Laptop only turns on when it is tilted, help please.

[bobbybrady456]

I've tried several working adapters but computer only turns on if I turn the computer sideways, move it around, etc. I took the laptop apart and didn't see anything loose where the adapter plugs in or on the motherboard connector. Any advice appreciated.

 

[hairlessupportmonkey]

It could be a broken solder joint. Do you have a soldering iron you can apply a little bit of fresh solder to the DC socket pins?

ACSS - SME
General Geek

 

[cdogg]

Also, I'd be curious to know if the laptop runs OK just on battery with no AC power adapter connected? The thinking is that it might eliminate the laptop's adapter connection as the cause if it doesn't.

-Carl
"The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty: it's twice as big as it needs to be."

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[goombawaho]

Do you have a soldering iron you can apply a little bit of fresh solder to the DC socket pins?

Most people WITH a soldering gun are not qualified to put its tip to the motherboard of a laptop. I wouldn't encourage someone to try it if they haven't done it before. You can end up roasted motherboard in about a 1/2 second.

That IS the likely cause pending following cdogg's test.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[rclarke250]

I agree, either bad solder connection or the jack is broken. You can get a replacement jack, just be very careful when soldering on any motherboard , as they are several layers, not just top and bottom, so on pins that go through you could break a land and not even know it.

 

[hairlessupportmonkey]

i guess when the op said they had taken it apart they might have enough skill or courage to use a soldering iron.

ACSS - SME
General Geek

 

[goombawaho]

Understood. I can solder all kinds of other things but I wouldn't attempt a DC jack.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[rclarke250]

NO! Taking a laptop apart does not in any way mean you have the skill to solder on a laptop motherboard. One just involves patience and a screwdriver, the other involves actual skill, otherwise, you will destroy the board, and end up replacing it. Have you ever tried soldering on a laptop motherboard? Most times, you can't get the crappy no lead solder to melt enough because the large area of the ground will wick away the heat too fast, and you end up, causing the traces to peal away from the laminate. But after doing a ton of these, I'll give you guys some tips. There are 2 ways you can safely unsolder the dc jack. First way, is to add silver or 60/40 lead solder on top of the existing solder, wick it up with solder wick, repeat as many times as it takes to get all of the solder away from the jack. The other and my preferred method is to use a product called chip quick. It was developed to make it easier to desolder surface mount chips, some with 160 pins,40 each on all four sides, in a package the size of a postage stamp. This is how I used to make a living before I decided that swapping a computer board out, and reloading software were an easier way.

 

[goombawaho]

You should have agreed with me and said - "Right/Yes Taking a laptop apart does not in any way mean you have the skill to solder on a laptop motherboard." Because that's what I was trying to tell people.

General soldering skill does not equal ability to fix a DC power jack.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[hairlessupportmonkey]

I did say courage too.

nevermind.

ACSS - SME
General Geek

 

[goombawaho]

It's a fine line between courage and stupidity or so I have found personally. Especially when you start off a sentence saying, "Hey, watch this.............." Bad results increase exponentially with alcohol consumption.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[mscallisto]

bobbybrady456

Have you tried turning off the laptop, removing the hard drive then re-seat the hard drive making sure it has a snug fit?
Next turn on the laptop and see if this helps.

My HD was loose once and I had similar issues; re-seating it solved my problem.

Sam

 

[flyboytim]

There are also ribbon cables that can wear and intermittently short out to the grounded parts - for instance in the optical drive (CD/DVD/RW) which can be fixed by replacing the faulty drive, or the cable(s) connecting the screen to the base. These faults can be hard to trace, and the replacements may be difficult to source.