How To Fix A Loose DC Power Jack

To begin the process, you have to disassemble your laptop and remove the motherboard in order to have access to the power jack, for a step by step  instruction on how to remove a motherboard click here. The main fault of the laptop is that the DC power jack terminals is not making proper contact with the motherboard and as a result power supply to the laptop is cut-off. The three basic steps involved in troubleshooting this fault are as follows

• Desolder the DC power jack from the motherboard

• Clean contacts points on both power jack and motherboard with a brush and alcohol

• Solder the power jack back to the motherboard

Step 1
Start desoldering process by adding some new and fresh solder to all three contact points of the power jack on the motherboard, this will make the old solder easier to remove. After the addition of fresh solder to the contact points, begin the removal of  solder on each contact point by heating the point with soldering iron and using the soldering pump to extract the solder. Repeat the same process for all the power jack contact points until you have removed as much solder as possible from each point.

Step 2
Hold the power jack and carefully try removing it from the motherboard, it is most likely that you might not be able to remove the power jack at the first attempt due to some solder bridges still left between the contact points and traces on the motherboard. Carefully shake or wiggle the power jack without applying any significant amount of force and at the same time heat up all the contact points one by one. This will help you to remove the power jack from the motherboard.

Step 3
After the power jack has been removed, clean all oxidized contacts of the power jack with a knife and apply a fresh coat of solder to all the contact points. Use a tooth brush and some alcohol to remove some traces of solder that might still be left on the motherboard, apply a fresh coat of solder to all power jack terminals on both sides of the motherboard.

Step 4
Now you can install the power jack back on the motherboard, as you start soldering the power jack back to the motherboard, ensure that there is no gap between the jack and the motherboard. Carefully solder each terminal one after the other and ensure that it is very firm.

Step 5
At this stage the job is done and the laptop DC power jack is fixed. Now just install the motherboard back into the laptop and you are done.

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