Asus UX31E broken charging port

Symptoms:
- The charging port felt 'loose'
- The laptop would not charge. Needs to 'wiggle' the DC connector to charge

Fix:

Purchase UX31E charging port from ebay (link). About $20.
Make sure it's a '5-pin' one:

Open the back cover of the laptop and

- Take out the battery (there is a small ribbon cable below it)

- Take out the SSD (one screw) as there is a screw below it

- Uplug various connectors. Here's a nice youtube video on various types connectors. Gently!!

- Unscrew the motherboard and gently lift (you don't need to take out the fan. Just the screw.

Unsolder the old connecter. This could be hard. I used soldering suction first then gently pry the connection while the lead is heated. Try not breaking the flimsy PCB!!

Nicely soldered new connector. Reassemble and test after this.

Landcruiser Prado alternator charging issue

Driving back from Canberra to Melbourne I saw the brake warning light, air flow/filter light and battery charge warning light all came on simultaneously. This indicates charging issues.

Note: I immediately turned off the aircon, stereo, and driving lights to conserve the battery. I was able to drive 250km/5hrs back home. I could even start the engine afterwards (good to know!!)

Symptoms
- Three warning lights above light up
- Checked and cleaned all battery connectors, no fix
- Checked and cleaned alternator connectors, same issue

Fix:

Most likely this is due to brush being worn out. My prado is 21 yrs old / 330K+ kms. Bought the brush from ebay ($25). It says for Landcruiser 80 series but apparently it's the same.

Take out the Alternator. You need to remove the screw below it, then above. Once all is off simply lift up/wiggle it out of the engine bay

Remove the 3 cover bolts at the back (one connector bolt) and take out the old brush and replace.

You can see compare how worn the old brushes are from 21 years of use. Reassemble and test.