Problem with Y500 170W AC adapter.

I just received the 170W charger I ordered separately for my Y500 SLI and have run into a pretty perplexing problem. Namely, the charger tip fits way too tight into the power jack on the laptop. I have to use brute force, especially when unplugging it. So much brute force that I have to brace with my other hand and the laptop slides around and makes a loud POP when freed. I feel like I'm gonna rip the power jack right out or do some other damage. I know this sounds absurd but it feels like it wasn't designed for this laptop.

My 120W adapter, on the other hand, fits perfectly fine in the socket. Very snug but not too tight and doesn't take anywhere near the same amount of force to extricate. Upon close examination, it looks like the opening is different and ever-so-slightly wider on the 120W charger.



120W left. 170W right.

Here's a video of what I'm talking about. First sequence is plugging and unplugging 120W charger, second sequence is doing the same for the 170W:



Can anyone else who owns the Y500 and 170W charger shed some light on this? Does yours fit so tightly or is mine unique in this regard?

I've been very unhappy with Lenovo's quality control during this purchase and this just adds insult to injury. My Y500 came with a bunch of stuck pixels and a left clickpad button that would not register input regularly, so I'm currently using the defective unit while waiting for a replacement to arrive next week. Now, it looks like I'll need to get my charger replaced too. I can't imagine how long that's gonna take because it took almost 3 weeks for this adapter to arrive after I ordered it. Pretty bummed out right now.

 

I use two hands to plug mine in as well, but it isn't quite as snug as yours. You may want to just get it replaced. It's not a bad idea to buy a universal either. I've got a Targus APA05US 180w that I used for my previous laptop as a spare, and the same tip fit this laptop. It fits with the same feel as my OEM adapter, which is not too snug but definitely in there.

QA isn't too hot on these, you are right on that. Probably going to send mine in soon for an ethernet issue. So they are mailing you the new laptop before you ship your defective unit back to them? How did you work that out? I need to do the same as I work every day on this laptop.

 

My 120W charger fits snugly. This is beyond snug, it feels more like forcing in a plug that's incompatible with this laptop. It might be kind of hard to tell from the video but I was muscling it pretty good and there was some flex in the plastic casing around the power jack. I've broken power jacks in the past by just bumping the inserted plug so I know how fragile these things are and how much of a PITA they are to fix, especially if the DC jack is soldered onto the mainboard.

I think Lenovo's official policy is to grant returns/exchanges within 21 days of the invoice date for errors on their part and with a 15% restocking fee for any other reason. After 21 days, you have to go through warranty claims and a service center will judge whether your machine is repairable or replaceable. Don't quote me on that but I think that's how it works. In any event, I noticed the defects almost as soon as I fired up my machine so I got that exchange request taken care of immediately. They told me I could use the defective machine until the replacement arrived. I am in the same boat as you and have final exams in school next week so I can't be without my laptop for even a day.

So far, the only part of my original order that is not going to be replaced is the Ultrabay GPU, but that's because I haven't had a chance to use it yet due to not having the 170W charger until today. If that is defective too, then I am going to be fuming.

 

Hey micman, if you don't mind, can you check what the tip of your 170W adapter looks like? Does it look like the one I have in my photo above (right plug without the two horizontal openings)?

I find it very strange that the two adapters have different holes, or maybe I just got a dud.

 

Yep. My OEM 170w looks like yours from the picture on the right. My universal looks like the one on the left.

 

OK thanks for looking.

 

Can anyone confirm if the Targus APA05US 180w allows the system to run SLI (which the 120W doesn't, to my knowledge).

 

Micman said it does work in a previous post. Anyway if you're just gaming the 120W will be just fine. I doon't know of any games that will peg both GPU's and the CPU at 100% non-stop for a sustained period of time.

 

I haven't yet received my newly bought Y500 yet but I'm readying it for when I do decide to purchase the second GPU card and make it an SLI. Can you tell me what type of connector tip I would need to buy to match the used Targus APA05US 180w I found on eBay? Lenovo sells their 170w power adapter for $80 and that's too much for me so I'm looking for a cheaper alternative. Thanks in advance.

 

It's the L2 tip.

 

What did u end up doing for this problem? I am having the same problem now with the new lenovo charger i recieved. As u know the first one didnt even fit properly and this one fits kinda snugly like yours. I would really appreciate if you shed light on this. Thanks