subject: Guide on fixing Toshiba PA3546U-1ACA AC adapter power issue [print this page] Author: papatek Author: papatek
I did see an ad for some Toshiba PA3546U-1ACA AC adapter repair place who was charging $200 to fix these, which is a total rip off. They were replacing the jack (claiming $20 just for the part!!) which is not necessary (at least not with this one). Well, I am really cheap and I didn't want to deal with the time or BS of having it shipped (the warranty is expired anyway), so I fixed it. Cliff's notes at bottom.
The power led on the front would flicker when the Toshiba PA3546U-1ACA AC adapter was plugged in. I could wiggle the power cord and it would change the nature of the flickering. Sometimes it would stay on continuously and sometimes it would shut off depending on the wiggling. This behavior had the obvious side effects of shutting the computer off and never really charging the battery. Oh how irritating.
At first I thought it was the Toshiba AC adapter power cord. I mean I could wiggle the cord and it made changes to the flickering, so why not? After testing it with the volt meter it seemed to be good, good enough to not spend ~$85 on a new power cord. The Toshiba PA3546U-1ACA AC adapter jack in the machine turned out to be the culprit. Well, sort of.
Technically it was the connection between the jack and the main board. Yeah, just a stupid connection. Not the whole motherboard like the corporate "customer service" reps want you to think. See, the Toshiba AC Adapter jack has the positive connection coming out of the back and directly into the board with a little weak solder joint keeping the jack from rocking back and forth.
When the laptop is subjected to normal amounts of Toshiba PA3546U-1ACA AC adapter power cord wiggling it breaks the weak joint and screws up Toshiba AC adapter power delivery. You can test this by plugging in the laptop and pushing the end of the cord in different directions while watching the green laptop ac adapter power light. You can find more laptop accessories information on papatek.com, or you can also visit here: Toshiba PA3546U-1ACA AC adapter Description: http://www.papatek.com/Toshiba-Adapter/Toshiba-PA3546U-1ACA-AC-adapter.html
Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use)
Output: DC19V 9.5A
Power: 180W
Outlet: 2-prong
Connecter size: Female 4-pin Din
Dimensions: 6.73" x 1.63" x 3.39"
Item Includes: AC Adapter and Power Cord.
Brand New Replacement Product, works as genuine parts, 100% OEM Compatible!! Porduct Warranty
12 months warranty
For return of non-defective product within the first 10 days from date of purchase, full refund.
Within the whole product warranty days, unartificial defective product returns are accepted for replacement, and we will afford all shipping fee. See more information on: http://www.papatek.comAbout the Author:
Papatek.com locates in Santa Clara, is a direct sales office and service center of our replacement IT parts manufacture. We currently supply brand new AC Adapter, Rechargeable Battery, DVDRW Drive, LCD Panel, Laptop Keyboard, Floppy Disk Drive and many others for almost all name brand laptops and printers.
Toshiba PA3546U-1ACA AC adapter Description: http://www.papatek.com/Toshiba-Adapter/Toshiba-PA3546U-1ACA-AC-adapter.html