Repairing a120 audio jack

I just bought a a120 from a friend. The audio jack is broken (I knew before I bought it). He managed to pry it in such a way that audio now permanently comes from the speakers. I want to replace the audio jack but to do this I need to get at the motherboard. I've unscrewed every screw I could find on the bottom and removed the battery, hdd and all the covers. I removed the screen hinge cover and the keyboard. I can open up the plastic shells quite a bit but I get stuck at the dvd drive. I can't by the life of me open it further. Am I missing some screws near the dvd drive or something and if so, how do I get to them? There are no more screws on the bottom of the laptop as far as I can see and no screws under the keyboard either

 

You may find this site helpful: Disassemble, repair, take apart, upgrade, clean Toshiba laptop or notebook yourself.
I could not find the entire instructions for the a120, but other "similar" models may still prove helpful; ie a130.

Good luck

 

Thank you for your answer. I found 2 screws holding the dvd drive in place. one I can barely get at from the ram-bay but the other is way out of reach

 

The screws didn't hold anything together...anyway, I got to the jack and managed to replace it. I now have a new project: fixing the battery. It can only hold a charge for about 30 mins. Am I correct in thinking that I can replace the cells by higher capacity ones as long as the voltage stays the same? The battery has 3x2 cells, 3.7volts each.

 

Yes, try to find the Sanyo cells if possible, then compare with cost of third party $40 cheapie, with one year warranty.

You did have the option of just using a USB audio DAC for your headpone jack, $30 and better sound. This is the safer bet but you did a good job getting the thing torn apart and back together without dinging the motherboard.

 

Thanks. I managed to unknowingly tear up the replacement audio jack (2 pins were gone) so on the first attempt (laptop rebuild and all) I only got mono sound and no sound from the laptop. Had to open it up to try again. Back to the batteries: why Sanyo?

I was thinking of getting some 2000mAh or similar (higher) cells from Dealextreme (free shipping), will any 3.7v rechargeable li-io work? I've been reading up on the procedure and it looks like the charging circuit should never be disconnected from power or it could mess up calibration or even worse, engage some sort of safety feature that prevents any power from ever leaving the unit. Can anyone comment on that? I would certainly make things more difficult.

 

Sanyo has been making cells far longer than china and real popular with the RC model builders; destroyer of all battery packs. My third battery for Toshiba are now Sanyos. (warranty)

The charging circuit is in your laptop, the monitoring circuits are in you battery pack. Any replacement cell must be same chemistry and physical size, the more capacity the better.

Here is one of many sites to roll you own; How to rebuild a Li-Ion battery pack

 

Ok but it's not a prerequisite? Murphy's law states that it's either impossible to find the right cells or they are so expensive that buying a new battery would be cheaper.

I already found the site you linked to and it's very informative. What I'm finding is that if you hook up higher cap. cells you run the risk that the cirvuit wil not recognise them as such and will only charge them to the original capacity that a safety engages.

Can I unhook the cells from the circuit board without problems or should batteries be connected at all times?


My current cells are "se us18650gr", can I replace them for, say, these? same voltage and formfactor UniqueFire 18650 3.7V "2500mAh" Lithium Batteries (2-Battery Pack) - Worldwide Free Shipping - DX

 

The circuit board looks at current and temperture for each cell in pack. If the IR or internal resistance is way off then maybe the monitor could be tripped up due to different charge currents,

As you pointed out it would be easier to just buy a 3rd party battery unless you have an easy supply of cells. I had a supplier down the block that has gone out of business during my e1705 battery rebuid. Today I would jusy use cheapo battey and move ahead.

The most you would lose is the cost of the cells, but if they work you should be ahead if you work safe. No way to tell on your replacement choice but should work if only difference is capacity.

GL

 

Ok screw it, I'm going to buy the cells and see if it works out. I'll update with results. Thanks for your help!