T42 problems charging -- help :(

[kangazoom]

Hi, everyone! I have owned my T42 since the summer of 2004, and it has been working fine until now.

I am having issues with charging the battery. I began to notice that merely connecting my AC adapter to my laptop wasn't enough for the laptop to charge. I had to push the plug in as deep as I could and wiggle it around. After a few months of this, it only became worse and it would take me thirty minutes sometimes to adjust and push and jiggle the plug so that it would connect and charge my laptop.

Finally, I bought a new AC adapter, thinking maybe the one I owned had turned faulty. But no. It's the same deal with the new AC adapter.

I'm afraid that something is wrong internally with my thinkpad.

Would anyone like to take a stab at this one?

[kangazoom]

an update for anyone experiencing the same problem: the connector is an integrated part of the system board.

estimated cost of repair: $500


i'm tempted to just buy a new machine.
ugh

[tpmwr]

It's not all one piece, the AC jack is actually on a sepearte (and VERY easily replaced) part. You can pick one up on eBay, heres one of the many they got up:

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-ThinkPad-T40-T4 ... dZViewItem

[kangazoom]

are you serious?

so that support guy had no idea what he was talking about?

that's crazyy.

i'm a little mad -- at him

But incredibly relieved that it won't cost so much money to fix it, as I am a poor college student.

Thank you so much for this information. You've made my day!

[ryan]

are you serious?

so that support guy had no idea what he was talking about?

that's crazyy.

i'm a little mad -- at him

But incredibly relieved that it won't cost so much money to fix it, as I am a poor college student.

Thank you so much for this information. You've made my day!

You should try fixing the jack with a paperclip first:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... highlight=

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... highlight=

[Hotbrick]

About a year ago I picked up my laptop and walked away with the adapter still plugged in.
After a year of irritation and trying to fix the wiggling and constant beeping when moving, I yesterday tried it with a paperclip.:
I bended the end about 1 mm into a 90 degree angle and then hit it with a hammer a few times to make it flat.
Like carbon_unit says: You will notice that the flat strip used to be bent in the middle.----> this was what I did not know but it's very important though......
MANY thanks to carbon_unit; problem is fixed

[mitchellst]

estimated cost of repair: $500

I think I can beat that price, but since I have no idea where you are located... and shipping is additional.

PM me with your motherboard fru # located underneath the RAM on the back for an estimate.