I have a HP Pavilion laptop. I bought it about 2-3 years ago. I try to plug in the charger end to my laptop and it does not start charging. I can take the back off of it, plug the charger in, and it works fine. I think that something is pushing back (in the laptop) and causing the connections not to touch. I would fix it myself, but I would have to take a lot of my laptop apart just to fix it. I do not feel comfortable doing that myself.


My questions are:

What is your suggestion to fix this?
Has anyone else experienced this problem?
If I took it to someone, how long do you think it would take for them to fix it (given that I am right)?
If I took it to someone, how much money do you think I would have to pay?


Thanks for all your help!

Have a great day everyone!

I think u should just send it back to HP, which is the safest choice.

xboxrulz

I agree. Opening up the commputer and taking things apart might void your waranty also.

If hp did take it back im pretty sure they would charge alot.

This post has been edited by ahender: Oct 26 2006, 12:57 AM

I am in college and I use my laptop every single hour of the day (except those oh so few hours of sleep).

I might call HP and ask them how long they think it would take to fix it. If it would take a couple of days, then I would send it over the upcoming Thanksgiving break. If it took longer than that, I would have to wait until Christmas. >_<

I know I would get charged a lot because there was only a one year warranty. That creates a problem because college sucked up all my money. (LOL)

If there's any more suggestions/comments/etc at all, send them my way. Thanks for all your help!

Have a great day everyone!

It may not be the physical plug-in which is the problem.
On my laptop, it seems that the cord end near the computer gets 'comfortable' in one position and the cord develops a 'curve' in it and sometimes doesn't charge, so I am suspicious of a there being a short or 'lack of continuity' in the cord itself, maybe?
I regularly re-shape that end and try to not let the 'curve' develop and it seems to allow the connection to be more consistent and then I have less trouble.
Nothing worse than anticipating a full battery only to have the power monitor yapping at you.
Most 'techie' types should be able to help you diagnose this problem with a voltage tester or some other gizmo they enjoy playing with. A new charger can't be all that much if it is required.
As I remember my College days, it should be worth around 2 or 3 nights in a Club, only.

There are two parts to my charger.

1- Plug to charger box
2- Charger box to computer

I guess the box is a power converter or something of some type. I am getting power to the box and the charger end that plugs into the laptop.

I have no clue how much it costs to go clubbing. (LOL) I live a sheltered life. :-)

Any Switching Mode Power Supply where from you can obtain 18.5Volts and at least 4-6Amps will do the task. These are the common parameters for Laptop Power Supplies.

Many SMPS supplies need some load attached at output when starting up, otherwise they won't boot at all. Some SMPS show this behaviour while they're aging, because parameters of some electronic components (such as capacitors) vary slightly over the time. Two options, try to identify the iffy component and do some surgeon for replacement, or a much better opt, get a new SMPS as they are not as expensive.

Did you manage to solve the problem?

I am having a similar problem and am convinced that it is a mechanical problem - the power jack is not connecting properly to the machine. If I fiddle around every now and then I get a connection but it isn't reliable and the actual socket connector that plugs into the laptop gets very hot (surely this is not safe?). Anyone know what this might be or how to fix it? has it ever happened to anyone else before. My laptop is a fugitsu seamens amelio, had it bout to and a half years now.

Replying to Feedbacker
Yes, I am having the same problem. L have an HP Pavilion and we have had it for 2 years. Also the power converter gets very hot. The connection might be loose.