Laptop charges for a few seconds when plugged in then stops

[CrisisHawk]

Over the last two months or so, I have made an effort to start my own PC repair/service business and this is the first job I feel I have more or less hit a road block with.

The laptop is a Packard Bell easynote TK and couldn't even be powered on when I first got it, tried the power adapter first, used one I had to hand but it made no impact( I have tried 3 adapters total at this point).

I tried replacing the battery, it now holds a charge and can be booted but each time the adapter is plugged in, it stops charging after a few seconds.

I then replaced the power jack, it is one that is not directly soldered onto the motherboard but connected by wires to a four pin connection. I'd include an image, but I am not allowed to post URLs yet. it now remains charging noticeably longer each time it is plugged in but still stops charging shortly after.

This has me thinking that either the motherboard has developed a fault or could there be something in the software affecting it (Google searching the problem had me removing the battery driver and re-installing it through a reboot).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/feedback you can provide on this.

 

[dxter]

It sounds that it is a battery issue. After you replaced the battery the laptop was charging for a short time. Can you confirm that the replaced battery is good? Do you have yet another battery to give it a try?

 

[CrisisHawk]

Not without ordering another battery no, is there anything I can do to check the condition of them? I should also note that trying to remove the battery and running directly from the mains does not work. Also the new battery arrived pre-charged, not sure if I will be able to get it charged up again properly once it runs out.

 

[shamrin]

These symptoms are most consistent with a bad charger or bad DC jack. I suppose if you have a short somewhere in the machine you might be shorting out the charger. If the computer was running on the battery until it discharged then, while there is still scope for something really unusual going on, I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that the problem is somewhere between the mains and where the DC jack plugs into the system board. I'd put a volt meter on the end of the new jack and work my way toward the wall.

 

[AndyM]

I always run to NirSoft for these little utilities....

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/battery_information_view.html

Andy

 

[CrisisHawk]

I always run to NirSoft for these little utilities....

This is a screen shot of the utility running with the new battery

http ://i.imgur.com/YjVms2E .png

(sorry about the broken link but I needed some way to post this, just delete the spaces)

not sure if there is anything unusual in there.

Found out a friend has a laptop with a battery I should be able to use to test with it. Will try that as soon as i can.

Thanks for your help so far.

 

[RedFoxComp]

I always run to NirSoft for these little utilities....

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/battery_information_view.html

Andy

I just wanted to express my love for NirSoft. I think most of use use his stuff.

 

[CrisisHawk]

I got hold of my friends laptop, tested the battery in that with the laptop I am working on, no change. Tested the AC adapter with my friends laptop, AC adapter is working fine on that.

I used a multi-meter to test the battery connector on the laptop, with the meter set to 200V one pin measured 0 while the rest measured 0.3. On visual inspection there was no apparent damage on to either side of the connector on the motherboard.

 

[NYJimbo]

Probably a charging circuit issue. Good luck trying to pin that one down.