Is there an easier way to replace a dc power jack than soldering it? On an Inspiron 2200.

A) AC adapter (Charger) is bad.
Use a multimeter, and check it out.

[ DC Voltage.
Test plug of cable that plugs into laptop.
Positive (Red) probe lead of multimeter, to Center Hole of plug on AC adapter.
Negative (Black) probe lead touches outside cylindrical metal shell.
You should read close to 19.5 Volts (DC) ]

AC adapter checks out OK?

B) DC Power Jack is bad

[The DC Power Jack is the port on the laptop, that the AC adapter plugs into. On laptop may be marked DC_IN ]

Damage to DC Power Jack prevents laptop from charging, or running strictly off of the AC adapter.

Battery removed take a No.2 pencil's eraser, and see if you can gently move the Center Pin, of the DC Power Jack.
ANY perceptible movement means replacement of the DC Power Jack.

The pin itself may not move, and the entire jack moves.
The good news is the DC Power Jack is not soldered to the motherboard.
It is soldered to a separate, therefore replaceable, small circuit board,

http://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=3698

Click to enlarge. In the photo the DC Power Jack is at the back on the right.
This is is what the DC Power Jack, looks like not installed on that small circuit board,

http://www.elept.com/dc-power-jack-for-dell-inspiron-xps-m140-m1710-m1210-m2010_p2971.html

Looking at the view on the right, note the pins sticking out.
You are looking at the back view, and the jack is laying on it's side.
The pins go through the laptop's motherboard, and are soldered to the motherboard.

Where the pins are soldered to the motherboard is a solder connection. Commonly referred to as a Solder Joint.

Plugging in, and missing the hole of the jack, can cause the AC adapter plug to damage the DC Power Jack, by bumping into it.

Bumping into the plug of the AC adapter, while plugged into the DC Power jack, can cause damage to the jack.

Can cause cracking of the above mentioned solder joints. This leads to an intermittent contact, and eventually no contact, of the DC Power Jack TO the motherboard.

In this case the solder joints are just re-soldered.

Damage to the body of the jack itself means replacement of the DC Power Jack, or replacement of the USB/DC Power Jack circuit board, itself.

(Unless you, or an acquaintance can un-solder, and solder real well, the option may be to just replace the USB/DC Power Jack circuit board)

DC Power Jack proves to be OK?

Problem is one, or more Power MOSFETs on the motherboard.
These determine if the Battery needs a trickle charge, or a full charge, or no charge at all.
Also determines if the laptop is to just run off of the AC adapter, and not the Battery.

This example is for HP Pavilion dv6000 and Pavilion dv9000 series of Notebook PC's. You can use it for cross-reference information.
(Location of the Power MOSFETs on your laptop's motherboard. General idea of what they look like ),

http://mayohardware.blogspot.com/2010/04/important-parts-on-dv6000-and-dv9000.html

What? Looks like motherboard replacement to you?
OK
Let's price a Fairchild Semiconductor International - FDS6679 - Power MOSFET,

http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?Keyword=FDS6679

If you buy one the cost is $1.01 USD

Look to see if the Power MOSFET/s are burned. Blackened, bubbled, or blistered.

There is one more small component, that if bad will produce the same results;
Ceramic Capacitors.

Look back at the Mayohardware blog. Look at the second photo down with the AO4407 Power MOSFET circled in Yellow.

Note the small rectangular shape to the immediate right, that has the wide dark band on it. There is one above it, one above that, and one to the right of the top one.

See if any of these, (No matter what the size. Look at all of them), are burned. Blackened, bubbled, or blistered.

http://www.mouser.com/Passive-Components/Capacitors/Ceramic-Capacitors/Multilayer-Ceramic-Capacitors-MLCC-SMD-SMT/_/N-b2cj?P=1z0wquyZ1z0t6fg

NOT stating these are ones to use. Just showing average cost.
.42 to .76 cents USD. Approximately a half dollar to three-quarters of a dollar.

Motherboard?

Average example,

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-M140-Motherboard-HC425/dp/B001155N0U

$200 USD

Average example of the -> package type of the Power MOSFETs used,

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:oER5NNz8cwcJ:www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/FD/FDS6675BZ.pdf+Fairchild+FDS6675BZ&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShOhWPjm_M-ROHme4iEMrztCTOd-28jNiy1hVLQQh_VOyv8zcXEVDB_iTQA6MuZO88UmRkDgjyW9j4CP2aIJ-4DS-h6JNM3lvxldeApQeecmz_DADCw1s7tmNLxfPknqX14SZP6&sig=AHIEtbS_rYUAeo_8rB9YHkW05ZjLqeH4Jg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uiroWBkdFY&feature=fvwrel

You don't need a Soldering Station. A low Wattage soldering iron, and that tip.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xps140M/en/sm/index.htm

Regards,
joecoolvette

You may have a DC connector problem:

Symptoms of a broken power jack
1. If you wiggle the power cord or the AC Adapter connector on the back of the laptop, the power LED and battery charge LED start to flicker.
2. Battery will not charge in the laptop.
3. Laptop runs fine off a charged battery.
4. With the AC Adapter connected the laptop appears to be dead.
No power LED or battery charge LED activity.
5. Laptop randomly powers off without any warning.

If your laptop is out of warranty, then you can fix the problem by re-soldering DC-IN jack on the system board. If it

I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/joe_8b8c2cd6ce148309

You are right, most of the situations like this end up that the charging connector fixed / soldered to the motherboard get damaged because of shaking the connector when ever we connect and disconnect it .

1.Try to check if the port (dc input jack) for the ac adapter is loose, because that could be the problem.
2. Also try to use a good known ac adapter if it will do the same thing. If it does the problem is the dc input jack. If not, the problem is the ac adapter and you need to have a replacement or have it checked.

The jack on the laptop that you plug the AC adapter (Charger) into, is called a DC Power Jack.

http://www.laptopjacks.com/view_part/Dell-Inspiron-9300-Laptop-DC-Power-Jack-DL111500.html

I would like you to click on the photos of the jack. (3 views shown. Has www.laptopjacks.com on it)

The middle photo, and the photo to the right, shows copper prongs that protrude out of the jack.

The view to the right shows the jack upside down, in relation to how it's mounted on the motherboard.
The prongs go through the motherboard, and are soldered to circuit traces on the motherboard.
(For simplification, think of circuit traces as being very thin flat copper wires on the motherboard)

There is data stating that the solder joints have a tendency to crack, even with normal usage of just plugging, and unplugging the AC adapter.
It is also stated that the motherboard area where the DC Power Jack is mounted, is of a bad design.
Many have had the motherboard replaced, ($400 to $500), only to have the same problem come up later.

It has also been stated that the manufacturer states replacing the AC adapter, but has been shown to no avail in solving the problem.
Same thing comes up for the Dell Inspiron e1705.
(I know, I'm just a 'Ray of Sunshine')

A cracked solder joint, or cracked solder joints make an intermittent contact. When the DC Power Jack is in a certain position with the AC adapter plugged in, the contact may be good. Moved around by plugging in the AC adapter again, the position may change, and result in an intermittent contact, or no contact at all.

Result?
Laptop will not power off of the AC adapter, nor will the AC adapter charge the battery.
This is the reason why the laptop will run straight off of the battery, but the battery isn't being charged back up.

It could also be that the damage is further than a cracked solder joint, or cracked solder joints.
One of the prongs could have come loose from it's mounting, and no longer be attached to the pin it's supposed to be attached to.

[ The AC adapter converts AC {Alternating Current} electricity from your household, or business, into DC electricity.
{Direct Current. Batteries are an example of stored DC electricity}

DC uses two connections. A Positive connection, and a Negative connection.
One of the prongs is for the Positive connection, another one is for the Negative connection. The other prongs are used for stability, to mount the DC Power Jack in place to the motherboard. Generally the center pin/s are for a Positive connection, the outer pin/s are for the Negative connection ]

Unless I had the laptop in my hand, I can only give you a generalization of what may be wrong, and the possible solution to repair it.

1) All power to the laptop removed, (AC adapter and Battery), see if you can wiggle the DC Power Jack around. Any perceptible movement is bad.

2) Past this point the laptop will have to be completely disassembled, down to the bare motherboard in your hand. Requires visual inspection of the solder joints for the DC Power Jack, and the surrounding circuit traces.

It may be something as simple as resoldering a cracked solder joint. (Or joints)
It may go further into replacing the DC Power Jack.
It may still go further if the area on the motherboard where the DC Power Jack is mounted, has cracked.

You or a tech may not be able to mount a new DC Power Jack.
This would require a workaround, IF feasible. Won't be aesthetically appealing, however.

http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2006/05/27/failed-laptop-power-jack-workaround/

Dell Support > Inspiron 9300 Notebook PC > Service Manual,

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins9300/sm/index.htm

Older Dell Inspiron 1300 laptop, but linked to show you more about replacing a DC Power Jack, and the required 'little things'. Such as properly cleaning the solder joint area on the circuit trace, that a prong for the DC Power jack, goes through, and is soldered to.

http://www.insidemylaptop.com/remove-motherboard-repair-dc-power-jack-dell-inspiron-1300-b120-b130-laptop/

You may find this useful also,

http://www.coredatarecovery.com/how-to-repair-a-bad-power-jack-on-a-dell-inspiron-51501100-series-laptop-for-under-2000/

Click on - Dell 5150/1100 series Slideshow
(Author Charles House)

1) Buy an wear an ESD wrist strap. (Electro Static Discharge) The average cost is around $3 to $8.
Connect the alligator clip to a good ground source. I connect to the metal frame of an empty desktop computer case.
Observe Anti-Static Precautions.

[Your body carries static electricity. Static will fry out (Short Circuit) the hardware components inside a computer. Wear the ESD wrist strap, and connect it to a good ground when working on the laptop.
Should you leave in the middle of working on your laptop, upon your return be SURE to put the ESD wrist strap back on ]

2) There may be as many as 60 screws, and 12 different types of screws. Do Not mix them up.
Use a multi-compartment container for the screws. Mark each compartment for the area the screws came out of. Do not stack them neatly on a table. Recipe for disaster.
You can use a clean egg container in a pinch. Mark each egg holder.

3) Use Solder Wick, (Desoldering Braid) to remove the old solder. Do not use a Desoldering Tool.

4) Make sure the area of the circuit trace that you have removed solder from is CLEAN. The links above will detail more about this. Make sure the circuit trace areas are pre-tinned with solder, before inserting the DC Power Jack's prongs. Don't worry if the hole in the circuit trace is covered with solder from tinning.
You can heat it up to insert the prong. (One prong at a time)

5) DO NOT linger too long with the soldering iron, (40 to 50 Watt) This can render a circuit trace useless.
It will burn it, (And the motherboard), and render the circuit trace useless from accepting the tinning.
(Solder it applied to the area to be soldered in a light coat. = Tinning)
Linger too long, and you can lift the circuit trace right off of the motherboard.

For further questions please state in a Comment.
Regards,
joecoolvette

Yes you can replace the power adaptor. You may also remove the solder from the existing adapter and re-solder it back on which is what I did. If you just want to replace it I suggest Ebay before I repaired mine I ordered a new one for $5 w/ free shipping.

Replace the DC Jack, the battery will may charge if it doesn't get power from Positive and Negative. On that particular model it is usually the positve terminal. Insufficicent solder at production time causes a weak joint, repeated plugging in weakens the joint even further until it breaks the connection. If you have not damaged the jack badly, you may be able to get by with a simple 'reflow' of the solder. Use flux paste and add about 1 drop of solder to the terminals. Being careful not to short POS & NEG. (the contact pads are very close- use magnifying glass to verify)

Most likely the burning smell was the solder arcing around a poor solder connection.

I would suggest verifying DC jack before spending good money on a battery, since most LI-ION batteries are good for upto a thousand charges plus...

You are correct about the DC plug on the 1100, they are well known for the problem you posted. It could be one of two things, the solder points where the DC jack is soldered to the motherboard could have "cold solder joints" and re flowing the solder will fix it. Or the DC jack itself is faulty (the more common issue with these Inspirons) in which case almost all PC service shops will insist that the Mother Board has to be replaced (Not worth replacing), but you can obtain the jack for a reasonable fee and either replace it yourself (if you are very good at desodering and soldering, It's surface mounted, and not through hole which through hole is a lot easier to do), or open the laptop remove the Mother Board and take it in to a reputable electronics shop and have them use their state of the art equipment to replace the faulty jack for a reasonable fee.
Good luck.

hi, the power jack must be removed by a strip out and de solder of jack and a new one fitted. I was lucky a guy took £30 for the job.

Yes if you are talking about the socket at the computer it requires old one to be desoldered and replacement part should be soldered firmly.

Good Luck