Fixed my Toshiba A105 DC Jack problem, then it died again.. related or unrelated?

funperro · 02-16-2008, 09:45 AM

Ok. I recently bought a *used* Toshiba Satellite A105-S4134 laptop on craiglist. I bought it for an extreme discount because the DC jack was bad. The main symptom was this: you would have to wiggle the AC adapter plug around like crazy in the DC socket on the laptop until the LED on the computer lights up. Then, as long as you didn't move the computer, it would work great: the battery charged just fine.. and the laptop worked fine from both power from the battery or power from the AC adapter. The guy I bought it from apparently ruined his original AC adapter, so the one supplied with the computer is a replacement adapter (non-OEM... maybe cheap Chinese?). I used the computer this way for 2-3 weeks, and finally decided I ws fed up with the 'jack sensitivity'.

Fast forward to three nights ago: I ordered a new DC jack, opened up the laptop and removed the old and badly damaged DC jack and replacing it with the new one. I put the laptop back together, plugged it in... and VOILA it worked perfectly! I could plug and unplug the AC adapter into the computer as many times as I wanted... the computer worked perfectly as intended. Woohoo! Problem solved. Then, yesterday morning, I turned on the laptop, started using it, and noticed the screen suddenly got a bit dimmer (usually implying it autodimmed due to the AC adapter being removed and the battery now being used). Sure enough, the battery icon was on in the windows tray. I checked the connection of the cable but everything is solid as can be. Wiggling the cable doesn't do anything. I've checked the AC adapter with a voltmeter and I see a bit over 15V... which is just right. I havne't measured the current, but expect that to be OK too.. just need to check it. I have removed the battery to see if that was causing the problem... nope.. still doesn't work with the battery removed and the AC adapter plugged in.

At any rate, the questions I have are: what can I do to figure out what's going on here? Any ideas on what it could be?

Thanks in advance!

dai · 02-16-2008, 09:54 AM

the backlight may be going

funperro · 02-16-2008, 10:10 AM

Thanks much for your response. Why would you think its the backlight? Was it due to the comment in my first post stating that the monitor dimmed a bit? If so, then thats not it. The only reason the monitor dimmed a bit is because I have different brightness settings for battery power and AC power. As soon as AC power went off, the battery went on, thus dimming the monitor.

I've now used up the entire battery.. so I can't use the computer anymore!

dai · 02-16-2008, 10:19 AM

sorry misinterpreted it the problem may be with the m/b,maybe that's the real reason it was so cheap
someone may have a better idea as laptops are not my area

powerjackrepair · 02-16-2008, 05:59 PM

Either your AC adapter does not supply enough amps for system to work at the same time as it charges, or the diodes on the motherboard are going bad that happens alot when dc jack is going bad. On these toshiba A105 the power ac adapter goes bad all the time but since you are using some different ac adapter it should not be the problem.

Thank you
Alex

funperro · 02-16-2008, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerjackrepair

Either your AC adapter does not supply enough amps for system to work at the same time as it charges, or the diodes on the motherboard are going bad that happens alot when dc jack is going bad. On these toshiba A105 the power ac adapter goes bad all the time but since you are using some different ac adapter it should not be the problem.

Thank you
Alex at Power Jack Repair

Alex,

Thanks much for the insight. It very well may be the power supply is not supplying sufficient current. This adapter would get VERY hot when the battery was charging.. making me think it wasn't of the best quality. Again, it was an aftermarket non-OEM replacement AC adapter (looks pretty cheap at first glance).

Question for you: I have a Fluke multimeter and normally just use it to measure voltage. At the multimeter, the red test lead is normally plugged into the red jack labeled with a 'V' and the ohm symbol and the black test lead is normally plugged into the 'COM' jack. When measuring the DC current, I'll move the black test lead over to the jack labeled '10A unfused' and leave the red test lead where it is. Using the selection dial I choose the A (DC) symbol. Am I doing this right? If so, I'm not seeing the 6A that this adapter says it outputs. .. i get about 1.8A.

Thanks..

canonlaw · 05-21-2008, 06:10 PM

I have a similar experience. I have an A105-S4114 (similar to yours) and the DC jack did the same thing. Where did you get your replacement jack? I can't find one anywhere!

Also, did you get the second problem resolved with the laptop not charging? If you didn't, Toshiba had a BIOS update that was supposed to correct that. If the A/C adapter is good, and the jack is good, then I would suspect the BIOS. However, crappy A/C adapters are out there and the cheap ones really suck, so that could be what is causing the problem.

02-16-2008, 09:45 AM	#1 (permalink)
funperro Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 4 OS: XP Pro	Fixed my Toshiba A105 DC Jack problem, then it died again.. related or unrelated? Ok. I recently bought a used Toshiba Satellite A105-S4134 laptop on craiglist. I bought it for an extreme discount because the DC jack was bad. The main symptom was this: you would have to wiggle the AC adapter plug around like crazy in the DC socket on the laptop until the LED on the computer lights up. Then, as long as you didn't move the computer, it would work great: the battery charged just fine.. and the laptop worked fine from both power from the battery or power from the AC adapter. The guy I bought it from apparently ruined his original AC adapter, so the one supplied with the computer is a replacement adapter (non-OEM... maybe cheap Chinese?). I used the computer this way for 2-3 weeks, and finally decided I ws fed up with the 'jack sensitivity'. Fast forward to three nights ago: I ordered a new DC jack, opened up the laptop and removed the old and badly damaged DC jack and replacing it with the new one. I put the laptop back together, plugged it in... and VOILA it worked perfectly! I could plug and unplug the AC adapter into the computer as many times as I wanted... the computer worked perfectly as intended. Woohoo! Problem solved. Then, yesterday morning, I turned on the laptop, started using it, and noticed the screen suddenly got a bit dimmer (usually implying it autodimmed due to the AC adapter being removed and the battery now being used). Sure enough, the battery icon was on in the windows tray. I checked the connection of the cable but everything is solid as can be. Wiggling the cable doesn't do anything. I've checked the AC adapter with a voltmeter and I see a bit over 15V... which is just right. I havne't measured the current, but expect that to be OK too.. just need to check it. I have removed the battery to see if that was causing the problem... nope.. still doesn't work with the battery removed and the AC adapter plugged in. At any rate, the questions I have are: what can I do to figure out what's going on here? Any ideas on what it could be? Thanks in advance!

02-16-2008, 09:54 AM	#2 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,784 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Fixed my Toshiba A105 DC Jack problem, then it died again.. related or unrelated? the backlight may be going __________________

02-16-2008, 10:10 AM	#3 (permalink)
funperro Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 4 OS: XP Pro	Re: Fixed my Toshiba A105 DC Jack problem, then it died again.. related or unrelated? Thanks much for your response. Why would you think its the backlight? Was it due to the comment in my first post stating that the monitor dimmed a bit? If so, then thats not it. The only reason the monitor dimmed a bit is because I have different brightness settings for battery power and AC power. As soon as AC power went off, the battery went on, thus dimming the monitor. I've now used up the entire battery.. so I can't use the computer anymore!

02-16-2008, 10:19 AM	#4 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,784 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Fixed my Toshiba A105 DC Jack problem, then it died again.. related or unrelated? sorry misinterpreted it the problem may be with the m/b,maybe that's the real reason it was so cheap someone may have a better idea as laptops are not my area __________________

02-16-2008, 05:59 PM	#5 (permalink)
powerjackrepair Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Chicago, IL U.S.A. Posts: 8 OS: xp	Re: Fixed my Toshiba A105 DC Jack problem, then it died again.. related or unrelated? Either your AC adapter does not supply enough amps for system to work at the same time as it charges, or the diodes on the motherboard are going bad that happens alot when dc jack is going bad. On these toshiba A105 the power ac adapter goes bad all the time but since you are using some different ac adapter it should not be the problem. Thank you Alex Last edited by Deleted090308; 02-17-2008 at 12:24 AM.

05-21-2008, 06:10 PM	#7 (permalink)
canonlaw Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1 OS: XP Pro sp2	Re: Fixed my Toshiba A105 DC Jack problem, then it died again.. related or unrelated? I have a similar experience. I have an A105-S4114 (similar to yours) and the DC jack did the same thing. Where did you get your replacement jack? I can't find one anywhere! Also, did you get the second problem resolved with the laptop not charging? If you didn't, Toshiba had a BIOS update that was supposed to correct that. If the A/C adapter is good, and the jack is good, then I would suspect the BIOS. However, crappy A/C adapters are out there and the cheap ones really suck, so that could be what is causing the problem.