Laptop chargers going bust?

[MarkRSi]

Is this just me?

The original laptop charger/brick I got with my Samsung laptop stopped work - the charger LED lights up but would only power/charge the laptop when twisting the connector around a few times. It got gradually worse to the point it wouldn't charge at all.

Annoyingly, the replacement - which despite being the cheapest item I could find on fleabay and thus liable to explode/melt down/electrocute the cat at any moment lasted longer than the original - has started doing the same thing.

I know it's the charger as when I plug in a 12V car charger for the laptop it works straight away,

It's odd since it's not sudden (which would suggest fuse or something else blown) and can work after twiddling the connector, after which it will usually continue to work fine. The connector (on both the original and replacement) don't appear broken. Hopefully not the socket but then the 12V charger works fine.

Just me? Asides from just getting another cheap charger from fleabay is there anything I can do/check?

[MarkRSi]

Yeah it's the needle in the middle type, it's straight though.

Could be broken wire in the plug though - I checked there was voltage at the end (there was), it later cut out while I moved the laptop, re-checked and no voltage plugged in an gently wiggled around and power is back. For now....

Edited by MarkRSi on Thursday 18th September 20:37

[MarkRSi]

It's the same plug type as the Samsung netbooks (at least the charger from an N110 fits and can charge the laptop). Like one of these;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/90W-4-74A-Laptop-Charger...

Re-wiring and soldering is tempting though, how much are plugs from maplins usually? (can't find anything on their website, I assume I'll need to go in store or look in one of their catalogues)