Dell l702x Loose A/C Power Cord Connection

The problem I've found on my L702x is the connector is the same as previous Dell laptops, however due to 150w supply the cable is much thicker than a standard 90w supply.

What I am finding is the cable is too stiff for the friction within the connector and as a result when you move the laptop the tension in the cable overcomes the friction in the connector and it pops out, mine did this from new.

 

Same with mine, it shows 0J408P, brand new, ordered like 3 weeks ago.

 

Bill - is there a resolution to this issue?

 

I called Dell earlier in the week and told them of this issue and asked for a new charger. The girl was very helpful and put in an order for a new adapter for me. I asked her the part number although I can't remember the exact number she read out to me it was very similar to the one Bill mentioned.

The next day I got a call from Dell, they decided to send out an Engineer to replace the AC port on my laptop instead of just sending my the new adapter. The Engineer replaced it today for me, so I have only had a few hours to use the laptop since the AC Jack has been replaced but it seems to be a "little" better. It's very hard to tell if the problem is solved since the only way to know is by using the laptop for a long period of time(and I plan to do this ) but I will let ye know in a few days how I feel.

It does seem to hold slightly better but it fell out once on me already. I still have the 0J408P adapter so if this keeps happening I'm going to ask them to send me out a new charger again.

 

Without a new design I don't think it matters how many chargers they send. Mine has done it twice, so now I just make sure I check it now and then. I don't find it to bothersome, but that is just me.

 

I don't see the point of requesting a new adapter. Unless you see some damage or deformation of the adapter plug, likely there is no problem with it. It's just that the port on the laptop isn't gripping the plug as tightly as would be needed to overcome the tension of the cord when it moves.

 

My hope is to get the charger that Bill suggested in his post earlier and see does it work.
Hopefully it won't and when they release the L703x with an IvyBridge CPU and a nVidia 600 series GPU we can all complain about our laptops and get a replacement

 

So after a few more hours of use I can confirm getting the AC port daughterboard replaced does not fix the issue of a loose adapter. The charger has fallen out numerous times already since I got it replaced yesterday.

I am going to be talking to Dell again and asking for a new charger.
I know ye have said this won't fix anything and I actually don't expect it to either, but it's no cost to me and in the slight chance it does fix it then at least we will all know and can get one

 

For a quick and simple fix, go back and look at post #28. This method takes less than sixty seconds to repair the loose connection. I performed this several weeks ago and couldn't be happier with the connection. I haven't had any problems with the connection since then.

 

Yeah I know of that fix, but I'm not actually too bothered by this.
I leave my battery in all the time, with battery charging switched off in the BIOS so when the charger does fall out, the laptop just switches to battery power. And I constantly check the charger anyway so I usually notice if it falls out fairly quick. Plus I'm sure Dell would want to give out to me about warranty's and such for doing that.

I am more just going through this in the hope that Dell will provide a proper solution to the problem and even if they don't then at least we will know for sure that there currently is no solution to the problem.

 

Hey everyone, I chatted with Dell support online about 2 weeks ago, about my loose charger for my L502X, requesting part # MTMPN as suggested by Bill on post #39. They informed me that part was not active until January, but that they would send out a tech with a new power port and replacement adapter (which actually matches mine, 0JU012.

Much to my surprise, the tech was able to come out to my house two days later on Christmas Eve, even though I was told to expect holiday delays (which I completely understood). Following the port replacement, my power cord is now staying firmly connected. After over a week of usage so far, it has not given me issues, whereas my previous replacement adapter (and my first one too) all were loose from the beginning.

So far, I'm satisfied with my service. My cord actually requires significant force to pull out manually, so, I know it's a good fit. I guess the power port was my issue to begin with. I'm just glad I have this taken care finally, however.

 

Hey, kids... My first brand new Laptop in a bazillion years, and already all kinds of trouble. Grr.

XPS17, L702x, with the J408P adapter. Move the computer slightly, the thing falls out. I haven't taken time to squish with pliars/use dental tools, but I applaud the thinking in this forum!

Called support, quoted Bill's post 39 part number, and the tech said that's for a 130W adapter instead of the 150W that I've got. He's shipping me off a replacement J408P, but colour me skeptical this will end up doing much.

Still, appreciate the forum very much, now I have to go deal with my other (video/HDMI related) hellish problems that I've been fighting with. Will report back on how different, if at all, a new adapter with the same part number will be.

 

well, from 6pm last night, I received the replacement today. Bless the courier system!

I see no real difference in how it inserts, but I'll give it a day or so. Wary of trying the dental pick method, but we'll see if it comes to that. Would love it if there was a 90 degree plug so that it wouldn't jut out so much.

Frankly, between this and the HDMI issues I'm having second thoughts - the thing is really capable, I'm enjoying the 3D and stuff, but it's such a bloody tank that using it on ones lap is a pain, exacerbated by the power cable coming out and the fan going crazy, etc. bleh.

 

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where the hell are you guys getting these dental picks? I love that you have them lying around the house... heh

 

Yep they have gone quite in replies to anyone here and over on the Dell support forum,in relation to this really annoying issue.If they do update to a L703x/Lwhatever I'll be looking for a free replacement.Even while typing this post,I've just noticed the cable had popped out

 

Question, is this problem effecting the Dell XPS 17 3D? A friend of mine wants to buy one, but if this is a problem, I will tell him to hold off..

Please advise....

 

Sorry, I see no reason to hold off over this. It really is a minor issue. The cord is just heavier than other models and they didn't make changes to make it tighter. When I play sitting in my chair I just check it now and again and I have yet to have it fall out. Just a minor annoyance to me. Hey gunny, thx for your service. I am a retired/disabled AF MSGT.

 

Yep mine is a 3D version and I've seen a few others with the same issue.It's not entirlely a huge issue,but you can get caught out by it sometimes.Which can be annoying for something that costs so much.

 

Thanks, Ditto!!!

 

I paid 100 dollars more for this set up then the top of the line HP HDX 16 I bought four years ago. I don't think Dell makes a bunch of money from these. I think the quality is great for the price. But i do hope for a real fix to this issue.

 

Believe me whatever you paid in total for yours,mine cost me a hell of a lot more.Here in Ireland the prices compared to the US are ridiculous.

 

oops, I apologize. I should have looked a bit closer.......I hold my head in shame.

 

What you pay for yours?
I got,
i7-2670QM
GT 555M 3GB
1600x900
4GB RAM
500GB HDD
Backlight keyboard
9 cell battery

For €883, I was very happy with the price. Cheapest laptop of this kind of spec around.
Although your right I could find similar laptops from America for €100 cheaper.

 

OK I paid.......Are you ready for it €1,695/$2,173 and this is cheap for what I would have paid directly(€2,250) from Dell with the same build.So you can understand why I'm slightly miffed at the loose power cord.

 

I paid just over 1,300 dollars.

 

so, yeah, new power adapter, just as loose after testing all evening, falls out about as often.

For those dental picking, are you digging into the hole from the back, or actually taking the whole laptop apart and/or somehow extracting the power section? Not really interested in surgery, but it's a pretty annoying situation as it stands.

 

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Dell will probably "fix" the issue for the new owner gets it though

 

^^They will not fix the issue. I 'dban' all my drives and all they'll do is re-image the hdd and load all the crap back in to the system again. As for the jack, if they do replace it, and I don't see why they would need to, they'll just put in the same new loose one. They will not solve the problem, if any, they would only repeat it. This is evident with all XPS (or Dell) owners as they have been dealing with this for some time now.

 

sounds fancy... yeah, there's not a heck of a lot of room in there to be futzing with pins, how much of the case needs to come up in order to pull the AC thingy out?

 

called up Dell, they're sending a tech with a replacement AC socket... Anything I should be telling him when he replaces it, or looking for on the revised socket?

 

Some XPS owners do say they have a solid connection. However, I've not heard of anyone who's had the issue fixed satisfactorily by getting a Dell technician around.

I don't mind so much that the socket isn't as tight as it should be so much as the fact that I can easily wiggle the plug when it's connected! Obviously this is due to a loosely connected part in the laptop as opposed to the hole in the jack being too large for the plug.

As I understand most of you only have an issue with the latter?

 

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I also wanted to note that, along with the dental tool fix, the power supply that came with my replacement unit was also somewhat different. The wires are thinner which helped TREMENDOUSLY in reducing stress. I love this even more!

 

Just did this to my L702x, and it works as advertised. I did not remove the socket, just held the laptop in my lap and rotated it as needed. You really do need something tiny like a dental pick, which I happened to have on hand. Years ago, dental offices would give them away when they were no longer useful. Last time I checked with my dentist, they were sending them in for credit when they bought new ones.

It remains to be seen how long the fix will last, how many plug/unplug cycles can it endure without starting to loosen up again.

 

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what's the model of your replacement P/S? Again, I rec'd my second one, and it was the same, beefy cable... Quality construction, if the power socket didn't suck.

 

Shark,
The second picture has the part numbers written on them.

 

Does the repair technique fix the looseness of the jack or the plug, please?

 

I've done the dental pick fix, which has really tightened up the connection. However, like one of earlier posts in this thread, I've noticed that the male end of the connector has to be inserted more that half way before it starts to make contact. The female part seems to be mounted too deep into the chassis for a proper physical connection (I'm talking computer here, really).

So for anyone that's had the AC card out, does there seem to be any way to adjust its position so it's closer to the edge of the chassis so as to make more contact?

 

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Both! It fixes the jack by altering the tabs when the plug is inserted. The tabs build pressure (clasping) to the inner and outer walls of the male plug when inserted therefore resulting in a tighter-snug fit!

 

This doesn't have anything to do with the fix other than the fix makes the situation more noticable: the female plug is mounted deeper in the laptop than other laptops. The top of the center pole of the female plug is about twice as deep into the laptop than my old Inspiron 8600. (They both take the same male plug.)

I was just curious if there is some way to adjust the depth of the female plug. I don't mind disassembling the thing, but it's work I'd rather not do if I'll just find there no way to adjust the position.

 

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Nothing seems doable in terms of moving the AC connector card farther outboard inside the laptop?

 

Hey just want to give a big thank you to 80sGuy for the fix on this.

This problem on my xps 17 seemed to get worse and worse as each day went by and I was almost about to ring Dell until I found the fix on here.

My Grandfather (ex jeweller) used a pair of very fine pliers to slowly pull the metal grips outward. This fixed the problem.

The metal for these grips seems very soft but id say, even if this happens again, this fix is not too difficult to do again.

Thanks again,
Lewis

 

^^
Glad I can help since Dell left us in the dark with this one.
The fix should be permanent. I haven't experience any loose connection after the fix.

 

I had the same problem. So called Dell they sent a tech to replace the AC Jack on my laptop.
This had no effect, still had same problems, so Dell sent another tech to do the same thing again.

Had it replaced again yesterday, that and he gave me a new adapter which is actually the same model as the one I originally had but like 80sGuy posted in some images I can't find right now the cable is thinner than the old one. It's model number is 0J408P.
I've only got to use the laptop for a few hours since the replacement but surprisingly it seems to have actually fixed the problem, so far it's held in quite well.

Unfortunately I don't know the model number of the replacement AC Jack and I don't want to tear it apart in case it will void my warranty.

Will update once I get some more time on the laptop.

 

^^
Here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/8236276-post85.html

The thinner cable helped a little and only not as loose as the original one but can still fall out. When I fixed the tabs, along with using the newer adapter it is super tight like any ordinary laptop should be!
I forgot to mention that the newer replacement adapter is manufactured by Lite-On.