DC Jack repair when the motherboard has snapped.

[alkanna]

Hi Everyone, I feel awful for asking a question just after signing up however I'm not really an active member of any particular tech forum or website - it might be a good time to start being active in the community!

A few days ago I went to unplug my laptop - a Samsung NP550P5C(S03UK) from the wall but because I left my laptop on the sofa, the cable pulled my laptop onto the floor causing damage to the DC jack. I weren't aware of the extent of the damage until I realised my laptop wouldn't charge and decided to take it apart to diagnose the problem after testing the power supply with a cheap multimeter which read an output of +19.3v which matches the specification of the transformer.

After taking apart the laptop and removing the motherboard I realised that the section of PCB where the DC jack sat had snapped away from the motherboard which made my heart sank because I thought at the time I would have to replace the whole motherboard because it was in close proximity to a resistor of some sort.

I decided to have a look at replacement motherboards on eBay as they are usually more available on there but the cheapest I found with the exact product code (BA92-09098A) was £200 which was a little too expensive for me to see it worth the cost because I bought the laptop second hand, albeit near new at £450 about 18 months ago and I could buy a replacement with similar specification around £350-£400 easily.

I realised that there would be companies that would repair motherboards, specifically ones with the DC jack issues and found one near Bradford which although is a little out my way (80 miles) it might be worth travelling to avoid having to post it. After speaking to someone on the phone about the problem I were told it is a very common issue and that they replace the DC jack with a different, after market component which would require a different power supply to use and they would 'part-ex' my old adapter. The cost of this would be £60-80 which seems too expensive for effectively soldering a new jack onto the board.

My question is, does anyone know anything about this method? I have tried searching your articles and searching for other articles and forum posts about this however all I can find is information on the usual DC jack replacements. I've tried to find a circuit diagram/schematic for the board but have found nothing.

Here is a link to their website showing how their DC jack fits to the case:
http://www.trilogicuk.co.uk/laptop-repair-powerconnector-repair.html

I'm sorry if my use of language hasn't been effective in creating an enjoyable post but I've tried to make this post as thorough as I can - if anyone would like me to find anything or post a few more pictures in order to help figure this problem out, just ask. I'm not amazing at writing but maybe it will get better!

Thanks!

Alkanna x

 

[Snipergod87]

I am surprised how weak the power connector was designed, such a small PCB connector, for a component that is unplugged with some frequency.

I don't know anything about this method but it seems a bit sketchy

 

[bignastyid]

That's a broken PCB and it is not repairable. Did you tell them that the PCB had broken? Mostly these companies just solder on a replacement jack onto the PCB theres nothing you can do to fix it if the PCB itself is broken. The only way is to replace the motherboard.

 

[alkanna]

I am surprised how weak the power connector was designed, such a small PCB connector, for a component that is unplugged with some frequency.

I don't know anything about this method but it seems a bit sketchy

I've never heard of this way of fixing a DC jack before either but it seems reasonable. Here is a link of their webpage:
http://www.trilogicuk.co.uk/laptop-repair-powerconnector-repair.html I'll add this to the bottom of the post. I think that they might connect an after-market DC-jack on the terminals after the couple of resistors and use some kind of universal power supply where they can adjust the voltage maybe? I still don't have any concrete ideas though :/

 

[alkanna]

That's a broken PCB and it is not repairable. Did you tell them that the PCB had broken? Mostly these companies just solder on a replacement jack onto the PCB theres nothing you can do to fix it if the PCB itself is broken. The only way is to replace the motherboard.

I don't believe anything is un-repairable. I told them that it was the motherboard that had snapped. They said it was a common problem with the new Samsung laptops because most of them have the DC jack hanging of the main motherboard and it is quite fragile because it isn't secured to the laptop's case and is only supported by the motherboard. They mentioned tracing back the connection from where the damage happened to a suitable place to solder their aftermarket jack. I've added a link to their website in my post

 

[boosted1g]

Just to make sure, the jack broke off from the motherboard, the motherboad pcb did not actually snap, correct??

The price range is nothing suprising. I would expect a shop to cost $100-125 USD to solder in a new jack due to equipment and labor costs. You need the proper desoldering tool with vacuum suckers to do this task right, and professional models can get very pricey.

What is concerning me is that they are not soldering in a direct replacement jack. These can usually be found for $10-20 ( i got one for an ASUS on amazon for $8).

Your laptop is designed to use the voltage/amps of your current power adapter and changing it to some generic aftermarket unit could cause more damage. Not to mention many cheap aftermarket power adapters dont provide the same stable power as your OEM adapter does and I have seen many many laptops destroyed due to cheap replacement power adapters.

 

[alkanna]

Just to make sure, the jack broke off from the motherboard, the motherboad pcb did not actually snap, correct??

The price range is nothing suprising. I would expect a shop to cost $100-125 USD to solder in a new jack due to equipment and labor costs. You need the proper desoldering tool with vacuum suckers to do this task right, and professional models can get very pricey.

What is concerning me is that they are not soldering in a direct replacement jack. These can usually be found for $10-20 ( i got one for an ASUS on amazon for $8).

Your laptop is designed to use the voltage/amps of your current power adapter and changing it to some generic aftermarket unit could cause more damage. Not to mention many cheap aftermarket power adapters dont provide the same stable power as your OEM adapter does and I have seen many many laptops destroyed due to cheap replacement power adapters.

Hi, the motherboard actually snapped. I would just solder on a new jack myself if it was just a damaged DC jack. I work for an IT company myself and we replace DC jacks fairly often so access to tools is no problem. I'm just really curious as to how their repair works because i've never seen it before. When I spoke to a person on the phone they seemed very knowledgeable about this problem and claim to repair several a week. They have a 3 month warranty which is reasonable as I would more than likely be selling the laptop soon after repairing it just in case it has more problems.

 

[jarotech]

Hi, it's an easy repair, you have a new jack screwed to the casing, and you connect this new jack with wires to the motherboard. I could help you with that modification, but I don't have the schematic for your laptop.