Broken Power supply

Hey everyone!

So the last 2 days my laptop has had problems charging. The prong inside the power supply on my compaq presario v2310CA has become extremely loose. And now the laptop will not charge.. will not turn on. none of the LEDs glow when it is plugged in. So I called hp and my only option is to pay 300$ to get the problem diagnosed!
Now I am 16 and i don't have that kind of money.
So I was wondering if I could open it up and check it out.. maybe something is loose? I don't know (I have lots of computer hardware experience.. I build all of my desktop rigs)
So has anyone had this problem or have an idea to what to do?
BTW i am out of warranty!

Thanks so much!

 

A picture or two would be really helpful.

 

Welcome to NBR, bvlaar.

If the prong when the main power cable plug is loose, then its probably not making a proper connection with the internal PCB of the adapter. If want to diagnose the problem yourself, you will need to open the supply up, and see if you can reattach or reseccure the prong. Alternatively, you could simply buy a new adapter. There are many third party adapters, which can be used on a number of different notebooks.

 

Thanks for the help so far..

Well The prong in the laptop power supply is loose not the cable prong.
Is it easy and pretty safe to open the laptop up and see if the prong is just disconnected?
Thanks so much! HP wants over 400$ to fix it.
Bvlaar

 

Since I have not seen your notebook I cannot be 100% sure, but my guess is that your DC port has become loose. In my HP ZT1000 I have had to re-solder the port 3 times (over a 5 year period). This is a very very very common problem with older HP (Compaq) notebooks.

The proper way to fix this is to replace the port. If you have never opened up a laptop before, it may be difficult for you to do this yourself. Below are a few links to the part you need. You can also google "laptop DC port repair" and find people that will fix this for $100-$200.

Good luck!

From HP forum

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer.do?threadId=1141484

The Part you probably need

http://www.laptopking.com/kingpartdetails.asp?ref=573&category=dcjack

 

Thanks so much for the help..
I will look into each of those solutions!

Thanks again!

Bvlaar

 

It's unclear whether you're referring to the power jack on the laptop or the wire/connection on the power brick. If you can wiggle the power jack on the laptop end and it flickers to life, then you know it's a laptop issue. If you wiggle the wires going to and from the power brick and it comes back to life, then you know it's a power adapter. Could you clarify whether you're referring the power jack input on the laptop or the wires that go in and out of the power supply brick?

From my experience, HP notebook power adapters are notoriously failure-prone. After one year, I'm already on my 3rd power brick and 2nd wall cord (From wall outlet to brick). At least the jack on the laptop itself hasn't failed. Yet.