Weird power issue [G53JW] plugging power adapter shuts it off

Hi,

I own the ASUS G53JW-A1 laptop (from Xotic PC), which has been very good to me so far (almost 2 years). I only had to send it to repair once, about a year in, because the power port/pin (where the power chord plugs into the laptop) was acting dodgy. Been all good since.

However, only minutes ago, the laptop just shut itself off mid-game (fully and instantly - all lights, fans etc. off at once). It was nowhere near overheated, and the battery was not in. The laptop was plugged into the wall (with a surge protector). The power adapter light went off at the same time.

After trying to turn the laptop back on, with or without the battery and with or without the power adapter, this is the situation:

The power adapter seems to be working fine. The little green light glows when I plug it into the wall, but shuts itself off instantly, as soon as I connect it to the laptop. It then doesn't glow again (i.e. gives no power to the laptop), unless I pull it out at both ends, wait a while and plug it back to the wall only. Any subsequent attempt to connect it to the laptop results in the same issue - power adapter goes black.

This whole time I'm getting nothing from my laptop - no lights, fans, no activity.

Any idea what could be causing this problem? I'm currently travelling (Penang, Malaysia), but if need be, I could still send it to a local ASUS repair centre (still within warranty). I suspect I'll have to send in everything: the laptop, the power adapter and the battery, just to be sure. But how thorough are those guys gonna be?

Thanks to anyone who can attempt to explain (or sympathise, haha).

 

If you're lucky, it's a short on the connector. If you're unlucky, maybe some busted VRM's. Definitely take it into service.

 

You could also have it looked at locally:

ASUS Service Center - Penang

Address: 1-02-15 E-gate, Lebuh Tunku Kudin 2, 11700 Gelugor, Penang
Business Hours: 10:00-19:00 Mon.~Fri.
Phone: +60-4-659-6780

Your A1 has 2yr Global warranty

 

OK, this is really strange:

I tried turning the laptop on one more time before going to the service - and it works! As if nothing has happened, it runs exactly as expected, battery is good and so is the power adapter.

I'm really confused by the whole thing now - why would it shut down and appear broken for one entire evening and a night, only to start just fine the next day???
Can anyone guess what would cause this weird behavior? I'd still like to take it to a service, but I'm not sure what to report or what part they should be focusing on.

Thanks, Chastity, that's the one I found too. Unfortunately, that phone number is not in use anymore. I can always take it there in a taxi, though. And yes, the A1 has a 2-year warranty, but I bought one extra year when I bought the laptop.

 

It could be a faulty wire in the brick's cable (try wiggling it to make sure).

The other option is the brick was not quite properly plugged in before (between the wall and the brick) and it was cutting in and out rapidly.

 

Yeah, definitely a weird issue. Hopefully it won't come back.

 

Well just keep an eye out and make sure the brick is totally plugged in at both ends