Is it the battery, charger or "something" else ?

[Speedo1968]

I have a 4 year old ( this month ) Acer laptop.
Replaced battery April 2019.
When laptop on and charging from an extension cable never a problem until now.

Recently when plugged in it would show "plugged in - not charging", I moved the cable and it would say "plugged in - charging", then it would say "plugged in - not charging".     I changed the extension cable and it would do the same thing.   

Before yesterday it showed 100% charged and 30 mins later the laptop died.
I plugged in using the original extension cable and the laptop did a long self check advise that it was ok, I clicked correct options and no problem with charging and it was fine all day.
However, yesterday when moved to another extension cable the warning, at first it said "plugged in - not charging", I used another extension cable and it said "100% charged" even when not plugged in for 20 minutes or so.   The lights at front of laptop showed blue for switched on and the red light battery indicator kept flashing.
This morning the same regarding indicator lights even though the battery indicator shows "fully charged", irrespective of extension cables.
The laptop is a 3 pin plug.
Note, some extension cables have a 2 pin and some a 3 pin connection to the mains supply, same issue with both.

The house has old style wall sockets without on / off switches ( UK has on / of switches at plugin points ).
If I unplug the laptop now the message gives me warning of remaining battery time but the red light is not flashing.

 

When I plug laptop directly in to the mains 3 pin socket for the first time the red warning light flashes, the moving bars indicate it is charging and message says 96% available.
I do it a second time message says 96% available ( plugged in not charging ).

 

I plug again in to the extension cable at 93% available, bars move a few times then stop and red light at front stops flashing it says "plugged in charging"
When it reaches 100% it says "100% available ( plugged in - charging ) and red light turns to blue.

Sorry that its such a convoluted report, my question is " Is it the charger or something else ?"    Do I go to Tucom ( Khon Kaen ) where I bought the laptop, and the new battery ?

 

[stouricks]

Read your own headline before submitting!

[Speedo1968]

9 hours ago, stouricks said:

Read your own headline before submitting!

Thank you for your comment

If I knew what exactly the problem was I would not be asking the question would I ?
I know how to use a laptop but do not know when what the cause is / maybe is when something goes wrong.
Perhaps it is my age and that I don't want to hump my laptop to Khon Kaen by bus or train then lug it around KK until I can get bus or train back home some 45kms away.
If it is just the charger then thats all I need to take.
A useful answer would be appreciated

 

[stouricks]

9 minutes ago, Speedo1968 said:

Thank you for your comment

If I knew what exactly the problem was I would not be asking the question would I ?
I know how to use a laptop but do not know when what the cause is / maybe is when something goes wrong.
Perhaps it is my age and that I don't want to hump my laptop to Khon Kaen by bus or train then lug it around KK until I can get bus or train back home some 45kms away.
If it is just the charger then thats all I need to take.
A useful answer would be appreciated

 

You said 'Is it the charger ON something else' instead of 'OR' something else.

Makes it difficult for us thickies to know what you are asking.

Edited July 13, 2020 by stouricks

[techietraveller84]

I had similar troubles before and ended up swapping out the charging cord. Had to get one from the laptop manufacturer for it to last. Here's an article with some other ideas:

 

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-to-do-if-your-laptop-is-plugged-in-but-not-charging

[Eindhoven]

5 hours ago, stouricks said:

You said 'Is it the charger ON something else' instead of 'OR' something else.

Makes it difficult for us thickies to know what you are asking.

 

That is somewhat ironic, since you got angry when I suggested that an earlier post of yours didn't make sense. Now here you are Trolling the OP for a typographical error.

Be nice, eh?

[Eindhoven]

6 hours ago, Speedo1968 said:

Thank you for your comment

If I knew what exactly the problem was I would not be asking the question would I ?
I know how to use a laptop but do not know when what the cause is / maybe is when something goes wrong.
Perhaps it is my age and that I don't want to hump my laptop to Khon Kaen by bus or train then lug it around KK until I can get bus or train back home some 45kms away.
If it is just the charger then thats all I need to take.
A useful answer would be appreciated

 

 

Run through techietravellers link. If no useful result, come back with actual model numbers of both the laptop and the chargers involved.

[bendejo]

First off let's get some nomenclature straight: the cord that came with the laptop, how about we called that the power cord?   That other electrical cord that adds on to the power cord, let's call that the extension cord.  How's that?  I had trouble comprehending your OP because I was confused about which is which.

 

Now put the damned extension cord away, do all your tests that you mention in the OP, and if all is fine you know the problem is the extension cord.  Maybe go out and buy a new one and the leave the one you have to run the fan or something.

 

If you do have problems using only the power cord, try this:

Drain the battery dry to the best of your capability.  Try to eliminate even the smallest charge.  Keep trying to boot it until even that "needs recharge" notice doesn't come up.  Pull the battery out, let it sit for a while, put the battery back in and try again.  Keep repeating this as necessary, the goal is 0.00% charge.  After that leave the battery out for long time, at least overnight.  In the meantime you can run the machine directly from the mains.  You want it so that battery has as much charge as a toothpick.

Next morning, getting no response at all when trying to boot off the battery?  Good!

Now plug the power cord into the wall socket, boot the machine with the battery in it and see if the charging goes back to normal.

This procedure usually solved charging/battery problems for me with different machines, including a no-name Android tablet.

Hope this helps.

 

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by bendejo

[Crossy]

Topic header corrected.

[andy72]

duff battery

[smccolley]

This happened to me on my asus, after a while wiggling the charger plug didn't work. It turned out to be the motherboard attachment, a little solder from the shop fixed me right up

[Speedo1968]

11 hours ago, techietraveller84 said:

I had similar troubles before and ended up swapping out the charging cord. Had to get one from the laptop manufacturer for it to last. Here's an article with some other ideas:

 

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-to-do-if-your-laptop-is-plugged-in-but-not-charging

Many thanks for the link.   Will try some of the basic checks and if still indicating "96% available (plugged in not charging)" and / or the red flashing light at the front continues will head for Khon Kaen tomorrow.

[sometimewoodworker]

4 hours ago, bendejo said:

Drain the battery dry to the best of your capability.  Try to eliminate even the smallest charge.  Keep trying to boot it until even that "needs recharge" notice doesn't come up.  Pull the battery out, let it sit for a while, put the battery back in and try again.  Keep repeating this as necessary, the goal is 0.00% charge.  After that leave the battery out for long time, at least overnight.  In the meantime you can run the machine directly from the mains.  You want it so that battery has as much charge as a toothpick.

Next morning, getting no response at all when trying to boot off the battery?  Good!

With some battery technologies that may be good advice. With others it is a virtual guarantee that you will kill the battery.

 

Please ensure that the battery technology accepts the procedure suggested.

 

 

 

[Speedo1968]

6 hours ago, Eindhoven said:

 

That is somewhat ironic, since you got angry when I suggested that an earlier post of yours didn't make sense. Now here you are Trolling the OP for a typographical error.

Be nice, eh?

Thanks for your supportive comment.   Actually I typed "or" not "on".
Will try some of the ideas in the link posted by "techietraveller84".
Guess to be on the safe side it would be prudent to take laptop and charger to Khon Kaen

[andygrr]

It sounds like you need to replace the charging jack / port in the computer. I have done this on a few machines. 

[thedemon]

If you open a command prompt and type in powercfg /batteryreport the resulting html file will give you a good indication whether the problem is with the battery itself or another charging issue.

[Speedo1968]

9 minutes ago, andygrr said:

It sounds like you need to replace the charging jack / port in the computer. I have done this on a few machines. 

Thanks for that, also suggested in the link posted above.
Tried unplugging lead from battery to laptop and plugging in again shows charging but stops again at 96% and charging light at front flashes red again.
Guess I off to KK tomorrow, nice train journey though for 8 baht.

[Gav Bic]

I used to have the same problem until I purchased a laptop stand with a fan that plugs into any usb port. It seems the laptop charger will not operate when the laptop reaches a certain temperature and only resumes charging when it has cooled down. Never had a problem since.

[Gilltom]

12 hours ago, techietraveller84 said:

I had similar troubles before and ended up swapping out the charging cord. Had to get one from the laptop manufacturer for it to last. Here's an article with some other ideas:

 

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-to-do-if-your-laptop-is-plugged-in-but-not-charging

I had that with my phone.just got new charger .easier and cheaper first option.lucky for me it worked.better than lugging your laptop about.good luck

[RocketDog]

I have the same problem an my Asus ROG laptop. After searching the web I found multiple sources indicating the battery needs replacement. Mine is over 4 years old so that seems likely. 

 

The blinking lite, the inconsistent charging alerts and info is identical to what I'm seeing. I use no extension cord for the brick charger and measured the charger output to be fine, about 19v. When the battery is bad the smart charging circuitry gets spurious information from the battery pack itself showing it sometimes dead, sometimes charging, sometimes full. In all cases the computer crashes immediately if the charger is unplugged. That's the ultimate tipoff. 

 

I've bought a new battery on Shopee but haven't yet installed it due to sheer laziness. There are multiple YouTube videos showing how to do the replacement. 

 

Good luck. 

[rwill]

If you take the battery out of the laptop and use it without the battery does it operate normally then?

[Speedo1968]

8 hours ago, Gav Bic said:

I used to have the same problem until I purchased a laptop stand with a fan that plugs into any usb port. It seems the laptop charger will not operate when the laptop reaches a certain temperature and only resumes charging when it has cooled down. Never had a problem since.

Thanks for your suggestion.

Have tried doing this but the problem remains, even when cold air is constantly blown across the table on which the laptop stands.
I am trying it again as a possible solution but will head for KK tomorrow morning.

[gmmarvin]

I had the same problem.  Bought a new battery fixed the

problem

[Speedo1968]

1 hour ago, gmmarvin said:

I had the same problem.  Bought a new battery fixed the

problem

I replaced the original battery with a new original battery 11 months ago at Tucom ( Khon Kaen ) where I bought the laptop.

[Speedo1968]

FROM OP - Thanks to all for their comments and advice regarding my laptop not charging.

Visited Khon Kaen today and went to a computer repair shop near the railway station, they have done a good repair job once before and are very helpful.

Problem solved - the so called "original" battery bought from the main Acer agent ( used to be Toshiba ) in Tucom was a copy.   I was charged a high price for it and after 11 months it's no good.

They provide me with a "suitable" battery and it has a one year guarantee, it should last a year was their honest comment.    It's price way lower than Tucom.

[Eindhoven]

28 minutes ago, Speedo1968 said:

FROM OP - Thanks to all for their comments and advice regarding my laptop not charging.

Visited Khon Kaen today and went to a computer repair shop near the railway station, they have done a good repair job once before and are very helpful.

Problem solved - the so called "original" battery bought from the main Acer agent ( used to be Toshiba ) in Tucom was a copy.   I was charged a high price for it and after 11 months it's no good.

They provide me with a "suitable" battery and it has a one year guarantee, it should last a year was their honest comment.    It's price way lower than Tucom.

 

I suspected it was a copy, even though you seemed to think that it was genuine. TiT

[poohy]

On 7/15/2020 at 7:59 PM, Eindhoven said:

the so called "original" battery bought from the main Acer agent ( used to be Toshiba ) in Tucom was a copy.   I was charged a high price for it and after 11 months it's no good.

They provide me with a "suitable" battery and it has a one year guarantee, it should last a year was their honest comment. 

Exactly the same here So called Pricey Acer battery toast after 9 months.... Turned out not to be an original despite original Price!!!

[Speedo1968]

1 hour ago, poohy said:

Exactly the same here So called Pricey Acer battery toast after 9 months.... Turned out not to be an original despite original Price!!!

Was that Tucom in Khon Kaen too ?

Having problems with sticky keys for months now.

 

[teacherclaire]

On 7/13/2020 at 9:11 AM, stouricks said:

Read your own headline before submitting!

What kind of advice is that?

 

     OP,  it could be the connector inside your notebook where the charging cable connects to. 

 

 Sorry for not having time to read all posts, but have you tried it with the battery removed? ( If easily possible)

 

        Batteries can have a short and that's also a possibility. 

        

[johnray]

Buy a new battery on ebay.

 

Laptop battery always go after a year.