circuit board has plated thru holes. This means that the copper plating goes all the way from the top to the bottom of the board thru the hole. The only effective way to remove the solder is with a solder removing pump. You will need to resolder before you try to suck it off with the pump. Good luck.

 

[snathanb]

As I was reading the last few posts it dawned on me. The circuit board has plated thru holes. This means that the copper plating goes all the way from the top to the bottom of the board thru the hole. The only effective way to remove the solder is with a solder removing pump. You will need to resolder before you try to suck it off with the pump. Good luck.

I think the last time I did one of these what I ended up doing is applying pressure to the pins (from the bottom) with the soldering iron. As the solder would melt, the connector would lift from the pressure.

 

[JKElect]

I think the last time I did one of these what I ended up doing is applying pressure to the pins (from the bottom) with the soldering iron. As the solder would melt, the connector would lift from the pressure.

That will work as long as a gentle touch is used. Too much pressure before it is heated all the way through will lift the copper run from the board and possibly break it. It is tedious as each pin will only move a little bit until the next is heated and pushed out as they are all connected to one part. No matter what way is used, with copper plated hole it will not be simple.