Battery,Charger or Charging circuit???

[kd3yt1]

T43 2668-89U
Was visiting my daughter over the holiday. When I plugged in the charger, I noticed the little "plug" icon did not appear on the task bar. So I tried three different outlets and no luck. After I got home, I searched the internet and I tried running it just from the adapter with the battery out. When I turned the power on, I got a critical battery error and it shut down. It will run with the battery in and adapter plugged in. I also noticed the battery percentage is going up but the battery info says discharging. I checked the adapter with a meter and it shows 16V.
My fear is it is the charging circuit and will be time to replace the laptop.

I also tried charging with laptop turned off. Charged for several hours. That was last night and when I turned it on, it showed 27 percent battery.I pluged the adapter in while typing this message and percentage is up to 53 percent. Yet battery meter shows it is discharging.

Any ideas???

[ajkula66]

I'd try another battery before doing anything else...

[kd3yt1]

New battery on the way. While trying different things with the unit, I now believe the problem may be the power plug. I can not run the unit from AC with the battery out.

Is it difficult to replace the power plug. I have googled it and know you have to tear the machine completely down. I am willing to try it. I have built and rebuilt many desktops, but never tore down a laptop.

Is this something I might be able to do????

[BillP]

The hardware maintenance manual explains how to disassemble the T43. Get it at http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/guides- ... MIGR-58791

There is more to the DC input circuitry than the power jack. The system board has a number of fuses on it and one of those might be blown. If you want a power jack they are cheap on Ebay - see auction 140567768806 for example. No soldering is required to change out the power jack.

[kd3yt1]

Well, last night I got the power plug working. I used the paper clip trick and now have power to the unit. But.... Here is what is going on. If I leave the battery in, it powers up but does not charge the battery. If I take the battery off and turn the power on, it turns on for about two seconds and shuts back down. I am beginning to think it is the motherboard. IF it is, I will be looking for a T61. I still will try the new battery when it gets here, but after what happens with no battery, just AC I lean towards a bad board..