Solved! Repair laptop power adaptor

[ursal]

Hello everyone. My power adapter for acer nitro black edition v17 one day was connected to the electricity but didn't work. Unplugged and replugged than it worked. This behavior got worse over time. Lately I had to unplug the cable that runs from the adapter to the wall socket so many times before it worked again (by the way each time I could hear the electrical crackling sound). I tried to connect the adapter to another laptop and got the same behavior. I tried to bend the cable over and over and nothing changed.
The symptom occurs at plugging, but as long as the adapter starts working and the computer keeps running then the adapter never stops working. Or at least it used to.
I popped it open to find some blown capacitor. I couldn't see any. Who's the culprit? Have you ever experienced such a strange behavior?

 

[BEAUFORD_SAVAGE]

That has nothing to do with caps. A broken connector cord is common. If you have a meter, put in PS output cable and wiggle it. The cord being intermittant is very common. If good, you need a new jack inside computer.
It can be hard to check the cable without losing connection. Try putting your meter on the computer jack. then wiggle cord.
Bottom line, cord or connector. Replace P.S. if you still have issue, replace computer jack.
Power supply off Ebay only about $12. Jack maybe less. A computer shop.........Hundreds of $$$$

 

[ursal]

Thank you for your reply. What do you mean with 'PS output'?
Yesterday I tested the connector end in DC 20V and I had no voltage. Wiggling the cable never made a difference, but, I suppose, it might be shorted inside. I checked the very beginning of the cables with multimeter: no voltage there also. Does that rule out the cable? Could it also be a problem on computer side? I'm worried that either the wall socket or the jack socket inside the laptop are causing damage.

Concerning ps replacement, the original costs 80 euros (I live in Italy), while the cheapest alternatives are around 40. Following your advice I bought one for around 23 euros from China. But the question is: are such alternatives reliable? Could a cheap ps damage my laptop?

 

[BEAUFORD_SAVAGE]

Thank you for your reply. What do you mean with 'PS output'?
Yesterday I tested the connector end in DC 20V and I had no voltage. Wiggling the cable never made a difference, but, I suppose, it might be shorted inside. I checked the very beginning of the cables with multimeter: no voltage there also. Does that rule out the cable? Could it also be a problem on computer side? I'm worried that either the wall socket or the jack socket inside the laptop are causing damage.

Concerning ps replacement, the original costs 80 euros (I live in Italy), while the cheapest alternatives are around 40. Following your advice I bought one for around 23 euros from China. But the question is: are such alternatives reliable? Could a cheap ps damage my laptop?

Sorry for the late reply, but you are on the right track! I think we nailed the problem. I am betting it will work after you get the new power supply.
PS is just short for power supply. I would appreciate a Up vote by clicking the up-arrow if you find this fixes your issue. This is just semantics, but it would be an open, not a short.
Everybody calls electrical problems "shorts" when in reality most are opens, or a break in continuity of the circuit.
Oh yes, the power supply 's from E-bay for computers are perfectly fine, most are actually from the same manufacturers the factory buys from. So your just saving money with no loss of reliability. I have purchased countless power supply's for computers off E-Bay, none have failed yet.
Please let me know how this turns out for you!

 

[ursal]

You're welcome to correct me on this subject, it's actually useful to me. I had misread 'PS output'. I thought you meant to select such a thing on the multimeter, now I got that.

Anyway, while I'm waiting the new power supply, I used a 45w charger to use the computer to do super basic stuff and recharge it.
And... it happened again on two distinct occasions. First time nothing worked until I pulled out the input cable from PS and pulled it back in. Second time the trick didn't work, I then used a different socket successfully.

I'm a bit lost, what could be the cause?

 

[BEAUFORD_SAVAGE]

The power supply jack itself on the computer, could be the problem. Sounds like that is the problem. UNLESS you are talking about the same power supply you have been using from the start. I'm not *certain * that you are using a different supply. If you are using a different supply, know this: There is likely a switch to sense when the plug is in or not.
That 20V or whatever the input voltage is has been suspect from the start of this from my end.
Things that physically move and make and break contact are always subject to wearing out. I see a new power jack on the computer in your future. Save yourself some time.
Buy one now, while you are still waiting on the Power Supply itself.
It is more common than people think to have intermittent problems, such as you are seeing.
I looked for you, here is one example of a Jack for your computer. Does this look right?
https/www.ebay.com/itm/313526975073?_trkparms=ispr=1&hash=item48ffa9fa61:g:joIAAOSwMgZgnArv&amdata=enc:AQAGAAACoPYe5NmHp%2B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSB0Xm7k0guzAysaIMfJcbBGK6m77KlKk8exRy3saNz%2Fe1S%2BhGl5Y4Arag9pIyEvf0CRwMHI4ID0cti%2F5zg45ZBebkDtEzH9HQw2OffvSkJwq7jjEZZmFY9vFB821dgcrh8WCgQxtZxh2nqZWoZCmvG6Q8fvoZK7OOihQgtdTaJ9fH0ae9NbskWlvwuuJZNKqwnTOfZEo%2FOAElPyAKn%2BiRLhS5jLm3VuGCjIyPE8Q0xONPqK3GP8Aoz9NoAHat2n%2FEqfwHlmMVXgBfek4DI4extpQu0Gn1sl6Q344ftgjhMIcLHHzvu2Usk3drktSXRHmdj3OqBMoSB31lgQ1%2BigEdNIDIA35Rq1DJh5X5nhEd80H1WJTA8VthSsp%2FkZRXP10N4ci2h8Ri4ux%2FMxyU0y4krVPlJzy9%2F%2BhyBVaKUfYZ%2FEgVYbpmNAHSKRLuFCr79m1FbPa3XUQA1qBV4v1A123Y4%2FAyoHyhE0UiX%2B8ZOw%2BS9bjw6Jn1cEhVm1%2B7BHJ5q4s%2FPzICXzwOdmwO0%2BTk7lVEePRToxD8obJHZbHfcE04Je6I5l0oyUTf1jKWOdQBgGd4EL%2Bm7PwjJt4eBvQY69qtkFA73vtncyFGEvjHXs1n3IcW3BQTobS1tZ7goHiJ2Ma8CuV76Eja3A35MznV3zgkb6TSfyeZIF%2BEHj%2FcSg5XmVufV7%2F1D4v6lxSQ4f0%2FYKi2unwUmYQB6aynhXUg9ZULUwcrIBVwFqgzRGwbtZNm%2BK2jfE%2BAQgJk056hUBo%2BGM87%2FYVcdpw6eBHGLks9yWhqpROpuSSiMhL%2B5r2KloPFsTusblJ5xJYyY53PFjecPupmiZQsfUyHjlr39N1HVqIQhA%3D%3D|ampidL_CLK|clp:2334524

HOLY COW! That's a LONG link!!! But it just worked for me.

 

[ursal]

Thank you for looking that up.
Original PS is 135w. The exact model of my computer is VN7-792G-72KF. My port is purple instead of yellow.
By the way the port has been moving but very very little since a long time.
This one is way more expensive but looks more right:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/254957909878?hash=item3b5cacf776:g:5nsAAOSwS49gh8pL

I opened the laptop to take some pictures. When I closed it I had no touchpad and one usb wasn't working. Reopened, everything was connected but I connected it again and stuff worked. Then computer shut down for no reason a couple times (no PS connected, 100% charge), reopened and battery's tiny cables were ok so I bent a couple that seemed to have a different shape, but to no good. I'm starting to think my mobo is saying goodbye and my battery is fried. Anyway:

 

[BEAUFORD_SAVAGE]

If the jack is intermittently working, then it will KEEP working sometimes and sometimes not. You don't seem to be grasping that, but rather, keep wondering why.
Because. That is why.
Itermittent MEANS intermittent. You can't stop it from being so, so stop overthinking it! Instead, change the part! Just leave it alone before you add more problems.

As far as which is the right connector, you are in a much better position to determine that than I.

 

[BEAUFORD_SAVAGE]

I have one computer I use for TV only, it is on 24/7, so it has no battery in it. If you need one for your uses:
https/www.ebay.com/itm/133696241945?_trkparms=ispr=1&hash=item1f20eac119:g:h2sAAOSw31RgUXVC&amdata=enc:AQAGAAACoPYe5NmHp%2B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSHYXPhGXR5uguexJBeHwfgdN88j0dDmQdVOAyVY%2FPH8CqqHmwJpGKpWZbYYUJcLe8dN4vqLiMioTymM7L4OGILG5t6JiwCBuWeLdVRGBWKrYUeHuRwf1KtZxF%2FlXPffrYotV96NSPLPR73Daie2ltbL5BaRDWY8eRO9J31xi4k%2FEnyKMoXMh7KJpwtFOli36NbYddKs0lABrarUT5s9l6mC6G3y%2BPeSh1HwnV7rygLMmvxirCP72eQbfH6C8ignBwZXEMLVxzTNvhjQqhG461kZPciXDY9Qn95On46mdPhB4Aof4jsDPdfIsOdR5kbyxNlKmYClM3Y9KF000ZGkBvJQo3efGNfy7xUgqeB9hdnA6jSaK9h4AAF0HYDl1Wc9os9TZRHOI0aMqP1Pl57ic%2Ft1WmOWqc9g9Y3PQWmRV30i7niIVIWOvqVPNkBwNPONpDM%2BwS6FI4sOgW1HG2iIvMQk7TUyH%2BpfGGwTkpBtBEA81KDb6%2F1H9jdv7Fm4GW62KpqRssraSjQE53MpJ5qssYPZ1dOzR%2BcnzFvM3xY14SxahsU746xaMWtKO1fhFPp%2B2SyIfuCeuq9pB0rPV%2FuFNfzRbG%2BP11coNkiRNDM01f05B4xiDnIVehnQ%2BDc5YRyqZv90X4SwydguDZCSFwKVSfRsDr6m1G%2BIhoIj1zV8p3pgUee49T9yeSygSdCq4W6tQ1%2BYAXnxYjZQQV57VPZ%2FALm3sUoyL4TTjxc1ELmJ7nFVMt%2BqvWPVPzJqbr3%2FNE17Z%2F2jnm8VzvhhHJeqA26j1mSVpywb7nOa7Xvc9omf0pozRJSaK%2Fc6fikkcy9ilVcTOLpSivYO%2FV6dC49Mtw4mYFYg%3D%3D|ampidL_CLK|clp:2334524

This is an example of a battery which IS good quality, and a good price. Look in your area for something similar.

Think how much you have saved in computer shop prices, (a TON) so adding about 18 pounds, (or 288 ounces), is a drop in the bucket. That's a joke son.
You wacky people driving on the wrong side of the road.

 

[ursal]

I see your point, but I'm going to take small steps: this computer is 5 and a half years old, and has been used a lot, especially for gaming, so if the mobo was the culprit I might as well buy a new computer.

The sudden shutdown on battery was totally new. I checked the battery again and it seems fine, maybe it's just the connector (or the mobo)...
Replacing battery cable+dc cable port+ps just to find out the source of my troubles lies somewhere else would be disappointing.

Anyway after a long search this is the one and only place where I found my power cable:
https://motech.fr/en/7951/computer-laptop-cable-dc-in-acer-aspire-nitro-vn7-792g.html

 

[ursal]

8 months after replacing the power adapter only no issue, everything works fine.
I just wanted to give feedback and say thank you.