G73 AC Connection Problem

So recently I accidentally hit the connection for the AC adapter somewhat hard. Now, it is very sensitive and unless kept in place in the right spot, will constantly switch back and forth between battery and AC. I looked at the DC jack and connection and couldn't see any physical damage, but something has definitely gone bad with the connectors. I just don't know whether it's the plug or jack. Would this be an easy fix or more difficult?

UPDATE

Alright, I just got it back today. They were insisting that it was a mobo problem rather than a DC jack problem. I opened it up and took a look at the soldering. Now I don't know how well to differentiate a good job from a bad one, but I took a look at C4RN1's tutorial and compared it to this, which looks very sloppy. As I said before it could still charge in the correct position, but now there is none whatsoever.

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Can anyone tell me whether or not this is a good or bad job?

 

it's probably the dc jack itself, the tutorial to replace it is in my signature. It would be best to test your adapter with a new dc jack to make sure before ripping the laptop apart. Instructions to test are in that tutorial as well.

 

Unfortunately I do not have the steady hands nor the technical knowhow to do that without breaking something. I will try testing out the adapter first though.

 

Is this something a basic computer repair shop could fix? Or should it be sent in to Asus? It is not under warranty.

 

If they know what they're doing, then yes. If they're shoddy and try to wing it, then no. It's hard to tell, you would think a computer shop can handle this type of repair, but i've seen some hackjobs come to my shop from other well known shops (shops that spend thousands on advertising), and i have to fix their horrible soldering or even damage to plastics.

Ask them if they can replace the power jack, ask them how they do it. If they have answers for both questions i would assume they know what they're doing.

 

Or if anyone you know has used one then it's a good sign as it is a basic kind of service.

 

Well, it's definitely the DC jack, which has become incredibly loose and now my laptop is nearly unusable. Does anyone know a way to disable Power4Gear's stupid popup notifying AC and battery mode? Because it is becoming an enormous nuisance until I get this fixed.

 

Kill the OSD2 process

 

Well I took it to a shop and they told me they put in a new jack with no results. They said it is probably a problem with the mobo. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they screwed up somewhere. I'll probably try and just disassemble the laptop myself and take a look at the job they did soldering it on.

EDIT

I just picked it up, the jack still feels really loose, and in addition there is no charging whatsoever. Before, it had to be in the exact perfect position and would charge, however that was getting progressively worse. As an added bonus to their quality, the monitor cable is wasn't even stowed away when they reassembled it and is sticking out slightly under the monitor.

Is it possible they used the wrong jack, or is it likely the soldering job was crap? Or could it actually be a mobo problem?

 

Alright, I opened it up and took a look at the soldering. Now I don't know how well to differentiate a good job from a bad one, but I took a look at C4RN1's tutorial and compared it to this, which looks very sloppy. As I said before it could still charge in the correct position, but now there is none whatsoever.





Can anyone tell me whether or not this is a good or bad job?

 

Have you checked to see if there is an ASP near you?

 

No, the closest is 900 miles and 3 states away

 

When my machine had a jack issue there was actually an issue with the PCB layer itself, it was fixed by taking a thick solder line from the pin to the nearest electrically identical point (on a capacitor in my case). Even replacing the jack would not fix this.

 

I've realized now that the issue probably wasn't the jack itself, but rather just the pins coming loose from a hard hit to the cord while it was plugged in. But to make sure I want to get people's opinions on whether this soldering job the shop did would be good enough or not. I hate to be *that* customer, but if they're job was shoddy I want them to fix it and do it right.

 

This was an email I recieved from them earlier today but forgot to check after having asked a few questions about the repair before checking the solder job.

Now this raises some questions. I'll get a hold of them tomorrow to figure it out, but I still wonder. As I've said before the laptop charged if it was in the perfect spot, which meant there was likely a connection problem, correct? Now, after they've replaced it with a sloppy solder job, there is no charging at all. But what did they do to get the reading? I presume you'd test the jack by touching the multimeter to the solder? Could they have gotten the reading from touching the exposed pin and the solder is still the culprit?

 

really really really bad soldering skill

I'm guessing they tried to add solder to the joint without thoroughly heating it and the flux in the solder burned up so they're all cold solder joints. Just follow my tutorial and that should fix it.

 

I really wish I could but I only ever soldered one thing in my entire life (those little wire men you make in middle school ) so I would never trust myself doing it, nor do I have access to any high quality soldering equipment. I have some friends who have more experience with soldering, but none that I know have any experience with soldering small computer components.

 

I'd like to point out my board damage was from a hard knock so that can't be ruled out.

 

So figured i would follow up with this thread and report that it was a poor soldering job. The OP sent me their machine and after removing the motherboard i found this.





It looked like the pad for the power pin was completely gone so i removed the jack and cleaned everything up to confirm.



Yup the pad is gone and the others are damaged, the only good pad is the dc jack main ground.



On top of the board the pad for the power pin is intact, so it should be able to be repaired (notice the burned plastic on the side of the vga port)



You can see the solder couldn't flow around the pad because it wasn't intact anymore.

This is the important picture.



I had to solder to the top pad, you can see the solder actually makes a good connection. If you look at the first pictures you can see that they tried to solder to the pin but just kind of globbed it on the pad, it didn't get hot enough to flow to the pin of the dc jack.

Reassembled


I advised the OP to go back to the store, show them the pictures of the proof and get their money back. This is probably the worst soldering hackjob i've seen on a laptop motherboard.

 

Indeed, I should have listened to you from the start when you mentioned hackjobs you'd seen from supposedly reputable repair shops. I've learned my lesson. Hopefully the owner will be reasonable and accommodating.