Occasional *POP* or *Crack* sound coming from G74 power adapter

[GSynergy]

I was recently using my Asus ROG laptop, and due to it being a power hog, I have to run it off the charger almost all the time I use it. Today however I noticed an occasional sharp POP or Crack sound coming from the power adapter. The sound itself only occurred twice in the span of 3 hours, with the second occurrence happening just seconds after unplugging the adapter from the wall circuit. I stuck my nose very close to the power brick to see if it was making an arcing smell (the Ozone like smell), and there didn't seem to be one.

Is this just the sound of the plastic expanding and contracting with the heat produced by the electrical components, or is something slowly shorting out?

The sound itself can be somewhat loud, as if you're sitting in a very quiet room with the adapter in close proximity, the sound will grab your attention. It only does it once per occurrence (it doesn't go *pop pop pop* or *crackle crackle crackle*)

The charger is an ADP-150NB 150W 19.5V 7.7A for an Asus G74S

(Extra note: the sound itself, similarly sounds like clipping fingernails with a set of metal nail clippers. Though it's not quite as loud.)

[jdfrench3]

Time to replace both the battery and the power adapter (easy to replace). Quite possibly the DC power jack (requires removal of motherboard and minor soldering). Considering the age of the laptop, motherboard repairs could be a disaster.

The condition is only going to get worse and possible dangerous.

[GSynergy]

jdfrench3 wrote:
Time to replace both the battery and the power adapter (easy to replace). Quite possibly the DC power jack (requires removal of motherboard and minor soldering). Considering the age of the laptop, motherboard repairs could be a disaster.

The condition is only going to get worse and possible dangerous.

Ah, you're probably right. However the sounds aren't coming from the Laptop, they're coming directly from the power brick itself.

[jdfrench3]

Easy to answer.....

If this laptop was brought to me for repair: In order of importance.

1. Replace battery
2. Replace power adapter
3. Replace DC power jack

You can replace the battery and power adapter yourself ( I wonder why you haven't done that already?).

If noise persists then proceed to have DC power jack replaced.

[GSynergy]

jdfrench3 wrote:
Easy to answer.....

If this laptop was brought to me for repair: In order of importance.

1. Replace battery
2. Replace power adapter
3. Replace DC power jack

You can replace the battery and power adapter yourself ( I wonder why you haven't done that already?).

If noise persists then proceed to have DC power jack replaced.

cl-Albert wrote:
Hi,

Not sure if this will make sense and you will be interested, but have heard some G74 customers before suggest using the 180W adapter instead of the 150W............

I have only owned the laptop for about a week, and I am not willing to spend $120 for a 180W Adapter and I'm having difficulty finding an authentic 150W/180W that's safe and won't explode, nor a replacement battery (that could be of questionable quality.) So I'm using it as is for the time being. I do know I'll have to replace the DC-in jack due to an unknown incident occuring in the past causing the middle pin to be bent in a downward fashion (this also has caused the plastic tip in the plug itself to become cracked, split and the metal to be bent outward). Also, the headset jack will need replacing as well.

So I do plan to attempt to replace the DC-in, headset jack, non-conductive non-capacitive thermal compounds, ect. Just not now.

The purpose of this thread was to ask if it's common for the plastic to just pop, but I suppose not (heh). Sorry people 😅

[cl-Albert]

Hi,

Not sure if this will make sense and you will be interested, but have heard some G74 customers before suggest using the 180W adapter instead of the 150W, so something to consider too if you feel like your notebook just may need a little more power and your 150W adapter has been getting pretty hot.

Our U.S. eShop site is selling the 180W adapter with 5.5mm tip if you're interested, or you may want to look for it elsewhere if you prefer, but if you don't plan to use that unit very much longer, may not be worth any extra expense.
https://store.asus.com/us/item/201412AM300000085/A47375-ASUS-180W-G-Series-Notebook-Power-Adapter