Problem
The 12VDC plug is broken, and the connection is unstable. Thus, the power to the ToughBook is intermittent especially when driving.
The broken plug is shown in the image above, and the spare part is shown below. We can clearly see that something is missing in the middle. The Plug was working, provided you held the cable at a certain angle.
Solution
The solution should be quite simple. Basic soldering skills and a relatively high-powered soldering iron is required, plus som other basic tools of course, but this is not rocket surgery. The problem was, at least in my case, acquiring the spare part. You see, I live up north in the frozen plains of Norway, and this part appears to be made of at least 25% unobtanium. As the picture above shows, the two sockets on this device have opposing genders. The internet is fairly divided as to which one is male and female, making the search for the part number an epic battle worthy of its own post. Suffice it to say, I am unable to find one that is not produced by Lumberg, the company that is the OEM as far as my research shows. And do you think a Norwegian Lumberg-stockist that stocks this particular part exists? And one that is willing to sell me one, or maybe in a pinch five pieces, for an non-extortionate price? No way.
Thus I am left with importing one myself. Due to recent tax walls set up by the supposedly conservative government in cohorts with the local socialists and communists, this will be expensive. What would previously have been a 5USD part in a 10USD envelope became a 35USD ordeal. A new power supply is around 150USD, so still feasible but not cheap. Had the part been of a more standard variety, Winnie the Pooh and his cohorts in Candy Mountain would gladly have sold me a bag of 20pcs for that price and smuggled it into the country.
But enough ranting. A couple of weeks later the part finally arrived. It was time to don the HEV-suit and venture into the plague-ridden frozen wastelands and look for the post office. And I was lucky, the package was actually ready for pickup at the location listed in the tracking data. My local post office was destroyed in the great Norwegian postal wars of 2019, so I sometimes have to traverse the city several times to hunt down a package. For reference, the Lumberg part number is 1613 11. Yes, there is a space in the part number, and it is supposed to be there.
Some tips for the soldering work
- Use a large flat screwdriver to open the case. Be patient and you will avoid breakage. Or use glue afterwards.
- This is power electronics. That means big terminals.
- The terminals are bent on the back of the PCB.
- The terminals are covered with some kind of conformal coating that makes it difficult to heat up the solder. Scrape it off or use high heat + flux.
- You should have a 60W+ soldering iron.
- I found it easiest to just cut apart the old socket with a pair of snips. Just make sure to leave enough of the metal parts behind that you have something to grab and pull at while you are heating it up.
- Some kind of solder removal equipment is necessary to remove enough solder to allow the new part to fit through the holes.
- Make sure that the new part is soldered snugly against the PCB, otherwise it will not fit through the hole in the case.
Pictures
