T43 won't take AC anymore! need out-of-warranty service

[edthink]

Short Summary:

My T43 would not take AC power anymore, and is out of warranty. I'd appreciate advices on (1) possible cause, (2) repair cost, and (3) reputable repair service. Thanks.

Long version:

This is a T43 I got from work, purchased almost 2 years ago. Unfortunately it only got a 1yr warranty (I was not even aware of that, thinking all thinkpads have 3yr warranty!).

I mostly used it plugged in. I last conditioned the battery about 2 months ago; at which time Maximizer showed that it had 85% of original capacity.

Then one day while it was plugged in,it suddenly power-cycled by itself. It came back to life fine, except that it no longer recognized the AC power. Battery showed 98% and discharging, as if AC was not plugged in.

The AC port on the T43 was not loose at all. I checked the AC adapter, and noticed some wearings on the cable near the plug (from twisting/pulling through the days, I guess). So I assumed the brick went bad. I have other personal thinkpads with identical power adapters, so I tried another one. Still not recognized. I then plugged the adapter into another thinkpad, and it worked fine (i.e., good adapter, good wall outlet). Later I even tried a brand new adapter and the result was the same.

After the battery drained to 70% and still not charging, I turned the T43 off, unplugged, removed the battery, and replugged; the AC light was not on, and I could not turn the laptop on at all. So it seemed not a software (power management) problem either. Putting battery back would make the laptop work, but still no charging.

I called Lenovo, was told that it was out of warranty so they would not do anything about it; I asked for an authorized service center, was transferred to IBM support for that info, which gave me another number to call, which was no longer in service. After much fumbling on Lenovo websites I only found a list of "business partners" which practically included all the computer shops (and seriously out-of-dated as several on the list no longer exist). I called several of them, they did not seem to be very knowledgeable and the "estimate" I got ranged from $200 to $600. Some said they could fix the "AC board" (although I did open the thing and the AC port seems soldered on the MB), others said the MB has to be replaced, etc..

So did anyone have similar problems before? (I searched the forum but could not find anything similar; someone had a similar symptom but that was a bad adapter problem.)

Since this is a work laptop, I'd like to get it fixed as long as it costs less than buying a new one. I suppose the worst case would be to get the motherboard replaced; how much would that cost? Can I buy the motherboard myself? If yes, from whom and how?

Also could someone recommend some reputable out-of-warranty service shops? I ran into thinkpadservice.com (not affiliated with IBM/Lenovo) which seems convenient, but coudl not find reviews/comments about it.

Advices/helps are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Ed.

[richk]

Either the power jack is burned out or the charging circuitry is burned out. If it is the jack, it can be replaced separately. I have done many of them, and I could do it in under an hour, but a general repair shop might take longer. You need to remove the motherboard and take off the rear frame to get at it. Make sure whoever you take it to has a jack lying around from a T4x. If it isn't the jack, the charging circuitry is shot and you probably need a new motherboard. I always waste some time with a multimeter looking for a burned out fuse near the jack, but I have only had one case where the fuse was bad. If the fuse is bad, I replace it with one from a pile of motherboards in the corner. That may fix the problem, unlless the fuse burned out because of a problem somewhere else. Then the replacement blows too and the motherboard is added to the pile. The jack is a separate part. There is no AC board.

[mitchellst]

It's almost never the jack. I have seen it, but it's really, really rare. Definitely sounds like a motherboard.

I do those kinds of repairs. PM me with your laptop information if you want a quote.

[richk]

I still would check the jack first. It can be tested in the case with a multimeter. You need only to remove the keyboard, touchpad and keyboard bezel.

[edthink]

Thanks folks. I'm out of town now but will take another look at it when I 'm back.

This is the T43 with 1.6 PentiumM and SXGA. How much would the MB cost? Is the CPU soldered or socketed?

[richk]

The CPU is socketed. There are different graphics options. What model do you have now? It will be on the bar code sticker on the bottom. It will be 4 numbers followed by a dash and 3 numbers or letters.