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Just recently my battery charger for my compaq laptop has been acting like it has a short in the wire. I have to bend the cord in various directions trying to get it to charge. Finally if I find the right place I can get it to charge my battery. It's a pain in the butt trying to get this thing to charge. Can I get a universal laptop battery charger or will I need to get the same one from compaq? Has anyone else had this problem? Thanks for any help.
can't you just charge the battery in your laptop?
what you can do is see if you can replace the cable, just open it up ( while it is not plugged into the powernet :P) and see if you can easily change the cable.
it shouldn't be that hard if it is hold together with screws....
otherwise you can use another adapter if it has the same + & - connections and the same voltage output and power output.
It sounds as if a wire is broken? It should be a sealed unit, and is not repairable.
You might be able to get a generic charger, make sure that the output specs match those your laptop requires, and that the setting is right if it is adjustable.
The Compaq component is the safest choice, but probably a bit more expensive..........if it is only $10 or$20 I personally would not take the risk with a non-Compaq componenet.
Cheers
I have seen this problem on a few laptops. The most common problem is that like nihil said, broken right at the connector. I have also seen a few where the receptical on the latop itself has been broken off of the motherboard of the laptop. If there is alot of 'play' on it when you plug it in, that may be your problem. I wouldn't recomend using a generic power supply on a laptop. on zip drives, external modems, anything like that i'm all for it. Laptops though usually have odd requirements that are not usually found with an off the shelf generic replacement. My take is, smoke your laptop with a cheap deal or know it will work with the real thing.
I had the same problem. almost
my compaq charger just quit working completely, I tried to buy another one from best buy, but they said you have to order them from compaq. I got mine for free from compaq, but it took 2 months.
Every person I talked to was in India. lol
I would say two things..
first.. it's not a short, it's an intermittent open.
second.. if you locate the approximate area of the open, then use an exacto blade or a razor blade to open up the outsite sheathing.. pull off about 2- 3 inches if not too close to the adaptor or plug end, then plug it in and wiggle the indvidual wires until you know which one it is.. then cut, strip, twist the wires and solder it.. then tape it all back up. If it's real close to the adapter end, you still might be able to open up the box with a dremel tool, cut a few inches of the wires off and resolder them inside the box. then use my favorite epoxy "JB weld" (found at any automotive store) to glue it back together. simple job, should only take about a half hour or so.
hey guys, i think covert means a batterycharger which is a device on its own, so that the battery can be charged while the notebook runs on another battery....
correct me if i'm wrong!
but if it is the notebook itself, then you can get another adapter of any other brand, as long as it has the same connector, the same voltage, probabely 19v or 12v, and enough Amperes, so if your notebook needs 19v 2A, then any adapter, with the right connector, will do which gives 19v and at least 2A, more is ok too!
No he means the device between the laptop battery and the power outlet.
You plug it into your kaptop then you can use your laptop at the sametime your battery is being charged. Besides, I've never heard of a laptop battery that you can take out and recharge separately.
Toshiba has external battery chargers so you don't have to have the battery installed in the laptop to be charged.
Sorry for any confusion. I guess the appropriate term is AC adapter. Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. Kohei Sogekihei I am debating about whether it is the adapter or something internal in the laptop. I haven't noticed a whole lot of 'play' in the connector but enough to make me doubt the way it fit when it did work lol. Another piece of information that might help is that if I push and hold the connector in while applying a little pressure it charges until I stop putting pressure on it. However, when bending the cord the charge comes in an out. The problem is close to the actual connector part of the cord. jenjen I have never soldered so I wouldn't trust myself to go that route. I guess the safest route is to bite the bullet and pay the $50-$60 for a new one. That's alot of money to a college student lol.
Is it not still under warranty?
I don't believe so. I think I had a year warranty but it has been about a year and a half since I bought it. I am currently in the process of looking into that.
On the back of the laptop is the pin bent at all That might be why it doesn't fit tight. just came to me while looking at the back of my laptop
ahhh.. come on. soldering isn't all that hard.. hell, just twist the wires together and tape them.
if the problem is a loose connection at where it mates with the laptop, then put a piece of duct tape on one side of the plug.. so it's forced to one side.. the "jury rig" method.. hehe.
hehehehe i know I'm all about cutting in and fixing it myself, but like coVert said, If you can't trust your own soldering then don't even try. Not to mention, if your not into that stuff, by the time you spend all the money and time getting all the tools together and all the right parts... you have payed enough for a new ac adapter. especially if this would be the only time you venture into 'fixing-it' yourself. If the smell of burning solder, flux and components (when things go wrong) is not your bag, then drop the bills on a replacement part and call it a day. Also, might want to see if there is a return policy on the ac adapter if you buy one, just in case it doesn't fix your problem. nothing would bite more than to spen 50 bucks or so on the part and still ave a problem.
I do agree with jenjen though.
Soldering a wire is far different from soldering a part on a board. All you do is twist the wires together drip some solder on there and use electrical tape to enclose it.