Laptop Lead Repair?

Status
Not open for further replies.

TheJay

Member
Hey everyone,

I have a laptop charger cable, which has snapped after being flexed numerous times.

Can someone please tell me what the large plastic bit is and whether it's possible to cut the cable down slightly and add a new DC connector?

Thanks.
 

Attachments

  • F80yMaZ.jpg
    1.9 MB · Views: 214
  • pXNyNGU.jpg
    1,004.1 KB · Views: 215
I would disagree - the circled part is likely just a ferrite 'bead', and removing it will not make the slightest different - as long as the OP can buy the exact correct sized plug, and fit it to the cable, then all should be fine.
 
The "Plastic thing " is a ferrite bead filter to reduce RF radiation from the power cable. If you cut the plastic coating you will be able to slide it along the cable.
(The computer will work without it.)
You may have a problem obtaining a connector of the correct size as many commputer manufacturers use non standard connectors.

Les.
 
I would disagree - the circled part is likely just a ferrite 'bead', and removing it will not make the slightest different - as long as the OP can buy the exact correct sized plug, and fit it to the cable, then all should be fine.
I disagree.
It will still “work”, but not reliably under all conditions. The filter wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t needed in the first place. I’d keep it.
 
two hemi-cylinder ferrites are selected to raise the CM impedance of the ripple current in the SMPS charger. They are molded together with plastic. All VGA cables have this , but only some Laptop chargers have these to reduce the CM noise in microphones and other sensitive peripherals.
 
I disagree.
It will still “work”, but not reliably under all conditions. The filter wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t needed in the first place. I’d keep it.
It's there to give a small degree of noise rejection under extremely rare circumstances, and it's almost impossible that anyone would notice it's absence.

It's also pretty difficult to try and leave it where it is, as there's VERY little space to try and fit the cover from a manually fitted plug on the wire.
 
The charger pin size is 7.4mm, is that what you were referring to having difficulty matching? I'd prefer to add a right angle DC connector rather than like-for-like.
 
The charger pin size is 7.4mm, is that what you were referring to having difficulty matching? I'd prefer to add a right angle DC connector rather than like-for-like.

The difficulty is is you have to slide the cover over the wire - as there's not much wire left before the ferrite bead. And finding the correct sized plugs is always an issue, as there are so many different ones.
 
Has anyone else managed this and got any advice?
Managed what?, finding a plug? - as I've already mentioned, you can simply cut the ferrite bead off, it doesn't do anything - and only some PSU's even include them.
 
Your first step is to find a supplier of the plug. You will also have to specify the pin dameter. (The pin on the socket on the computer or the diameter of the hole in the plug.) I asume that 7.4mm is the outer diameter of the metal part of the plug. You could also try Googling "coaxial power connector make and model of your computer"

Les.
 
Have a look on ebay and amazon for places selling tip sets for universal adapters - you can usually find a matching one with a bit of searching.

The ones with two pins on the back can easily have wires soldered on plus heatshrink sleeve for strength, I've repaired quite a few laptop PSUs like that.

ps. If your plug has a centre pin rather than the pin side being in the laptop, the size is based on the outer diameter and the pin diameter, not just the inside of the plug sleeve.

Example:

Yours may match this one from the Type C set?
"Black mouth with needle 7.4*5.0*0.6MM"
 
Thanks, the pin is in the centre of the DC cable rather than the laptop. It does look like the one you quoted from Type C set is correct. I don't suppose you have any photos of this repair?
 
I don't suppose you have any photos of this repair?
No, sorry.
The wires are soldered to the individual pins, with short pieces of small heatshrink, a slightly larger piece 2 - 3" long (previously) threaded on the cable slid back to those and shrunk, then finally a bit of large adhesive lined heatshink over the entire joint area, with it starting over the back of the connector body to prevent any flexing around the soldered pins.

That gives a very solid joint with a strain relief "tail".
 

I used to do the same - mainly because I had lot's of those 'universal tips' at work - we used to sell Universal PSU's in the shop at work, and I often used to use them as replacements on repairs that came in. For the replacement PSU I'd fit the correct tip (the right way round ) and then apply heat shrink over the join, so they couldn't pull apart.

Then, rather than bin all the other tips, I'd chuck them in a small box sat in the window sill - so I had a goodly collection

If I then needed a DC plug for anything, just like you I'd solder wires to the pins, with thin heat shrink on each wire, then thicker heat shrink over the entire assembly. I used a lot for connecting power to CCTV cameras
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…