Member Avatar for Schwabie19

Well, I've had my Gateway laptop for a while now, and I've never had any serious problems with it.
Today, out of nowhere, the cord just stopped working in the middle of charging the laptop. I felt it, and sure enough, it was very hot. It's been very hot like that a few times, so I thought, 'Oh, no problem;it just needs to cool down.'
About an hour later, the cord was perfectly cool and back to normal. My brother tried plugging the laptop in because it was nearly dead, and told me that the cord wasn't working. I made sure it was plugged into the port and outlet correctly, and even changed outlets a few times to see if that was the problem.
It wasn't.
So now my question is: is the cord broken, or does it still need a rest? It was working perfectly just four hours ago, so...
Thanks.

  • 2 Contributors
  • 1 Reply
  • 280 Views
  • 1 Day Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by rubberman

Dani AI

Generated

Given ’s timeline (adapter got very hot while charging, cooled, then stopped supplying power) the most likely culprits are the charger/cable failing internally, an intermittent or damaged DC jack on the laptop, or a problem in the laptop’s charging circuit or battery. Heat in a small area almost always means excessive resistance at a joint or inside the adapter; that’s a failure mode that can be intermittent and it’s potentially hazardous.

Steps to isolate the fault:

  • Immediately stop using an adapter that gets hot. Continued use increases risk.
  • Visual and smell check: look for frayed insulation, exposed wire, melted plastic, burn marks, or a burnt odor on the brick or cable.
  • Indicator/wiggle test: note whether any charger LED or laptop charge light changes when the plug/wire is gently moved. Intermittent change points to a bad cable or loose jack.
  • Battery vs adapter: with a removable battery, remove it and try powering the laptop from AC alone. If AC-only works, the battery may be at fault; if not, suspect the adapter/port.
  • Swap or measure: try a known-good compatible charger. If unavailable, measure the adapter output with a multimeter (DC volts across center pin and barrel) and compare to the voltage printed on the adapter label — it should be close. A continuity check on the cable can reveal an internal break.
  • Jack inspection: if the barrel connector feels loose in the laptop, the DC jack or its solder joints may be damaged and require board-level repair.

If any inspection shows burning, smell, or intermittent power, the adapter should be retired and replaced. Replacement units must match the laptop’s required voltage exactly, meet or exceed the original current rating, and use the same polarity and connector. Loose DC jacks are best repaired by a technician. If the system is under warranty, pursue service through Gateway rather than continuing to use a suspect charger.

Member Avatar for rubberman

A bad connection, or bad wire which have excess resistance will generate the heat you felt. The cable is fubar. Contact Gateway, and if they resist replacing it free, tell them they are lucky your system didn't burst into flames, resulting in a costly lawsuit and a lot of more money in your bank account (assuming it didn't burn you up in the process)... After all, if it had caused a fire, and you were asleep at the time, what might have been the outcome of that? :-( They owe you, and in my opinion, a LOT more than a silly cable!

Edited by rubberman
Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.