I have a Dell 2650 Latitude notebook, which has had numerous problems over the course of m ownership. As a DIYer, I've opened this beast probably 4-5 times. My latest endeavor was to fix the power cord, which mysteriously stopped making a solid connection. There are three prongs to the power jack, much like a typical PSU 3-prong outlet, just smaller and in a special plug (figures!). So, I decided to open it up again and found that one of the prongs leads literally to nothing. It is soldered to the mobo but does not channel anywhere (it is just a solder spot on the mobo, not grounded). So, I cut the wire leading up to the molded plastic plug (very annoying btw) and there are just 2 wires!! there is no ground, though it appears there SHOULD be!! So, does anyone actually know what that 3rd prong is used for? I soldered the wires directly to my mobo and it works fine (actually tping on it now) ungrounded. Any thoughts??

btw it looks crazy now, its called the "frankentop"
--TC

That 3rd pin is for physical stability or strength. 19 volts DC needs 2-wires only. One of the wires provides ground