How to replace dc power jack for toshiba p15

There could be several things wrong. You could have a broken DC jack on your motherboard. To prove this, wiggle the DC jack with the adapter plugged in. If the charging light comes on when you wiggle the jack, then your jack is broken. You could also have a defective AC adapter.

The power plug in port you refer to is the DC Power Jack.

The AC adapter (Charger) converts AC electricity into DC electricity.
DC electricity has two poles. Positive, and Negative.
(Just like on a D cell flashlight battery)

The center pin of the DC Power Jack is the Positive connection.
The outer metal spring-like pieces, on the inside of the cylindrical shape surrounding the center pin, are the Negative connection.
(The pieces of spring-like metal, all connect to the Negative connection in the DC Power Jack)

Example of a replacement DC Power Jack, for the Asus Eee PC 1005HA Netbook,

http://www.batterysupport.com/asus-eee-pc-1005ha-jack-p-303527.html

[ Note*
Cannot agree with the replacement instructions they offer, at the bottom of the page.
Not everyone has access to a hot-air gun. A 25 Watt soldering iron, and Desoldering Braid, is better, and more easily accessed ]

A few articles dealing with replacement of a DC Power Jack,

http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2007/12/06/dc-power-jack-repair-guide/

http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2006/01/28/toshiba-satellite-m35x-a75-power-jack-problem/

http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2006/05/27/failed-laptop-power-jack-workaround/

1) Remove ALL power. Remove the AC adapter, (Charger), and Battery.
2) Observe Anti-Static Precautions. Buy, and use an ESD wrist strap.
Electro Static Discharge.

(Average cost is from $3 to $6. Connect the alligator clip to a good ground source.
I connect to an unpainted surface, of the metal frame of an open, empty desktop computer case.

If you wish to proceed in replacing your DC Power Jack, and need guidance, post back in a Comment.

Regards,
joecoolvette

I concur with what Diegotech stated.

To iterate further;

1) The DC Power Jack (DC IN), may have cracked solder joint/s on the motherboard connector, (Female), where the DC Power Jack plugs in.

Resolder

2) The DC Power Jack may be broken.
Center Pin mount, and/or body of DC Power Jack, and/or Outer Shell mount.

Replace DC Power Jack.

3) Wires from the DC Power jack plug to the female connector on the motherboard, may be bad.

Replace DC Power Jack.

Two examples, of a place to buy an IBM ThinkPad T41 DC Power Jack,

1) http://www.buy.com/prod/dc-power-jack-connector-socket-for-ibm-thinkpad-t40-t41-t42-r50-r51-r52/q/sellerid/23962916/loc/101/215782035.html

2) http://www.machinaelectronics.com/store/buypart/IBM_Thinkpad_T41/DC-P001

Past this point it's a bad DC sensor on the motherboard.

Replace motherboard.

IBM ThinkPad T41 Service Manual, (Free),

http://www.tim.id.au/blog/tims-laptop-service-manuals/#toc-ibmlenovo

On this page go down to the 8th line.
The one that starts with > ThinkPad T20.

Go across, and click on > T41

Takes approximately 2 seconds to see the first page, and additional time to fully download.

Page 142 for 14.1 inch LCD screen
Page 151 for 15 inch LCD screen

(PDF file page number box at top)

It could be one of the following:
1. Bad/damaged power jack.
2. Bad motherboard.

DC Jack diagnosis:
1. Test power adapter for output voltage. Bend the power cable in various directions while doing this to be sure that there is no broken conductors in the cable.
2. If power adapter is Ok, connect it & see if the power LED on the laptop will glow when you jiggle the power connector in various directions. If yes, then the DC jack might be loose or damaged, & need to be either re-soldered or replaced.
3. If not, then disassemble the laptop. Remove any components that attach to the laptop's motherboard first (e.g. battery, hard drive, RAM, wireless card, optical drive, ... etc.)
4. Next, remove the keyboard & the LCD screen.
5. Finally, unscrew all screws that hold the upper cover & lower cover together so that you could gain access to the motherboard.
6. Inspect the solder points connecting the DC jack to the motherboard. Make sure that none of them is loose. If any, re-solder them.
7. Inspect the center pin in the DC jack. Make sure that it is not broken or loose. If it is, then you might need to replace the DC jack.
8. When you are done, re-assemble back the laptop

1. Test power adapter for output voltage. Bend the power cable in various directions while doing this to be sure that there is no broken conductors in the cable.
2. If power adapter is Ok, connect it & see if the power LED on the laptop will glow when you jiggle the power connector in various directions. If yes, then the DC jack might be loose or damaged, & need to be either re-soldered or replaced.
3. If not, then disassemble the laptop. Remove any components that attach to the laptop's motherboard first (e.g. battery, hard drive, RAM, wireless card, optical drive, ... etc.)
4. Next, remove the keyboard & the LCD screen.
5. Finally, unscrew all screws that hold the upper cover & lower cover together so that you could gain access to the motherboard.
6. Inspect the solder points connecting the DC jack to the motherboard. Make sure that none of them is loose. If any, re-solder them.
7. Inspect the center pin in the DC jack. Make sure that it is not broken or loose. If it is, then you might need to replace the DC jack.
8. When you are done, re-assemble back the laptop.

Follow the link below, it is an illustrated guide to the disassembly of the P15. Pages can be changed at the bottom of each page shown. Just copy and paste the link into your web browser's address bar.

http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/toshiba-satellite-p15/removing-motherboard-1.htm

you have to strip down the laptop so you can access the underside of the motherbord then you need to desolder the solderd connectors and remove the DC jack
then put the new DC jack in its place and solder back in place
please note this is quiet a big job and requires knowlage of laptops

It may be that you need a new, (Or good condition used), motherboard. You may not.

The problem could be the DC Power Jack. The DC Power Jack is small, and the body is made of plastic. Sometimes there is a metal shell around the plastic body. (The jack is a rectangular shape, and is just a little larger, than the outside portion of that AC adapter plug!)

This is an example of a DC Power jack for a Toshiba Satellite a215-s5807,
http://www.notebookworks.net/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=NBW52-0133

As you know there is a metal pin in the center, and at the back of the round hole, there are flat metal contacts.

Let me explain the construction of a DC Power Jack, and how it's mounted to a motherboard. This all has relevance to the solution.

Your laptop uses DC electricity. (The AC adapter converts AC to DC. Your laptop battery, and a flashlight battery, are examples of stored DC electricity)

DC uses a Positive connection, and a Negative connection. The metal pin in the center is Positive. The flat metal strips at the back are Negative.

That laptop DC Power Jack has metal prongs, that come out of the plastic body. One prong, (Or pin), connects to the Positive metal round pin, in the center of the jack.
There may be one, or two prongs, (Or pins), that come out of the plastic body, and connect to the Negative side of the jack. (Flat metal strips)
These prongs go down through holes in the motherboard, and are soldered on.

With the AC adapter plugged in, an accidental bump on the plug itself, could break the body of the jack, or break solder joints that hold the jack to the motherboard.

AC adapter removed, and battery removed. Use a NON-metallic object, and see if you can make the center pin of the jack move. See if the entire jack itself seems to move.
A.If the center pin moves, you have a broken DC Power Jack.
B.If the entire jack moves, you have cracked solder joints. (Broken)

Replacement of the DC Power Jack for A.
Re-solder the solder joint/s for B.

Cost of replacing a jack at a reputable computer repair shop? $90 to $150
Cost of re-soldering solder joints? $50 to $90
Cost of replacing the motherboard?
$250 on up.

If you are a skilled person with the correct tools, it is feasible for you to replace the jack, or re-solder the solder joints.
It is also feasible that you yourself, could replace the motherboard.

Some laptops have a poor motherboard design, for where the DC Power Jack is mounted to the motherboard.

Crude explanation would be, that the main body of the motherboard is a 1 foot square. Then a 2 inch square comes out of the side of the main body.
The DC Power Jack is mounted to that 2 inch square. From accidental bumping, OR just normal usage of inserting, and removing the AC adapter plug, this 2 inch square can crack away from the main body.
This, of course would require a motherboard replacement.

Disassembly instructions for a Satellite A200 and A205 Series laptops. Very close to the A215 Series,
http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/toshiba-satellite-a205/laptop-disassembly-1.htm

(Don't forget to buy, and use a cheap ESD wrist strap, to prevent static shock to the delicate hardware components, inside your laptop. Average cost is $7)

hi there,

you can follow this instruction and try to your laptop to resolved the problem.

A bad connection between DC-IN power jack on the system board and the system board is a very common problem with Toshiba Satellite M35X and Toshiba Satellite A70/A75 notebooks. If your laptop is out of warranty, then you can fix the problem by resoldering DC-IN jack on the system board. If it’s still under warranty, it would be fixed at no charge to you.
Problem symptoms:

1. Laptop randomly shuts down without any warning.
2. Power LED and battery charge LED start flickering when you wiggle the power cord or the AC adapter tip on the back or your laptop.
3. The battery will not get charged.
4. When you plug AC adapter, the laptop appears to be dead and there is no LED activity at all (DC-IN jack on the system board is broken).

To fix the problem, you have to take your laptop apart, remove the system board to resoleder or replace the DC-IN jack. Toshiba Satellite M35X and Toshiba Satellite A70/A75 disassembly guides will help you to remove the system board. Take a closer look at the power jack on the system board with a magnifying glass. In most cases you get the power problem because of a bad connection between the DC jack and the system board, you’ll see a crack between the DC jack connector and the system board.
Here is an example of Toshiba Satellite M35X power jack. The crack occurs between the DC jack pin and the system board.
In some cases the connection is good, but the DC jack is bad itself. You can find a new DC jack for Toshiba Satellite M35X and Toshiba Satellite A70/A75 laptops here. Search for DC jack M35X or DC jack A75.
How to resolder laptop power jack yourself.
UPDATE:
Sometimes, after you replace the jack, you can see that the system board doesn’t get power at all. The battery will not charge and the power LED will not light when you plug in the AC adapter. So, here’s a possible explanation.
When a connection between the positive pin and the motherboard breaks (cracks), the power jack gets loose. You can feel it when you plug in the adapter plug. A loose power jack can damage the trace inside the hole in the system board. Take a look at the picture.
As you see, the positive pin goes through the hole in the system board and you solder it on the top side. Right? What if the trace between the top side and the bottom side is broken somewhere inside the hole? I’ve seen it before a few times. In this case everything looks nice and clean on the top side. When you plug in the AC adapter, you get normal voltage readings between “+” and “-“ pins on the top side, but the power DOESN’T go to the motherboard at all, because there is no connection between the top and bottom sides. Test with a multimeter if there is a connection between the top and the bottom.
If the trace inside the hole is broken you still can fix it. You can run a wire to connect the top and the bottom sides. Be careful not to short something on the board.
Update:
Here’s another solution to fix the power jack problem, it shows how to relocate the power jack outside the laptop base. Check it out here: Toshiba Satellite A75 failed power jack workaround.
When you repair a loose power jack, it’s a good idea to check the jack on both sides of the motherboard. When you remove the top cover from a Toshiba Satellite A70/A75 laptop you can see only points where the jack is soldered to the motherboard as it shown on the second picture in this post, but you cannot see the jack itself as it shown on the first picture.
Removing the motherboard from Satellite A70/A75 laptop is a good idea because the jack itself might has a broken “+” pin, as it shown on the picture below. If the “+” broke off the base, you’ll have to replace the jack.

its not so easy to replace you dc jack please don't try your self....