AC Adapter tip repair

[RRHODY]

I'm poor at doing searches and have not found any posting about repairing the AC cord when the contacts break where the power cord attaches to the laptop. I have three adapters with this problem; if I wiggle the cord near where it attaches the power will momentarily work. Has anyone found a solution or repair, other than buying a new adapter?

[theterminator93]

I've had one short out in the wires near the connector this, but only after (repeatedly) having it smashed, which was totally my bad. The A/C adapter that came with my A22m also did this but by the stress relief on the cord by the brick.

You can repair a short, but it would probably be tricky and/or impossible to do properly due to how close the short is to the connector itself. You might be able to find a dead adapter and hack off the end of the wire with a good connector and splice that in-line. If the contacts in the end of the connector are messed up, the only thing I can think of would be to replace the entire connector.

In reality the best practice I've seen is to simply limit the bend radius of the cord. Try to reduce stress on the connections etc.

[axur-delmeria]

You can try opening up the AC adapter to see the extent of the problem.

AC adapters these days are sealed (no screws), so you'd need either a Dremel (or any other rotary tool) with a cutting disc, or a hacksaw (and lots of patience).

Examine the connector and determine if it needs replacement, or just a little "persuasion" (like a bent pin or something).

If the connector does need replacing, you'd need a spare connector, a soldering iron, desoldering pump, some solder, and the skill to use them.

[RRHODY]

The problem is with the tip that gets pushed into the laptop and then get bent so that the wires break. The tip is OK, the brick is OK, the problem is the wire immediately at the place where the wire enters the grey plastic shield attached to the plug. If I wiggle the black wire just at the grey shield, the power comes on but won't stay on.

[axur-delmeria]

Like this?

[AC plug] ======= x problem is here [power brick] ======= [DC connector to laptop]

Then you just need to buy a new cable, right?

The plug that connects to the power brick



is officially referred to as "IEC 60320 C5", and sometimes called a cloverleaf or "Mickey Mouse" connector.

These connectors are almost alway made from molded plastic, so you can't just cut the AC cable and buy a replacement connector.


On the other hand, if the problem is like this:
[AC plug] ======= [power brick] x problem is here ======= [DC connector to laptop]

You need to open up the power brick.

Take note of the wire colors and polarity, unsolder the wires , cut the broken part, strip the ends to expose some copper, solder them in, put the plastic shell back and glue the halves together.

If you don't know how to solder, you can opt to buy a new adapter, find someone who knows, or learn how to.
You also need a multimeter to check the connections before and after you've soldered the connections.

[RRHODY]

My problem is at the far end of the AC Adapter where it is inserted into the laptop. The power cord from the wall to the adapter is A-OK, the adapter itself is A-OK, the wire into the grey plug that gets inserted into the yellow hole is the problem.

[axur-delmeria]

I. Try finding a dead AC adapter with a good tip and splice that tip onto the working AC adapter.

II. A more unorthodox and probably unsafe fix is:

1. cut open the tip (removing all the gray plastic parts)
2. take note which wire is soldered to which terminal, then unsolder the wires
3. cut off the damaged part of the wire, expose the copper inside them, then resolder them to the tip.

4. Check if you've properly soldered the wires, and if the polarity is correct.

5. Recreate the plastic covering of the tip using hot-melt glue --> this is the "probably unsafe" part, since we don't know if the tip will get too hot enough to melt the glue in the future. IMO if the tip does get that hot, there's something really wrong with the laptop and you should unplug it at once.

I've done this fix on an actual Thinkpad tip, and it's holding up pretty well.

[RRHODY]

I was looking for something like a replacement tip and splice it on to the existing wire. Re-working the present grey tip as suggested seems too complex for my meager abilities.
I do appreciate the responses; as usual this forum provides excellent guidance.

[RealBlackStuff]

You can get replacement cables, but opening the adapter-case can be a royal PITA.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=78862
And from feeBay/China: http://www.ebay.com/itm/331020855661