DC Jack on laptop is "loose"

[Ksyder]

I've seen a few new laptops (namely a Toshiba and a few HP laptops- don't have specific model numbers but average $500-600 laptops from this year or last year) that have loose DC jacks when new. These jacks are just like the typical wore out DC jack where the solder joints are breaking except these laptops are brand new. I went to Best Buy and 2 or 3 of the HP display models also were like this. Basically you can wiggle the plug on the cord even though the DC jack seems to be firmly in place.

I replaced the DC jack on a family member's HP laptop because I wiggled the plug in the DC jack and it would go in and out of charging so I figured the DC jack was abused on this laptop even though it was only a few months old. I just figured some people aren't careful with the laptops and thats why it was like that even though it was new.

On this particular laptop the DC jack is not actually soldered to the motherboard but rather is on a separate board with one usb port and it connects with 2 different wiring harnesses. The new dc jack board is firmly mounted with 2 screws so I know its not loose but when I plug the cord in the replacement dc jack is "loose" also. It will actually stop charging if you wiggle the cord even though it is a "brand new" jack.

The only thing I can think of is that these dc jacks are designed to do this so that they will be able to handle more stress. However, if this is the case, it would be nice for the manufacturers to point this out so that we would know that this is normal.

If this is how the manufacturers are dealing with the problem of broken DC jacks then this is pretty disappointing. It would be nice if they could do the mag-safe connector (a la Mac Book Pro) on all laptops so we wouldn't have this problem. The whole "springy" dc jack thing has me quite confused as to whether or not they are supposed to be this way.

Thoughts?

 

[ManBearPig]

agreed, its annoying for me too, but apparently its supposed to be there for exactly the reason you said, although it sounds kind of like a lame excuse.

 

[Ksyder]

I know this is old... but anyways, just wanted to update, at least about the laptop I originally posted about, I wasn't pushing the plug in all the way... it goes in and then you have to give it an extra push and it goes in some more and then it is not loose. Whoops lol

 

[corkyg]

This has always been a weakness in many laptops. For that reason, one should never pull the A/C cord to remove the connection, but, grasp the connector itself and pull straight back. IBM/Lenovo connectors are very robust and don't suffer much from that syndrome. Apple laptops also have excellent connectors.

One of the most frequent causes of connector trauma is tripping over the A/C cord while connected. This can happen in hotel rooms, etc. Also, picking up the lappy to move it, forgetting it is plugged in.

 

[Modelworks]

The reason the connector is on a different board is because it makes it easier for the service person to replace should it break. One problem in a lot of devices with adapters is they do not use a solid center for the barrel connector. If you look at the plug that you plug into the laptop and the center is made of plastic with two little metal bumps those are the ones I am referring to that often fail. They are cheaper to make but nowhere near as reliable as the solid metal ones.

They look like this:

Instead of :

 

[ahenkel]

I replaced the DC jack in my latop PITA. If it breaks again I'm just selling the damn thing for parts

 

[AznAnarchy99]

The jack on my Toshiba broke and I had to replace that but it was relatively simple on that . However my friend has had his Compaq for years and the jack has never broken and he abuses that shit like nothing...

My Toshiba right now is not even taking power and there's nothing wrong with the jack or the AC adapter ... ughh