Inspiron 6000 Charging Issues

I've been handed an Inspiron 6000, with expired warranty. Relatively good exterior condition. Has been dropped at least twice onto hard surfaces. Hard drive has been replaced at least once due to damage from the falling, which took place half a year ago. This latest problem does not seem related, however, background information is usually non-detrimental.

The user reports that the laptop has recently been experiencing difficulty with charging from the AC adapter. The machine would be running off AC, and then suddenly switch off (accompanied by LCD dimming, battery icon, etc) AC, even though the adapter remained plugged in properly. The problem has gradually increased in severity, and jiggling the AC adapter plug is no longer a viable workaround.

In diagnosing the issue, we've obtained the use of an identical i6000. The battery charges with no issues in the working machine. The AC adapter from the working machine, when plugged into the broken one, exhibits the same behavior (AC power cuts out sporadically, and the user must physically change the position of the plug to restore AC). The adapter from the broken machine works properly in the alternate one. At this point, it is sounding a lot like the problem is located on the machine's motherboard, and is most likely related to the power jack. This issue occurs frequently in laptops that run almost exclusively on AC and are exposed to physical trauma repeatedly.

I've taken the machine apart completely and have the motherboard sitting in front of me. The problem is however, that I can't visually identify (with 100% certainty at least), that the power jack and its connection with the motherboard, has sustained any form of damage. Evidence suggesting some form of damage includes slight discoloration around two of the prongs that contact the board, and the actual AC plug that belongs to the damaged machine. The user reported that the plug may have been chipped, however, it looks much more like heat damage to me. The rounded, pitted surface suggests that it has probably been subjected to very high temperatures.

Anyway, I was looking for a second opinion to justify replacing the power jack (~50$) as opposed to the entire motherboard (~400+$). Here are some pictures that I've taken (large images, so links only).

http://www.mad-science.org/Ming/Resources/i6000/powerjack1.png
http://www.mad-science.org/Ming/Resources/i6000/powerjack2.png
http://www.mad-science.org/Ming/Resources/i6000/powerjack3.png

http://www.mad-science.org/Ming/Resources/i6000/adapter.jpg

 

Sounds like you need to replace the MB. I had a similar problem on mine (luckly mine was cover under warranty). The power supply became loose from the motherboard, so the laptop would not receive power at all. I was able to hold the ac plug in at a certain angle and it would work, but eventually it got to the point where that didn't work anymore either.

I'm 99.9% sure that replacing the power jack won't help.

 

can't u rebuy warranty?

 

Dell does not provide the option of rebuying a warranty after it has expired. It would cost 159$ + what they charge for a motherboard to get it "repaired" by them, meaning they'd probably stick a refurb board in to replace the current one.

I think that the best course of action here would be to desolder the connection, remove the power jack, clean the traces, and resolder them back in. The least favorable outcome in that situation is that I end up with a broken board, which is not significantly worse off than I am at the moment.