Acer Aspire 5532 - Charger problems?

Question

My Acer Aspire 5532 laptop does not charge. I think it is a connectivity issue.

It started when the laptop refused to charge unless the power cord/charger was jiggled into a set of random positions/angles to the computer plug (charger upside down sometimes worked... cable completely extended sometimes did the trick). These positions became fewer and fewer. And then, it does not charge at all now, no matter the position, even though plugged in.

It is either a defective charger (though the light always turns green when the charger is plugged in), or the plug in the laptop that connects to the charger (and maybe I will need to replace the entire laptop if this is the case).

Is anyone else having charging problems with this laptop? What is the source of the problem, and how can I fix it?

Answer 1

This is commonly caused by one of two things.

1. The wire as it enters the connector often breaks due to the twisting & flexing at the point of entry. This is usually repaired by replacing the plug with a new one, or purchasing a new power supply. You can sometimes see this damage in the form of a slight bulge as the wire enters the plug (see picture 1). Test this by connecting a volt meter to the plug and see if you get power out of the power supply.
2. The solder which connects the socket to the board inside cracks and breaks. This is sometimes known as a "dry joint". It may be repairable by re-soldering the connections. You can only check for this by dismantling the laptop and inspecting the connections closely - perhaps with a magnifying glass. (see picture 2)

Picture 1

Picture 2

Answer 2

It really sounds like a broken wire on the charger - they tend to fail right where the wire exits the body of the charger. A half-decent replacement off ebay or Amazon won't break the bank