Collection How to Fix Laptop Charger
1. Fix a Laptop Charger in Style
A few of month ago I ruined yet another charger cable. It gave in to the abuses of commuting life.
During the years this happened too many times, and a lot of fixes came to mind, but none lasted long enough, let alone being neat or cool.
I think almost everyone happened to ruin a charger wire, and there are a ton of fixing methods online.
Lots of glue, tape, silicon and sugru. I never tried the latter, even if I think it's easy and functional. Maybe not the best looking fix, but fast and durable.
This time I wanted to fix my laptop charger cable in a durable and elegant way.
Since I'm working a bit with leather and the like, it came to me:"why not fixing it with leather?"
This is how it came out.
Step 1: Materials
Materials
Optional
Step 2: 10 Minutes Fixing
Actually my broken laptop charger wasn't the one in the cover. It was this one.
The one I'm using for this demonstration wasn't ruined at all but I didn't mind making it cooler and stronger.
This fix is working well even now without the smallest sign of damage. But I'm not quite satisfied with this fast solution finishing details, so I worked on the method a little bit more to make it nicer.
If you still think that this solution works for you, just skip to step 5.
Step 3: Optional: Sewing the Leather Strip - 1
This is totally optional and it doesn't affect functionality in any way.
I'm sewing an hem at the end of the strip and glueing one on the long side, toward the cable.
First I folded the hem and ironed it with my nail. Then I beveled the corner and, with the help of a ruler, I marked the sew with a spacer embossing tool.
Step 4: Optional: Sewing the Leather Strip - 2
Once marked, I started backstitching the hem. I didn't bother tying the thread because the glue is going to fix it.
Then I glued the hem on the long side. Wait 10 min then press it hard and it's done.
Step 5: Taking Measures
Now your strip is ready to be used, except it's too long. Turn it around the cable, a couple of time is perfect. Keep it really tight. Decide how much leather you need and cut it. Since we are using contact cement, we need to spread the glue on both the cable and the leather strip and, since the strip is wrapped on itself, both side of the strip.
Now wrap it again on the cable and mark where the strip end so that you know which part is going to remain exposed and which needs to be covered in glue.
Step 6: Glue It in Place
Spread the glue on the cable, then on both sides of the leather strip. Remember to leave clean the strip part that is going to stay exposed. Better if you use some tape to protect both the charger and the strip. It's so obvious the glue get messy that I underestimated the problem and got glue almost everywhere. Ahaha. Luckily it's rather easy to clean since this glue is cured.
Once 10 minutes have passed it's ready to wrap it up! Remember to keep the strip stretched and tight while you wound it on the cable.
Step 7: Done!!
Whether you choose the fast or the neat solution your charger has now a really strong cable!
Thanks for reading and I hope this inspired you!
Paleseu is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program.
source: https://www.instructables.com/id/Fixing-a-Laptop-Charger-in-10-Minutes-With-Style/
2. Fixing a Laptop Charging Cable
Step 1: Slice Off the Old Sheath
Unplug the charger!
Slice away the old rubber sheath. Underneath there is the metal plug, and it should have 2 wires soldered to it. One is the center of the wire from the charger, and the other is a short one that connects to the metal strands from the outer part of the charger. Try to remember which wire is connect to which part.
Once the rubber plug is removed cut the plug off the cord, cutting off the damaged part of the cord.
Next cut the sheath from around the magnet, and the magnet should slide off the cord.
You should be left with just a plain cord coming out of the transformer box.
Hold the frayed ends of the solder with the pliers and heat the solder attaching them to the plug to pull them off. A vise or an extra pair of hands helps with all the soldering.
I have no pictures for this step.
Step 2: Slide Things on for Future Use
You will need the magnet on the wire as well as the large pieces of heat shrink tubing on the cord for later. Slide the magnet first, then the heat shrink tubing.
Step 3: Figure Out Which Wire Goes Where
On my connector the negative is the outer part of the connector and the center is the positive. In the cable the negative is the sheath of strands, and the middle wire is the positive. I think both are normal. There is a diagram on the transformer box as well, pictured below.
You can use a multimeter to insure you have the wires correct.
Step 4: Solder the Connections
In the fist picture below the outer part is still connected, but I cut away the tubing i had installed before.
Slide the new tubing onto the wire, and solder them in. On my plug the middle wire went to the middle connector, and the outer wire went to the outside of the plug.
The third picture below shows the tubes in place so the two wires can short out.
Step 5: Test Plug in Laptop
Plug everything in and see if the charging light turns on. It should work now. If it does, leave it plugged in and slide the first piece of large tubing down the cord and line it up with the computer. The metal on the plug sticks way out, so it is good to do this while plugged in. One the first piece is where you want it unplug it and use a heat gun or lighter to heat the tube and shrink it. I used a butane lighter.
Below are pictures of it bare, then the tube lined up where I want it, then the first tube shrunk in place.
Step 6: Build the Connector
Slide up the other tubes one at at time and shrink them in place. The tube gets tight and hard when it shrinks, so it holds the wires in place, and makes your new connector resist bending and breaking.
Below is my connector with all 5 large tubes shrunk on. It feels pretty solid.
Step 7: Install the Magnet
I don't really know what the magnet is for, but the manufacturer thought it was important enough to put it on, so I did too.
I slid it to about the location in was before and zip tied it tightly in place with the two zip ties. Cut the tails off the zip ties.
Update:
Instructables user "winston_smith"stated this is called a toroid, and said it is used to stop power spikes. "getbusy21" posted that it is a ferrite bead, used to stop high frequencies. He also provided the link below, explaining that it was likely an FCC requirement that doesn't change performance.
Step 8: Finished!
The connector is ready to use! Give it a try.
It looked way better with black tubing, but I didn't have any more. It made the computer run so I could right this!
source: https://www.instructables.com/id/Fixing-a-Laptop-Charging-Cable/
3. Fixing a Laptop Adapter
The modern laptop power supply is a marvel of modern engineering. Switching power supplies have been around since decent power transistors began to appear in the late 1950's but comparing those with what we have today is like comparing a Model T to a modern car. This power supply is actually a DC to DC converter, where the 120-volt AC line voltage is rectified to 170 volts DC, it is then chopped at hundreds of kilohertz and passed through a high-frequency transformer, where it is again transformed to a lower voltage AC and then again rectified to DC. This is done at over 90 percent efficiency. The major breakthrough that allowed such high efficiencies to be achieved was the development of solid state devices with incredibly high switching speed. The waste heat and hence inefficiency of a switching circuit is mostly produced during the time that the solid-state device is switching from on to off and vice-versa. As the transition time of the device is lowered, the waste heat goes down also. This is a long way from a linear power supply where 30 percent efficiency is considered to be good efficiency.
You will need the following to do this instructable:
1) Soldering gun, solder and solder sucker
2) Long-nose pliers and flat blade screwdriver
3) Multimeter and oscilloscope
4) Glue that will glue plastic parts together.
5) Two 680 microfarad, 25 volt electrolytic capacitors. Preferably the type that has the leads coming out of one end.
( Values of capacitance down to 470 microfarad would work OK, but keep the voltage rating.)
Step 1: Check the Output Waveform and Schematic Diagram
Looking at the output waveform as shown here, it can be seen that there are only approximately 10 volts of DC with spikes every 22 milliseconds riding on top. The output is supposed to be at least 19 volts with millivolts of AC component riding on the DC. Experience tells me that the solid state components are very robust in these circuits, the weakest link is the electrolytic capacitors which can go at any time.
Step 2: Dismantle the Adapter
Wait a few minutes for the input capacitor to discharge and take the adapter apart and gently pry up the circuit board from the inside of the bottom case. Make note of where all the main parts are as shown in the above diagram.
Step 3: Remove the Two Output Capacitors and Solder in the New Ones
The two output electrolytic capacitors are on the far right of the board as shown in the picture, unsolder them from the board and use the solder sucker to remove the old solder. Make note of the polarity of the old ones before you take them out and put the new ones in the same way. The negative side goes toward the heat sink as viewed from the top. Take the new capacitors and solder them in with the soldering gun taking care not to hold the soldering gun tip on the board for any more time than is necessary (about 10 seconds).
Step 4: Reassembly and Testing
Before you put everything together, check and recheck your work. Double check the input wires from the line cord where they connect to the board. Check the output wires where they connect to the board. Once you are satisfied that everything is OK, plug in the charger and look at the output. It should look like the above picture, with a smooth DC level at about 19 volts with no noticeable AC component. Note: I have taken both the before and after oscilloscope readings in "AC mode". After you are satisfied with your work, reassemble the board in the box and re-glue everything together.
Step 5: Conclusion
Once I had taken the output electrolytic capacitors out of the circuit, I could see that one of the capacitors had physically burst at the bottom. This is caused by the buildup of gasses within the electrolytic eventually causing it to burst rather than exploding. Kind of like a safety valve.
I tested the value of both capacitors and the values were down to around 10 percent of their rated value. This would keep them from properly filtering out the switching transients (spikes) produced by the chopping action of the switching transistor and the subsequent collapsing of the magnetic field of the high-frequency transformer. There are other factors that come into play when an electrolytic capacitor ages, such as ESR (equivalent series resistance) but I will not get into that here.
source: https://www.instructables.com/id/Fixing-a-Laptop-Adapter/
4. ...
A few of month ago I ruined yet another charger cable. It gave in to the abuses of commuting life.
During the years this happened too many times, and a lot of fixes came to mind, but none lasted long enough, let alone being neat or cool.
I think almost everyone happened to ruin a charger wire, and there are a ton of fixing methods online.
Lots of glue, tape, silicon and sugru. I never tried the latter, even if I think it's easy and functional. Maybe not the best looking fix, but fast and durable.
This time I wanted to fix my laptop charger cable in a durable and elegant way.
Since I'm working a bit with leather and the like, it came to me:"why not fixing it with leather?"
This is how it came out.
Step 1: Materials
Materials
- A laptop charger - with ruined cable
- A leather strip - I scavenged a pair of old shoes. The slightly curved shape helped. You want a strip 4" to 5" long and as large as the reinforced part of the cable.
- Leather cement - I used the Pattex contact glue for shoes. It's important it's a contact glue and it's imperative it stay flexible after curing.
Optional
- Thread and needle
- Spacer embossing tool
Step 2: 10 Minutes Fixing
Actually my broken laptop charger wasn't the one in the cover. It was this one.
The one I'm using for this demonstration wasn't ruined at all but I didn't mind making it cooler and stronger.
This fix is working well even now without the smallest sign of damage. But I'm not quite satisfied with this fast solution finishing details, so I worked on the method a little bit more to make it nicer.
If you still think that this solution works for you, just skip to step 5.
Step 3: Optional: Sewing the Leather Strip - 1
I'm sewing an hem at the end of the strip and glueing one on the long side, toward the cable.
First I folded the hem and ironed it with my nail. Then I beveled the corner and, with the help of a ruler, I marked the sew with a spacer embossing tool.
Step 4: Optional: Sewing the Leather Strip - 2
Then I glued the hem on the long side. Wait 10 min then press it hard and it's done.
Step 5: Taking Measures
Now wrap it again on the cable and mark where the strip end so that you know which part is going to remain exposed and which needs to be covered in glue.
Step 6: Glue It in Place
Spread the glue on the cable, then on both sides of the leather strip. Remember to leave clean the strip part that is going to stay exposed. Better if you use some tape to protect both the charger and the strip. It's so obvious the glue get messy that I underestimated the problem and got glue almost everywhere. Ahaha. Luckily it's rather easy to clean since this glue is cured.
Once 10 minutes have passed it's ready to wrap it up! Remember to keep the strip stretched and tight while you wound it on the cable.
Step 7: Done!!
Thanks for reading and I hope this inspired you!
Paleseu is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program.
source: https://www.instructables.com/id/Fixing-a-Laptop-Charger-in-10-Minutes-With-Style/
2. Fixing a Laptop Charging Cable
Step 1: Slice Off the Old Sheath
Unplug the charger!
Slice away the old rubber sheath. Underneath there is the metal plug, and it should have 2 wires soldered to it. One is the center of the wire from the charger, and the other is a short one that connects to the metal strands from the outer part of the charger. Try to remember which wire is connect to which part.
Once the rubber plug is removed cut the plug off the cord, cutting off the damaged part of the cord.
Next cut the sheath from around the magnet, and the magnet should slide off the cord.
You should be left with just a plain cord coming out of the transformer box.
Hold the frayed ends of the solder with the pliers and heat the solder attaching them to the plug to pull them off. A vise or an extra pair of hands helps with all the soldering.
I have no pictures for this step.
Step 2: Slide Things on for Future Use
You will need the magnet on the wire as well as the large pieces of heat shrink tubing on the cord for later. Slide the magnet first, then the heat shrink tubing.
Step 3: Figure Out Which Wire Goes Where
On my connector the negative is the outer part of the connector and the center is the positive. In the cable the negative is the sheath of strands, and the middle wire is the positive. I think both are normal. There is a diagram on the transformer box as well, pictured below.
You can use a multimeter to insure you have the wires correct.
Step 4: Solder the Connections
Slide the new tubing onto the wire, and solder them in. On my plug the middle wire went to the middle connector, and the outer wire went to the outside of the plug.
The third picture below shows the tubes in place so the two wires can short out.
Step 5: Test Plug in Laptop
Below are pictures of it bare, then the tube lined up where I want it, then the first tube shrunk in place.
Step 6: Build the Connector
Slide up the other tubes one at at time and shrink them in place. The tube gets tight and hard when it shrinks, so it holds the wires in place, and makes your new connector resist bending and breaking.
Below is my connector with all 5 large tubes shrunk on. It feels pretty solid.
Step 7: Install the Magnet
I slid it to about the location in was before and zip tied it tightly in place with the two zip ties. Cut the tails off the zip ties.
Update:
Instructables user "winston_smith"stated this is called a toroid, and said it is used to stop power spikes. "getbusy21" posted that it is a ferrite bead, used to stop high frequencies. He also provided the link below, explaining that it was likely an FCC requirement that doesn't change performance.
Step 8: Finished!
The connector is ready to use! Give it a try.
It looked way better with black tubing, but I didn't have any more. It made the computer run so I could right this!
source: https://www.instructables.com/id/Fixing-a-Laptop-Charging-Cable/
3. Fixing a Laptop Adapter
The modern laptop power supply is a marvel of modern engineering. Switching power supplies have been around since decent power transistors began to appear in the late 1950's but comparing those with what we have today is like comparing a Model T to a modern car. This power supply is actually a DC to DC converter, where the 120-volt AC line voltage is rectified to 170 volts DC, it is then chopped at hundreds of kilohertz and passed through a high-frequency transformer, where it is again transformed to a lower voltage AC and then again rectified to DC. This is done at over 90 percent efficiency. The major breakthrough that allowed such high efficiencies to be achieved was the development of solid state devices with incredibly high switching speed. The waste heat and hence inefficiency of a switching circuit is mostly produced during the time that the solid-state device is switching from on to off and vice-versa. As the transition time of the device is lowered, the waste heat goes down also. This is a long way from a linear power supply where 30 percent efficiency is considered to be good efficiency.
You will need the following to do this instructable:
1) Soldering gun, solder and solder sucker
2) Long-nose pliers and flat blade screwdriver
3) Multimeter and oscilloscope
4) Glue that will glue plastic parts together.
5) Two 680 microfarad, 25 volt electrolytic capacitors. Preferably the type that has the leads coming out of one end.
( Values of capacitance down to 470 microfarad would work OK, but keep the voltage rating.)
Step 1: Check the Output Waveform and Schematic Diagram
Looking at the output waveform as shown here, it can be seen that there are only approximately 10 volts of DC with spikes every 22 milliseconds riding on top. The output is supposed to be at least 19 volts with millivolts of AC component riding on the DC. Experience tells me that the solid state components are very robust in these circuits, the weakest link is the electrolytic capacitors which can go at any time.
Step 2: Dismantle the Adapter
Step 3: Remove the Two Output Capacitors and Solder in the New Ones
The two output electrolytic capacitors are on the far right of the board as shown in the picture, unsolder them from the board and use the solder sucker to remove the old solder. Make note of the polarity of the old ones before you take them out and put the new ones in the same way. The negative side goes toward the heat sink as viewed from the top. Take the new capacitors and solder them in with the soldering gun taking care not to hold the soldering gun tip on the board for any more time than is necessary (about 10 seconds).
Step 4: Reassembly and Testing
Before you put everything together, check and recheck your work. Double check the input wires from the line cord where they connect to the board. Check the output wires where they connect to the board. Once you are satisfied that everything is OK, plug in the charger and look at the output. It should look like the above picture, with a smooth DC level at about 19 volts with no noticeable AC component. Note: I have taken both the before and after oscilloscope readings in "AC mode". After you are satisfied with your work, reassemble the board in the box and re-glue everything together.
Step 5: Conclusion
Once I had taken the output electrolytic capacitors out of the circuit, I could see that one of the capacitors had physically burst at the bottom. This is caused by the buildup of gasses within the electrolytic eventually causing it to burst rather than exploding. Kind of like a safety valve.
I tested the value of both capacitors and the values were down to around 10 percent of their rated value. This would keep them from properly filtering out the switching transients (spikes) produced by the chopping action of the switching transistor and the subsequent collapsing of the magnetic field of the high-frequency transformer. There are other factors that come into play when an electrolytic capacitor ages, such as ESR (equivalent series resistance) but I will not get into that here.
source: https://www.instructables.com/id/Fixing-a-Laptop-Adapter/
4. ...
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