Battery issue with T42

[Elwyn]

Hiya

Got a new (to the family) T42 here (Via Ebay). It came with a flat/exhausted battery, of which I have removed and fitted the (good) battery from my T42.

However, the battery light on the bezel beneath the screen is flashing slightly whilst green. It is mostly on but every 2 seconds goes dark and comes back on again, so it is a regular pattern.

The battery gauge doesn't seem to change. It is at 83 percent at the moment but only because it spent some time on battery and although plugged into AC doesn't seem to be charging.

The machine seems sound enough, installs and runs software OK and has bluetooth and wireless on board. It came to me with XP pre-installed and has been a bit of faff to get the relevant drivers on.

However I am worried about this flashing light. It is not something I have seen before I have tried searching but nothing has been forthcoming. Can anyone suggest anything please?

[dsvochak]

From the HMM:

Green: The battery is in use and has enough power. The ac adapter has charged the battery completely.
Blinking green: The battery is being charged, but still has enough power to operate. (At regular intervals, the indicator light turns off briefly.)
Orange: The battery is being charged, but the battery power is still low.
Blinking orange: The battery needs to be charged. When the indicator starts blinking orange, the computer beeps three times.

What you described appears to be "Blinking green". The blinking should stop as the battery is recharged. If not, there may be an issue with the charging circuitry

[Elwyn]

Thanks for that. One of the main issues I felt at the time was that the other laptop wasn't even charging the battery. I even unplugged the AC cord and it reckoned it was still charging!!!

I'm a thinking here that perhaps I should give it a reinstallation, although i think that will be next week as I have a lot on for the next three days

Thanks for your reply and clarification

[Elwyn]

Right, I have some updated information for this sick laptop.

It does not been when AC power is plugged in / unplugged.

I unplugged the AC and let it run on battery with settings that it didn't goto sleep and my own battery was in it. It took over an hour, maybe 90 minutes (I got a bit sidetracked ) and by which time it was down at 5 percent.

So I plugged it back in. No beep, and the battery guage didn't register any power charging.

It told me the percentage available but didn't register anything on the charging current.

I suspended the laptop by closing the lid and left it plugged into power with the battery in for 20 minutes and when I opened the lid the battery was still down, now at 4 percent left.

I've been out for the last few hours and had restarted the machine and left it 'charging' but it was down at 3 percent. I have transferred the battery to my own laptop and in the short period I have typed this message up it has charged from 3 percent to 10 percent, and my own battery meter is putting 2.49 amps in, 12.18 volts and 30.22 watts.

This is indicative to me that the laptop charging circuit is faulty. Which is a pity as the laptop is what was wanted

In respect of the first message in this thread that I posted, the orange light is no longer flashing but steady on whilst charging.

Do you think I am correct with my understanding of the above situation and it is in fact not charging?

[RealBlackStuff]

Does it work on AC alone, without battery?
Maybe check this out: http://mayohardware.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... d-t40.html
The motherboard-layout is practically the same for both.

[Elwyn]

Yep, works on AC without the battery. It could be that I suppose. I've packaged it back up and will be returning it all to the supplier. I'm not one in this case for opening up to fix it for these reasons.

1. Don't think I'm that competent

2. Having bought it as a 'working' laptop is should, er, work

3. It's not for me, ergo not my money to 'waste'.

But thanks for the info