Power Cord for laptop - Volts I need???

[jonny b]

I have a Thinkpad that won't light up with my power cord. How can I check if the cord is putting out enough power? I stuck a simple device that showed that there was some power. It was a light device. I would like to know what is the juice that it is putting out. Are we looking for Watts or Volts? I don't have a multi-meter. Is this what I need?

It says on the box:
Output 16V 4.5A
Input 100-240V~1.4A-0.7A
50-60hz

Does this mean that the power coming into the cord from the wall can be from 100 to 240V and it steps it down to 16V so the laptop doesn't get broiled

[kaulbach]

Basically, yes. BTW the output voltage is 16 volts Direct Current (the wall current is Alternating current). And of course the amperage is 4.5 Amps.

It would be extremely useful to get a reading from a multi-meter, but lacking that a fast way to tell if it has enough juice is to buy a car fuse rated for 4.5 Amps and then see if it blows when you complete the circuit with it in the middle.

If supply is not the prob most likely there is a loose connection or dead electrical component someplace in the power system of the laptop.

[jonny b]

I found one of my Thinkpad customers that has the same power supply and I plugged it in and the lappy took off running. So it's the friggan brick that is the problem. I went out and bought a multimeter from eBay for the next time.
Thanks