Acer 5100 laptop works on battery won't on ac

Ok so I got a friends Acer 5100 laptop that won't power up. It works fine on the battery, as soon as the battery is dead it doesn't work at all. It doesn't work on ac and there are no lights that come one to show any power. When the battery is in it doesn't charge the battery either. So currently he is having to charge his battery in another laptop for it to work.

My first thought was the ac plug popped loose. Pulled it apart and it looks fine. Can't see any broken or cracked solder and it's sturdy. I don't know much about laptops so I'm kinda stumped.

 

You checked the AC plug on the laptop, but it could be ac cord or the power pack that is attached to the cord itself. They do go up from time to time. I'm on my second one and my laptop is 4 years old. Get a voltage meter and check the ac cord.

 

buggabear, here's a question for you. I have a notebook PC and I imagine I'll be facing this same situation at some point. I gather it's not necessary to replace an OEM AC adapter with another OEM. In other words, aftermarket brand adapters, such as seen at http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=538&name=Batteries-AC-Adapters, will work. Is that correct?

 

All I have is a multitester, st the plug before going into the "brick" it reads 120v. At the plug end that goes into the laptop it reads 41v.

 

Sorry still had on ac, dc voltage on laptop power end was 19. So sounds right.

 

yes they will work. I was going to get one from hp but they wanted to charge me double what I got it from on another site. As long as the amps and voltage are the same they will work. My first went out after the warranty expired. the second lasted for almost 3 years now I'm on my third no problems so far.