Replacement Laptop Cord

Step 7 Finished

The green power light from my laptop is glowing. I think I will not disconnect the cord from the power supply in the future so that I am less likely to forget the cord. But, my cord works. It cost me about $6 instead of about $20, and I did not need to wait 10 days to 2 weeks for delivery.

Comments

[Bjorno]

A good idea, but it is a risky endeavor for a small savings. Most retail electronics shops sell the "Mickey Mouse" style cables for ~%5.

[Phil B]

I do not enjoy electrical shocks any more than anyone else and take great pains to avoid them. If I thought it were not completely safe, I would not have made it, nor would I use it. My last experience with purchasing a cable like this was in 2006. The only place I could find was on-line with Radio Shack. The cable was $12.95 plus shipping.

[Bjorno]

Neither do I. The only part I worry about is the fact that you used hot glue to assemble the plug. Adapters like that can generate a decent amount of heat, enough to soften the glue and potentially short out. Though it is a slim chance, considering the prongs will hole the wires in place, it is still a worry of mine. Plastic epoxy is generally what I use to fashion that type of thing. Heat does not affect it and it is quite solid. I was a little off on the price, it is still around that $12 mark at most places.

[Phil B]

As I explained to one of the people who left a comment, my power supply does not get more than lukewarm. It is never so warm that I cannot hold it comfortably, even when charging a depleted battery. That is not hot enough to melt the glue. I also mentioned in one of my responses that I did an Instructable on an Auto Charger for 6 or 12 Volt Systems. In it I used hot glue to insulate the transformer primaries. In 20 years of use I never saw any breakdown of the hot glue insulation. In a worst case scenario, let us say the hot glue softens considerably. The copper coils are still held apart from one another by the pins on which each sits. Even if the hot glue around the coils became gooey, the hot glue away from the pins would not get hot enough to become soft. I really think it is going to hold up quite well. I suppose a good epoxy would have been the stuff they use for sealing an automobile gasoline tank.

[Bjorno]

Your power supply does not get more than lukewarm.

But you are posting this as an instructable for other people who's power supplies might very well get hot.

Keep in mind that I am not trying to knock you down, or insult your idea; only to add to the design.

Two heads are better than one.

[Phil B]

If someone is concerned about hot glue melting on his power supply, he should plug it in and rest a stick of hot glue on the hottest part. Come back in an hour or two and see if the glue has melted.

[Bjorno]

But how are they going to do that if they are trying to use your instructable to build a cable in the first place?

[Phil B]

Some options would be: 1) Borrow a cord from a friend with the same style power supply. 2) Lightly solder leads from an improvised cord to the ends of the pins and tape them reasonably well for the duration of the test. (Include as small a fuse as possible in the circuit for extra protection.) 3) Follow steps 1 through 5 of this Instructable for a test, taping as needed to insure nothing can short during a test. (See the note about a fuse in the option above.) 4) Find someone with a laptop whose power supply becomes quite warm after an hour or two of use, even if a different style than yours. Gain his agreement to allow you to conduct your melting glue stick test. I am certain a power supply hot enough to melt hot glue will also damage the finish on a counter, burn skin on contact, melt carpet, and cause spontaneous flames on newspaper. The point is that no normally functioning laptop power supply gets hot enough to make the hot glue I used in my Instructable cause any danger through melting.

[Bjorno]

Er, ~ $5, I should say.

[zzzdude]

Now tell me how to fix the other part of the cable, assuming the power supply box is in tact. I really don't want to pay 80 dollars for a replacement...

[Phil B]

I assume you are talking about a flaw in the cable between the "brick" (power supply module) and the plug that fits into the side or back of the computer. It is essentially like replacing or fixing the jack on a pair of headphones or earphones. I believe there are some Instructables on that. The wires often become frayed inside the cable an inch or two back from the plug. I pare away the rubberized plastic covering the power plug. I cut a couple of inches off of the cable on the plug end and strip the wires from the brick back about 1/2 to 3/4 inch. I desolder the the old connections to the power plug and make new solder connections from the stripped cable. Doing them one at a time helps make certain the right wire goes to the right solder joint. Then I coat the plug in hot glue. While the hot glue is cooling, I keep turning the power plug over so the glue does not sag in one direction. I hope this is what you are asking. There is always the possibility the break in your wires is at the brick rather than the plug. That would be more difficult to fix.

[zzzdude]

Why thank you. You said exactly what I wanted to hear.

[ins1jlm]

you can find the cord you need at goodwill for 2 or 3 bucks

[Phil B]

I wish I had known that in 2006 when I needed to replace one of these cords. I go to Goodwill once every ten years, whether I need it or not. It is just not a place that comes into my mind.

[cameron20020]

fair enough, though personally, i would only make my own plug if it were some exotic type that i cant get for a reasonable price, AND would make it using a decent brand of epoxy resin, not hot glue, which will fail with age just my opinion, im fussy lol, but i DO use hot glue for alot, because its so quick to dry and easy to remove

[Phil B]

I considered an epoxy in place of the hot glue, but was concerned that it would permanently affix itself to the power supply's socket. I could not think of a reasonable release material available to me at the time. And, the epoxies I know are more viscous than hot glue, making them harder to control while they set up. I figure if the hot glue ever fails, I will pare it away and apply new hot glue. Part of my reason for doing this Instructable was to demonstrate a way of making conductive sleeves to slide over pins in a connector, whether for a laptop cord or for some other type of cord that may be even more difficult to replace.