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+- on a  laptop charger?

Just bought a new charger for my lap top. 

The voltage and watts coripond but the plug is different, so I cut off my old broken charger's plug and want to connect to the new charger but I'm not sure of the + and -

Obviously I have two choices... One will work and the other not, but can I damage the lap top of I get it wrong the first time?

3 Answers

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  • Mike W
    Lv 7
    5 months ago

    Your best option is to buy a charger that's made for your model of laptop.  If that's not an option, see if you can find a manual for your computer that will show +/- for your adapter jack.  Find out polarity of the new power supply, and connect the new plug to correspond with the polarity of the computer.   Usually the centre is + and the outer part is -, but that isn't always the case.  

  • ?
    Lv 7
    5 months ago

    Don't do that, you can cause a short circuit,or even a fire!

  • 5 months ago

    both choices will damage the laptop.

    buy the correct charger for your model.

    unless you are using a very old laptop the charger has a few extra connections in it to make it "smart" 

    basically these only tie to a specific connector pin out and internal resistance of the connector plug. 

    basically the wrong plug could easily cause the charger to not provide power or to provide too much power and fry the laptop.

    unless you are a masters level electrical engineer who specializes in power supplies dont mess with the power supply.

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