jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

I have a laptop and the mrs had been dragging it around whilst connected to the power supply. The offshot of this is that where the ac adapter plugs into the laptop, the component it plugs into has broken.

whats this compnent called does anyone know?

It is connected to the laptop motherboard by 3 solder points, its like a square enclosure and has a pin central that the ac adaptor goes over (as well as making contact with the side of the enclosure)

Anyone know what its called so I can order a replacement?

Cheers
James

Ant

Not sure but chassis mounted ac socket

Ant

Plus you'll need to find out if it's + or - centre

hodgy0_2

if its the female part to the power adapter

it would be specific to the laptop -- RS Components maybe worth a try

hodgy0_2

that sounds spot on to me

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

its sort of male and female as the ac adaptor has a hole in the centre for the pin on the motherboard but that itself fits into another hole (the enclosure)

I will give rs components a try to see if I can see anything

cheers

davegtt

You want something like this? Its commonly known as a DC socket.



CLIFF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS|FC68148|DC POWER SOCKET - PCB MOUNT - | CPC

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

thanks for that davegtt, thats exactly what i am after.
Many thanks

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Be aware, there are lots of subtle variations on that type of socket with different sized centre pins and outer barrels - not to mention the positions of the pins that solder into the PCB. You need to be sure to get the right one.

In my experience, though, the connectors themselves are very tough - what breaks 9 times out of 10 are the solder joints connecting it to the PCB, or the copper on the PCB itself. In that case you don't need a new connector at all, just open up the laptop and see where the fracture is. You might just get away with resoldering the joints, or you may need to scrape a bit of the PCB clean and bridge the gap with a wire if the copper itself has fractured.

When you're all done (inc. testing!!), a bit of carefully applied epoxy or superglue will help stop it breaking again.

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

cheers AndyC, the connectors are fine just need resoldering, but it is the actual plastic housing on the thing that has broke due to the constant tugging when the mrs has been dragging around so this is causing the solder not to be strong enough. I have resoldered loads of times now but it isnt lasting as long anymore. I have also fused the plastic surround together by using heat and literally melting it over the crack to make it stable, but im running out of plastic to melt (and it makes a mess of my soldering irons)

tanyatriangles

iTrader: (2)

Given your Mrs a slap yet, then? Can she solder?

Sonic'

They are a nightmare to solder

or rather a nightmare to desolder the old one, I had one on my Dell laptop and bought one from ebay, gave up in the end

Spoke to a company who repair laptop motherboards and it is the most common fault, and they actually put the motherboards in an oven to get a nice even temperature across the board, and then lightly heat up the parts they need to remove as it makes it so much easier

However it is not something I would really want to try at home unless it was an absolute last resort

And even then I would be tempted juist to buy a replacement motherboard for the laptop as they arent that expensive

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

If you're going to buy a new motherboard anyway, then you've nothing to lose.

Desoldering braid is the stuff to use. You might be able to get the connector out using just this - failing that a hot air gun is useful. Takes skill and practise to get the right amount of heat, though.

I'm surprised that a repair company would use an oven. They might achieve lower stresses on components by heating the board evenly, but they also run the risk of 'popcorning' where trapped moisture in components boils, expands and wrecks them. I've seen whole batches of boards wrecked this way