Dell DC power jack pinout

Posted by Al T. on September 17, 2005, 12:37 pm

Please log in for more thread options

Hi,
I'm attempting to wire in a different DC power jack (the original broke
and direct replacements are not available except by purchasing a new
motherboard) on an Inspiron 8600 and thought that it would be a rather
straight forward project. The size N coaxial power jacks available at
Radio Shack will fit nicely in the chassis in place of the original. As
I was determining voltages and polarity of the power plug I was
surprised to find a second voltage present. I have voltages of
approximately 8VDC and 20VDC present with one common lead. On the plug
end the 8 volts is from the center pin to center barrel and 20 volts
from center barrel to outer sleeve (which I assumed was just an RF
shield). Can any one enlighten me what's going on with the second
voltage? Any one care to share their story of a successful resolution
to a broken power connector on this model (third party replacement jacks
are available for other models)?

By the way, I've heard the same jack is found on Inspiron 5150, 8500,
500m, 600m, and Latitude D500,
D600, D800.

Thanks,
Al T
Spokane, WA

--
-- All incoming and outgoing mail is checked with Norton AntiVirus
2005 --