CodeWalrus

General => General Help & Troubleshooting => Topic started by: Dudeman313 on January 29, 2017, 05:17:35 AM

Title: Buzzing Laptop Power Cord
Post by: Dudeman313 on January 29, 2017, 05:17:35 AM
Last year I put in an effort to get my now 9 years old laptop fixed, working, and updated, this being less expensive than purchasing a quality replacement. That November, I got a new battery and power cord(both non-OEM) and clean installed Windows 10 Pro on my Acer Aspire 5735z.

About 2 hours ago, I started hearing a strange, loud, and inconsistent buzz/crackle clearly originating from the brick of the cord. The sound was so loud it could be heard 6 feet away.

A closer inspection revealed that the noise only was heard while the laptop was plugged in, and that in the short breaks between buzzing, the laptop would lose connection as if unplugged. I have shut down the laptop(which was almost dead at 23%) to preserve battery.

If this can be fixed, how? If a replacement is necessary, please explain why. Please ask me for more information if needed.
Thanks! :walrii:
Title: Re: Buzzing Laptop Power Cord
Post by: Yuki on January 29, 2017, 06:19:14 AM
It's probably going to die, get a replacement cord.
Title: Re: Buzzing Laptop Power Cord
Post by: p2 on January 29, 2017, 10:14:43 AM
was it a cheap china copy of a power cord or an expensive one?

you might want to try to turn on a regular fm radio close to it. If you hear a loud sound out of the radio's speakers that almost kills the radio signal, you can be sure it's a super cheap thing that should better be replaced. (it means there's not even an electromagnetic shielding).
That will not tell you about the strange sounds while charching, but it's a general indicator about the quality. (some guys sell cheap c but claim it would be top quality)
if that test says "cheap c" then you better replace it right away.

if it was expemsive, you might want to try to return it as it's not functioning properly.
Title: Re: Buzzing Laptop Power Cord
Post by: Dudeman313 on January 29, 2017, 03:53:26 PM
Quote from: p2 on January 29, 2017, 10:14:43 AM
was it a cheap china copy of a power cord or an expensive one?
It was a cheap china copy. The original was lost.

Quote from: p2 on January 29, 2017, 10:14:43 AM
you might want to try to turn on a regular fm radio close to it. If you hear a loud sound out of the radio's speakers that almost kills the radio signal, you can be sure it's a super cheap thing that should better be replaced. (it means there's not even an electromagnetic shielding).
That will not tell you about the strange sounds while charching, but it's a general indicator about the quality. (some guys sell cheap s*** but claim it would be top quality)
if that test says "cheap s***" then you better replace it right away.
I'll try this and see what I get. Should I attempt this test while charging or when it is not in use(unplugged)?
Title: Re: Buzzing Laptop Power Cord
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on January 29, 2017, 05:31:58 PM
The reason why it broke this way is that it's a Chinese knockoff. :P Anyway stop using it, because crackles and pops coming from a charger or battery usually means something is burning inside and it will be much less expensive to buy a new charger than replacing a burning house.
Title: Re: Buzzing Laptop Power Cord
Post by: p2 on January 29, 2017, 07:39:50 PM
Quote from: Jkolade936 on January 29, 2017, 03:53:26 PM
Quote from: p2 on January 29, 2017, 10:14:43 AM
you might want to try to turn on a regular fm radio close to it. If you hear a loud sound out of the radio's speakers that almost kills the radio signal, you can be sure it's a super cheap thing that should better be replaced. (it means there's not even an electromagnetic shielding).
That will not tell you about the strange sounds while charching, but it's a general indicator about the quality. (some guys sell cheap s*** but claim it would be top quality)
if that test says "cheap s***" then you better replace it right away.
I'll try this and see what I get. Should I attempt this test while charging or when it is not in use(unplugged)?
it has to be charging at that moment for the test :)
But actually dj is right.
THis is a simple test you should better do BEFORE ur battery is fried, right after you bought the cable.
Now you should probably really just focus on replacing that stupid thingy before it kills ur laptop battery.
and believe me that can happen damn fast.
I once bought a cheap cable, that was obviously NOT ment to be used with my laptop's battery (c declarations on amazon, they sent a different cable with different output stats) and within 1 week my laptop battery was down from 2 hours to 15 minutes... <_<
Title: Re: Buzzing Laptop Power Cord
Post by: Dudeman313 on January 30, 2017, 03:24:36 AM
Okay. I'll try to convince my mom to buy it for me instead of forcing me to list something on eBay that no one will buy just so I can buy it with my own money.