Hi! thanks for your answer. As it was only 1 year warranty from Asus, it's not Asus anymore. It's Costco's conciergerie services now. Computer was bought feb. 2012. Don't know why this model is only 1 year warranty though. Maybe Asus built stuff especially for Costco? I'm still waiting for the box to send the computer. So complicated. As soon as I have the box I will call to be sure connector is under warranty.

Hi! Well, I finally sent the computer to repair in a local shop. I'm not going to sent this computer 1000 km away. Anyway, not sure the repair from Costco is free, and franckly, I'm not expecting good services from them. They sent me used power cable, in so bad condition. They sent me a
too smal box. The warranty is over in 4 months only anway. I can afford to repair in a local shop. But I'm not impressed. This computer is a bomb, but since day 1, I was surprised by the power supply design. Not build for thi s heavy computer. 😞 I hope I can have a free battery from costco. In a better shape than the cable!!! Thanks for your answers. The shop said they are removing the hard drive before opening the computer, so my datas will be safe. I made a quick backup anyway. The connector issue seems common with Asus. A so little piece for so much trouble!

Hi! have another question. I will post on the same topic. Is it better to use a power cable with a 90 degrees tip? I have one for my old vaio and I never had any problem with the connector. I've seen some via Internet sellers. Any advice about it? Please and thanks!

NoukNouk wrote:
Hi! have another question. I will post on the same topic. Is it better to use a power cable with a 90 degrees tip? I have one for my old vaio and I never had any problem with the connector. I've seen some via Internet sellers. Any advice about it? Please and thanks!

Well they say a lot of things take out stress out of the jack. Some people also clip the cable to a table. Or add a rubber stop to it. I still think mine broke without any sort of physical stress involved...

If you have anything to test voltage you can test the connector that comes from the psu. Put it in 20V and place one pin on the inside and one on the outside. The polarity (positive or negative), should be always the same, even if you move it / the cable. If it changes without switching the pins then it is a psu problem.

If not, and if you are experiencing a lot of psu connected / disconnected while being used; then it is probable that the internal power jack is either about to brake or the positive lead got somehow carbonized and not enough current goes threw. Either way needs a replacement which involves desoldering the old connector from the mb and soldering a new one.

After replacing it myself the first time and having it fail after 3 months I decided to put a generic internal power jack, the positive wired with 2 .5mm cables and the negative with 6 (I know its overkill, but didn't wanted to risk the cables getting near the temp to melt the solder). The jack I used also has a nut that presses to the case, so it will only move if the force applied is big enough to brake the laptop side. Haven't had a problem since then. Hopefully this is permanent.

I believe the positive end is too thin and that, summed up perhaps with thermal shock (going from hot to cool fast), makes it fail. When too much current gets threw something not big enough it heats up badly. If you can trust your local repair shop to adapt a different plug to the notebook I would recommend doing so. I know there are other users that did similar modifications, but since I haven't logged in a long time I don't recall where those threads are...

If they already done the replacement just stick to it until it brakes again. Hopefully it will not happen. But, given my experience, I wouldn't count it as a permanent solution.

Either way, good luck!

Hi! thanks for your answer. It's a bit complicated. I'm totally lost.. It's not repaired yet, my local shop forgot to call me, Just called them, and authorized them to open the portable. The battery is almost died, but the cables are fine. At least. I asked to do some clean-up, maybe the dust can be a problem, It's not harmful anyway. I'm waiting for the connector, they will tell me if they can do something. Thanks again, I will let you know.

And for the 90 degree angle cable? Is it a good idea to buy one? If someone knows something compatible with the G74sx, let me know please! Not sure Asus is having one.

Hey, I see what you mean about complicated, haven't given any advice in a long time 😛

I wasn't sure if your power connector was actually broken or if it was not working well. So I described every possible scenario I could think of.

The power connector is attached to the motherboard. If it broke, it can be replaced without having to buy a new motherboard. Since it is on the edge of the mb, there aren't a lot of things around and it is a big piece, it is a relatively easy job for someone with soldering skills.

Here is a link to the original connector of the g73x:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-POWER-JACK-ASUS-G73-G73S-G73SW-G73W-CHARGE-PORT-SOCKET-CONNECTOR-REPLACEM...

If you look closely you will notice a tiny yellow pin. That is in charge of supplying all the positive charge to the motherboard. If you look around the forum you will find dozens of people that had to replace it.

Given that this connector failing is a common issue, replacing it with the same connector may result in the same problem after some use. That is why I recommend placing a generic 5.5 / 2.5 mm female connector instead. This is the one I installed in my notebook (it is a g53, but it has the same power connector issue as the g73):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10PC-5-5-mm-x-2-5-mm-DC-Power-Jack-Socket-Female-Panel-Mount-Connector-/2611...

It is a bit more complicated to place a connector that is not meant to be there, like the original one. I had to solder wires from the connector to the motherboard. Also it didn't fit threw the whole, I had to make it thicker with a knife. This is what it looks like on the outside:



So, if you can trust your repair shop to do a nice job you may want to go with a generic replacement instead of an original one. If you do so you wouldn't have to worry about stressing the cable anymore.

As for the 90 degree cable, I never understood how that could relief the connector of stress, but I'm no physicist. Perhaps it does help somehow, but I think the safest bet is to place a tougher connector rather than to prevent any sort of stress that may happen from external forces. Since you already have to replace it and you are not going to the warranty, it seems like a nice idea.

Hi! Thanks Brecker for the clear explanations. My Asus is a G74sx, but I know understand better what is the issue. I will send a link to my local repair shop for this entire topic. It may help them. It's the first time I'm going to this shop, so I don't know if I can "trust" them or not, but I know something, I will give a try to repair now, and if the problem is happening again before next february, well, I will send the computer to to Costco conciergerie services. I'm still waiting a call from the local shop though.

Thanks again for your time, I really appreciate! Have a great day!

Forgot to tell, the link for ebay is not working for me. Apparently because I'm from Canada.