Nov

Acer Extensa Power Jack Problem

Written by Neil Galloway

I have owned an Acer Extensa 5420 for basically 2 years now. I wrote an Acer Extensa 5420 Laptop Review and another article in regards to a Black Screen On Startup.

I had a new problem today. The power jack was pushed back further inside the laptop. When I tried to connect my power cord, it fit really loosely and the battery charging light would not turn on. I have seen power jack problems before, so had a pretty good feeling this was the problem.

Anyhow, I turned the laptop over and remove the small panel on the bottom where you gain access to the memory. I then removed all the large screws on the bottom have of the plastic case so that I could detach it. I was still unable to remove it, so I remove the top piece above the keyboard where the power button is and the power lights. Underneath there are two screens that hold the monitor to the upper half of the body. If you remove these, it also allows to pull back the bottom half.

Sorry if the instructions are confusing. I don't have pictures either. Basically, try to remove as many screws as possible that look like it holds the two halves together though.

When I looked inside where the power jack was, the tiny little plastic ridges that the power jack held against had bent back and/or broken off. My solution was to push it back into place, insert the power cord into the jack fully, duct tape down the power cord on the outside of the laptop so it stays in a good place and doesn't place any more strain on the power jack, and then apply as much super glue via toothpick around the surface contact areas that were plastic between the power jack and the laptop case.

Afterwards I put everything back together and left the power cord taped to the laptop to give it as much time to cure the glue as possible.

Hopefully it lasts for a little while. A new power jack definitely wouldn't have helped as the problem was with some plastic pieces on the inside of the laptop body.

If you enjoyed this post, then make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe for email updates. Only one email a day and only if there was a new post.

Email this article

Category: Computers

Original Post: Saturday, November 21st, 2009

6 Comments

Colon Cleanse Says:
2009-12-01 00:21:24
I really believe that one of the best attributes you can have is to be humble. When you're not full of yourself, you learn more and even prosper more, because there's always knowledge to be learning. You also make less mistakes, too!

mike Says:
2010-02-06 14:06:40
thanks for this article. my jack was loose and eventually there would be no power going into the comp. i took it apart and found out i had to resolder one of the jack connections. i guess it broke because the jack got loose. i bought a soldering iron, fixed it up, used contact cement to try to keep the jack from moving. i can't believe those little plastic ridges are meant to support the ac jack. i got my fingers crossed. thanks again, mike

WILLIAM PROTEAU Says:
2010-05-09 19:41:12
i tryed to fix the jack like you did,,but didn't work for me, i guess, you tell me, what happens now <>that wasn't happening before ,, the laptop will power up for about 10 seconds max and cut it self back off,it will start to post, the prosser speed, memory and such , before it dies.note that before i took it apart to get at the jack it would not do anything, nothing at all, period...now it will start and begin to post, then shut right down, is it still needing a new power jack on the computer boards ??? i do think redio shack sell's new jacks or can the computer mfg supply a new one, looks like it is soldered on the board, and i might need a professional experiened cvomputer guy...

Jane Says:
2010-12-30 22:49:29
I have sent my stinking extensa 5420 in a total of 4 times now for the same problem. This past time they sent it back to me with a different AC Jack and cord and guess what, it's broken again. These suck. This is 2 years old, luckily I have the extented warranty, but unfortunately they send it back to ACER each time the jack breaks and they keep it for well over a month, so I'd say I actually share the laptop with them. lol Can't they find a better AC JACK?!

Kitchen & Bath Remodeling, Milwaukee WI Says:
2011-02-13 10:11:53
Wow,

Having the same damned problem myself right now. Hope this works.

G

Paul Says:
2011-03-02 15:43:40
I had the same problem with my girlfriends Acer Extensa 5620. It started with a lose connection and then it got worse until she couldn't just giggle the cable to get it working any more, and on top of that the Battery went completely dead afterwards, and the AC power module was toast, likely from all the shorting out. I'm an I.T. tech by trade and so I basically opened the unit took it apart and its exactly as the article states, the Bottom half of the labtop casing has a design fault, the plastic holding the power module in is paper thin, and prone to breaking easily. I had little choice, I ordered a replacement AC power module ($5) and New Battery ($40) off ebay, then again exaclty like the article says, I super glued the AC power module directly to the casing. So far its been a year and its still holding. This is a serious design flaw, a really stupid one actually.