Laptop wont charge on AC adaptor but still running?

fieryfox

Orange light flashing to indicate battery is critical and sayin g there is 1percent battery remaining but laptop is still running (20 or so mins since they indicated the battery was @ 1percent)
Will it keep running while plugged into ac adaptor even tho it or will it eventually run outs indicating its not charging? Its a dell adaptor and there seems to b a mark/slit , i dont know what to call ion the black rubbery part that plugs into laptop. Can i get an a/c charger for a dell laptop in another shop in the morning or is there a generic charger that will work or what can i do ?

stuff.hunter

generic chargers are c**p, get used one on adverts

fieryfox

How crap is crap?In what way?
I'm getting a new laptop soon so i dont want to splash out

stuff.hunter

well, most common is : they not charging battery , good workin dell charger you can get for around 20e on adverts.ie ...cheaper than generic in shop

Framed10

apologies for hijacking this thread but thought no need to start a similar one

So that explains my lack of power since i bought a generic one in maplin.

So I too need a new charger for an Acer Aspire.
where is the best place to get one?
I think its a Liteon one that came with the laptop.
thanks

stuff.hunter

@ Framed10: well, i'll recommend Adverts.ie, sometimes you can find used but still good chargers for little money (mostly around 15-20 quid) or on ebay (do not try chinese ones, they are crappy like generics) but probably for a bit more (30-35e)

brownej

Ahh the Del plugged in and not charging problem.....

It's one of a number of things.
1. Battery is dead
2. Charger is malfunctioning (will power the laptop but not charge the battery)
3. Motherboard is damaged

There is a power management circuit on the motherboard that checks that the charger is the correct type for charging the battery. If this circuit is damaged then it won't charge the battery but it will continue to power the laptop.
There is a similar circuit in the charger block. So again it might be the same problem.

IF you go into the bios when you start the laptop and you go to the power options it should tell you the type of power charger you are using. like "Dell 90W power adapter" if it doesn't give you specifics then the charger and the motherboard are not talking to each other.

To check this out get another charger off of a mate (preferably a Dell one) and see if that will charge the battery. If it does then problem sorted.
If that doesn't work swap your mates battery for yours (with the laptops powered off) and see if that works.

If neither of the above works then it's a mother board problem and you'll need to send it back.

I had this problem with my Dell XPS M1530 after 18 months so it was out of warranty. I now have an expensive desktop in a laptop case.:rolleyes:

I hope this helps

fieryfox

thanks for the help guys, ran into a shop for a generic one as i really needed my laptop today!
@brownej the battery eventually died it just lasted on 1percent for ages before it gave up. The ac charger is powering it plugged in but not charging the battery but thats fine for now. I'll try the things you suggested and see what happens

CathalDublin

Framed10 wrote: »

apologies for hijacking this thread but thought no need to start a similar one

So that explains my lack of power since i bought a generic one in maplin.

So I too need a new charger for an Acer Aspire.
where is the best place to get one?
I think its a Liteon one that came with the laptop.
thanks

Call in somewhere like marxcomputers with the laptop and try before you buy;)