"Laptop charger plugged in not work."

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shell shocke

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Jan 10, 2012
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Hello, yesterday I tried plugging in my charger and it wasn't charging If I moved it around including the cord it would sometimes flicker it was charging and sometimes 2 days ago

would charge for a long period of time. I though it was the outlets. Turns out it's my charger or battery can anyone help me to figure out if it is the battery or charger? I could turn my

laptop on but it would only have 5% of energy...But I wouldn't have enough time to actually get on and do stuff in order to even diagnose it...

Thanks.

P.S. I made a 2nd post because I wanted this problem resolved as fast as possible. :3
 

kcsmacker

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If your are moving the cord and it flickers like it charges for a second, then more then likely 1. you have a charger cord that has loose wires, or 2. your charging port is damaged or lose so you cannot get a good connection. If your laptop is still under warranty I would try to send it in.
 

shell shocke

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If I take out the battery, I can't run without it. It shuts off...instantly.
 

szaboaz

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Geez, I didn't mean *that* simply... You don't take out the battery while the computer is running. (Note to self: be clear or shut tf up!)

Well... okay, now you know it's the charger. I should say it could also be the connector on the computer, but I think I already over-thought this. It's the charger.
 

sewalk

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The easiest way to isolate the power supply is to plug it in with the laptop off. You should have a charge status LED somewhere on the laptop. If it dies not light up, you are not getting power. Double check the wall cord and the laptop jack; if wiggling either one causes the charge LED to flicker, you've got a connection problem. If it's the wall cord, simply change it out with another cord. With OEM chargers, there are only three types of cords normally used: a two-prong cord commonly used with many other home electronics, a small three-prong connector most commonly seen only on laptops but sometimes seen with other electronic devices, and a larger three-prong connector that is the same as that seen on desktop PCs. You don't need to spend a lot of money on a replacement cord if you don't have a spare. Places like Amazon and Newegg have them for just a couple of dollars and they are all the same for all intents and purposes.

If the connector at the laptop is the problem, there are two likely causes: You have a bad connector on the power supply (unlikely) or a bad jack on the laptop. If you still have warranty coverage, replacing the power supply is pretty straightforward. If the problem is in the jack, it may be deemed to have been caused by your negligence and may not be covered. If that is the case, there is still hope. There are many places that will replace the jack in your laptop for a very reasonable fee, less than $50 in many cases. If you're handy with a soldering iron, you can get replacement jacks from eBay for about $2-$5 or so and save even more money.

If no amount of wiggling the connectors will light up the charge LED on the laptop, you have a dead power supply, a badly broken power jack, or some other more serious problem inside the laptop. Testing with a known-good power supply is necessary to rule that part out. If the power supply is good, the laptop will need to be inspected by a competent technician to determine if the problem is simple enough for a field repair or if a new system board is necessary. If you are out of luck with your warranty, there are plenty of good replacement power supplies out there. Amazon is a good place to start looking. I've found replacement supplies for many laptops for about $10-$15 there.

If your system board is the problem, things start to get a lot more expensive. Sometimes a board can be found cheaply (I've had some luck on eBay from time to time) and all you're out is a couple of hours of bench time for a tech to replace the board. Often, though, a system board will run $200-$300 (or even $500-$600) and that can easily exceed the replacement cost of many lower-end laptops.
 

mmaatt747

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The charging port frequently goes bad on laptops. This usually occurs after having the cord yanked multiple times while it's plugged into the laptop. I had this happen to a laptop of mine and was able to send it off to have someone solder the piece that had broken off inside.

About a year later it happened again on the same laptop. This time however, the motherboard itself had actully cracked and broken where the charging port was mounted. Replacing a motherboard is usually very expensive on laptops and was too expensive in my case.

 

shell shocke

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The LED light on my charger is on, it's bright green and not flashing and or flickering. Does this mean my charger is not the broken part? Also the pin where I put in my charger is kind of bent...could it being bent be the problem?
 

sewalk

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If your power supply has a LED and it is lit, you have at least eliminated it as being totally dead. The LED I was referring to, though, is on the laptop itself and it illuminates when the battery is accepting a charge. You'll need to closely examine the laptop to find it or take a look at the owners' manual since there are several places this LED can be found.

As mmaatt and Randini stated, it is very common for the power jack on the laptop to break and even possible for the system board itself to fail. If the pin inside the laptop power jack is bent, that's not a promising sign. That means that the jack has definitely been subjected to excessive force. If you're lucky, a (relatively) simple jack repair will make your laptop as good as new and you'll be more careful with it in the future.
 

shell shocke

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When I click the power button the laptop itself does not make an LED light...and I mean where you stick the charger in the pin as you said 'looked' like it was kind of bent I don't think it is that bent maybe a tad...But the charger does make an LED light
 
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