voltage fluctuation at power cord

[jca31]

i have a toshiba qosmio x505. it would not power up so replaced battery, nothing. replaced ac power adapter, nothing. i checked the voltage with mm at the computer side of the adapter and i am getting a fluctuation between 0 and 35 volts on the new and old power adapter. are these just bad units?

 

[Harvey]

Does the fluctuation change as you flex the wire? If so, either the cable from the adapter to the laptop or the actual connector that plugs into the laptop has an intermittant break or short that happens as you move it in and out of a working position.

A break is an open line. A short is a direct connection between the high and low conductor.

The other possibility is that, as you surmise, you actually have two bad power supplies (adapters).

 

[Kenmitch]

Are you sure the laptop is still even good? I doubt a new battery or power cord is going to bring a dead laptop back to life.