jsalaz83

Hello,

I have a HP ZD7000 that I bought back in Sept 04. It had many issues before this, all where video card relate and one where I spill some tea into my laptop. All these issues were fixed thru HP.

Now I have a different issue. This started back around Nov 06 and I completely gave up in Feb 07. My laptop hardly ever charges now. The indicator light in front which shows that its connected to the AC turns on but the moment that the light to tell you that it is charging turns on, the power light goes very dim and the charging light flickers. I can get enough power to get to the boot screen but then it shuts down, most likely from lack of power, and then will not charge again until I disconnect the ac and and battery. I tried running it on just AC but it just shuts off.

I read up on this and thought maybe it was a short so I start disconnecting memory, harddrive, fan, cpu, screen, anything I can disconnect but the issue still continues. I even left it untouched for a yr and nothing :( I thought it could be the outlet to the power since I know Pavillion laptops have a history of that but thought I check here first.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

TriggerFinger

Hi,

as per your post it only happens when you are on AC and battery is attached. have you tried another battery?

jsalaz83

It happens when its just the AC power and no battery. I am sorry for the confusion, I should have been more clear. For this reason, I haven't tried with a different battery since the problem still occurs when there is no battery.

TriggerFinger

sorry but you lost me there... can you run it by me again?

jsalaz83

Yeah, this problem is pretty weird.

I'll get straight to the point.

When its just the AC Power - When I plug in my laptop the power indicator turns on. When I try to turn on my laptop it will turn on but then turn right back off.

When its AC Power and Battery - When I plug in my laptop the power indicator turns on. The moment the light that tells you the battery is charging turns on, the power light goes dim and the charging light flickers. I can turn on my comp and it boots up but then shuts down I'm guess once the battery runs out of power.

Because the battery sort of charges up makes me believe that its not a battery issue. I thought it could be a short so I disconnected what I can to figure out where the short was coming from but the problem still happen.

I hope this clarifies it.

TriggerFinger

hmmm... check the output of your adapter with a multimeter. see if its output equal or almost equal the one on its label.

jsalaz83

Yes the first one is with no battery.

I will check the adapter once I get home.

Thanks for your help.

TriggerFinger

do post back what happens. OK?

jsalaz83

OK, I check to see if the adapter's output was equal to what's on the label and it does. Could it possibly be the power jack? I know many HP laptops have a weak jack and break easily.

TriggerFinger

yes, it could be but it could be something else too... you said you removed RAM to check if it is causing the shutoff right? what else did you remove? are you using a WiFi card (internal)?

on the power jack, is the connector from your adapter loose (some wiggle room) when you plug it in?

jsalaz83

Well, I disconnected the RAM, harddrive, fans, cpu, and monitor. It does have an internal wifi adapter. The connector is loose but not much. I have tried to wiggle the connector to find a "sweet" spot earlier on. I worked at first but then it start to act like it does now.

TriggerFinger

oh ok.. start first by removing the RAM and WiFi adapter. see if it does any good. if not then you can focus on the DC jack. i also suggest not to attach the battery for now.

you also have to have the service manual for your laptop as reference on how to open the laptop up. i doubt if there is something there for DC jack removal and replacement.

jsalaz83

Thank you very much for help and time. I will go ahead and check the RAM and wifi. Im hoping that works. Thanks again.

newstemp

Problem Solved

I started having similar ZD7000 "brown out" problems a few months ago. Power LED flashing & screen flashing between min and max brightness. Twisted the power plug and eventually the flashing stopped. The situation deteriorated until the battery would loose charge (charge LED not on) and the computer would shut down. I thought that it might be the battery or power adaptor.

I opened the computer reaching the motherboard (not so difficult the second time around) and resoldered the DC socket to no avail. Openloop adaptor voltage was 19V (correct), however DC jack only showed 1V when the power was connected.

Then I noticed the two side spring pins inside the power plug (unusual for such a connector) that are designed to connect with the motherboard DC jack central pin. They had lost spring tension and no longer protruded into the central space of the plug. I used a large pin tool (large pin with handle, like a scribe, recommend a large needle otherwise) to wedge the side pins back out again, however only slightly. Problem solved

However: the split metal cylinder inside the plug is at a different voltage to the pins (ground ? a sensing circuit ?), there is very little space between the side pins and this cylinder, and an accidental short circuit between one of the side pins and this cylinder with the adjusting tool, while power is on, will cause a flash and an arc, so make sure that the power is off for at least 30sec before making the repair.

Also, only adjust the side pins slightly and evenly without twist. If they protrude too far into the central space unevenly then can briefly make contact with the internal cylinder while the plug is being connected and you will hear an arc. The arc does not appear to have affected the power supply.

These should not have failed within three years and few connection/disconnection cycles. The side pins may need to be adjusted again within a year or so.

If the problem turns out to be the motherboard DC jack, these are easily available on Ebay, try "ZD7000 jack" or "ZD7000 connector". The DC power plug is also available here. I would not recommend a regular DC power plug replacement unless the function of the internal split cylinder is understood and found to be unnecessary.

Other advice for this overheating computer is do blast the air vents twice+/year to clear the heatsink dust (reverse vacuum cleaner or can or compressed air), and raise the back of the computer at least 1" (I am currently using a telephone directory just under the rear rubber feet) to greatly improve air flow. You will hear the fans run much more slowly and more quietly with these two measures. It also stopped my computer from regularly shutting down.

I am also going to go one step further and get a laptop support that will raise the screen about 6", placing it at eye level, and further improve air flow. Overheating may also be the source of some of the other problems mentioned for this computer.

DH

sfpcservice

Bending these springs usually only resolves the issue for a short time. You will most likely end up replacing the jack within a month or two out of frustration. There are plenty of websites to purchase this jack, including ebay.