Replacement Power adapters

[kyotokid]

...OK, I have a four year old Toshiba Satellite M115-S3094.

The other day my AC power adapter apparently failed. It worked fine the previous night but when I came home from work the next day it failed to power up after I tuned the power strip it was connected to on. There was no smoke, sparks, or smell, it just wasn't sending any power to the notebook. Not sure how the unit could have failed without being on all day but that is water under the bridge now.

So looking for a replacement unit seems to be a fairly exhaustive hunt. Most of the universal adapters I've seen do not match the recommended output specs of 15V x 5A @ 75W. I also verified the ratings on the Toshiba Support Site, the document published about the same time I bought the notebook [2005-2006]. Several of the universal units are also frightfully expensive (Radio Shack's is about 100$ and the sales person wouldn't let me look over the package to verify the power output and system compatibility).

Hence, it has been off to the web to look for a compatible unit.

Most of the ones I saw in the major store sites had the right voltage but wrong current and wattage (15V, but 6A at 90W). The odd thing was many of these listed the M115-S3094 even though the unit that came with mine was rated at 15V 5A. Meanwhile, most of he 15V 5A models I reviewed did not specify the M115-S3094 as being compatible.

The Adapter that came with my system is part # PA 3469U-1ACA.

Suffice to say, I find this awfully confusing as I don't want to get the wrong unit and end up frying my system.

So, Is it critical that the output current and wattage match exactly? Also is an OEM unit better than a third party one? Any recommendations?

 

[ram1009]

The first thing you must know is whether the power supply is supplying AC or DC. You didn't say that I noticed. The voltage of a replacement must be exact, in your case 15V (AC or DC). The current and wattage are minimums, that is to say a 6AMP replacement will be fine. The wattage is simply the product of the volts & amps. You may find the replacement plug is different than yours. You can splice your old one onto the new cord but be careful of polarity. Most plugs have + on the center conductor but not all.

 

[kyotokid]

...thanks. Yes it is 15VDC (US) that the system requires,

So the higher wattage and current isn't that big a factor then?

 

[4745454b]

The power adapter will supply 15V. The amperage however can be different. The one you mentioned will supply 15V (amount) up to the rate of 6A (speed) If your laptop only wants 5A, thats all it will draw, and thats all the PSU will provide. Its just like with desktop PSUs. It might output a max of 600W, but if your computer is in standby and only drawing 100W, thats all the PSU will output.

The other things to worry about is whether the laptop PSU is positive or negative "center tip", and that is has the right sized plug on the end. If the one your looking at mentioned your model number then you should be ok. (might want to buy from a place with a good return policy if your worried about it.)

 

[kyotokid]

...OK do I feel like a total luddite. [:thegreatgrapeape:5]

A freind (who is pretty adept technically) looked at the unit lat week and after lightly shaking it, plugged it in and handed the DC lead to me. I plugged the lead into the notebook and the external power light came on.

Needless to say I was more than surprised. He then told me that these units usually have a shutoff relay to protect them against overheating/overpowering. A relay, being a physical switch, needs to be physically reset (eg. the shaking) which is why it didn't reset on its own after it cooled down (duh).

Still ordered a backup unit as the system is four years old (found one from a Toshiba OEM manufacturer that matches the original unit for around 20$).

So, case is closed. [:henry chinaski:8]

Thanks to everyone for the help.

 

[kyotokid]

Best answer selected by kyotokid.