adapter "disconnects from AC" after 10-15 minutes

[thisrob]

Hi all,

Maybe someone can help me with this one...
I have a brand new t42 on my desk. This afternoon i discovered i had low battery power and thought to myself: "Hee i was on AC right?"

When i checked i WAS on AC power allright. For some reason my battery level is 15% as we speak, and the notebook tells me AC power has been disconnected, while it is clearly not.

Now when i re-plug the power adapter, the notebook beeps "hee we on AC power!" as it should. It will charge for about a minute or 10/15, and then "disconnects" again as if i pulled the plug.

- All cables are connected PROPERLY
- I'm using all parts right from the factory (adapter/cables etc)
- My power cable is "grounded" and connected to a "grounded" AC (is that the term?)
- I even turned off the notebook, made sure i connected the cables as IBM recommends, like: 1. make sure all is turned off, 2. attach all cables to devices, 3. attach signal cables to receptables, 4. attach power cord to outlet, 5. turn device ON
- My adapter feels "warm" but not exceptionally "hot" ...
- Notebook seems to works properly on power adapter (AC) WITHOUT battery

Does anyone have a clue?
Any advice/clues greatly appreciated.

[edit]
original title was: notebook "disconnects from AC" after 10-15 minutes
but i feel new title to be more descriptive
[/edit]

[K. Eng]

Something may be wrong with the AC adapter or the System board. Perhaps something may be wrong with the battery.

Is there any way for you to test the T42 with another T42 AC Adapater? Try to eliminate as many possible causes of the problem as possible. Let us know what happens! Good luck.

[thisrob]

Something may be wrong with the AC adapter or the System board. Perhaps something may be wrong with the battery.

Is there any way for you to test the T42 with another T42 AC Adapater? Try to eliminate as many possible causes of the problem as possible. Let us know what happens! Good luck.

Hi, thanks for your reply.
After having posted here yesterday I read in the battery tips provided with the Battery Maximizer program. Under "Reconditioning your battery" it read: "A brand new battery should be fully charged overnight before its first use."

I have not done such thing... when i got my notebook, I just plugged it into AC and started working on it. So i decided to let my battery run completely empty and did so (having cpu intensive program running and pc at high sys perf). After that I gave it the time to cool down. Then I plugged the notebook on AC again, not turning it on. I've left it charging over night.

I'm here now typing this and so far everything seems to be allright. But I'm not sure as I have to see how things turn out.

Another thing the battery tips point out is: "When the computer uses a large amount of electricity from the battery (for example, for intensive calculations or high-end graphics applications), the temperature of the battery and the computer may rise. In this case, the battery might automatically stop charging to so that the battery operates at a level that ensures comfortable usage and normal battery life. If the battery has stopped charging, it might not start charging immediately when you plug in the AC adapter or it may take more time to completely charge. When the battery is restored to its normal temperature, the battery will start to recharge."

I'm not sure whether I had been doing too much cpu intensive stuff on the notebook before plugging it into AC, but theres a very small chance it may have had some effect on the behaviour described above in bold.

Anyway, I'll keep you informed on how things turn out.

Cheers,

Rob.

[thisrob]

Ok, well unfortunately the behaviour I described in my previous posts keeps popping up.

I called support (must say they were helpfull and thorough) and they are sending me original an original IBM recovery disk set to install. This way we can rule out the possibility of it being a software problem.

Guess I'll be waiting for the cd's to arrive

[slagmi]

I'm glad they are sending you disk's!! (IMO they should just include them with a 2 or 3 thousand dollar notebook)
But using them to troubleshoot is a pretty drastic step! They are telling you you have to wipe everything out? Why on earth for?

Why not just press <F1> at power on and let it sit in the BIOS screen and see of the issue is duplicated?

Or boot from a floppy and run MEMTEST(free utility)?

Regarding the battery, why not just remove it to see if the A/C power then stays on?

[thisrob]

I'm glad they are sending you disk's!! (IMO they should just include them with a 2 or 3 thousand dollar notebook)
But using them to troubleshoot is a pretty drastic step! They are telling you you have to wipe everything out? Why on earth for?

Why not just press <F1> at power on and let it sit in the BIOS screen and see of the issue is duplicated?

Or boot from a floppy and run MEMTEST(free utility)?

Regarding the battery, why not just remove it to see if the A/C power then stays on?

I'm running my own XP installation (based on i386 folder as described in the fresh install guide elsewhere on this forum), so they want to rule out it being a software problem. I'm also using a new 60gig hd instead of the factory 40gig, so doing a recovery on the 40gig using the IBM disks is not much of a hassle for me at this point.

As for running on AC without battery: done that, and keeps running. Must say that THE POWER ADAPTER gets kinda hot (had it running for about 25 min) --maybe i should let it run longer somewhere where i can keep an eye on it...

[thisrob]

Why not just press <F1> at power on and let it sit in the BIOS screen and see of the issue is duplicated?

Briljant suggestion I might add; When I booted the notebook into BIOS on A/C, with no battery, the issue occurred again. The adapter became quite hot, hot to such an extend you're (I'm) not too comfortable holding it.

My best guess is something is wrong with the adapter, causing it to get hot enough to shut itself down (maybe as a safety precaution). I'll call IBM support first thing in the morning and tell them about this; My best guess and hope is they will understand there must be something wrong with the adapter and send me another one to give a try

[Greg Gebhardt]

Could be a bad adapter but may also be a problem in the laptop. A new adapter will tell alot.

[thisrob]

Could be a bad adapter but may also be a problem in the laptop. A new adapter will tell alot.

That thought has crossed my mind (about it being a problem in the notebook); Still hope the former.

[thisrob]

Called IBM support and told 'm about the notebook having the same behaviour even in the BIOS; they're sending me a new adapter. Let's hope it fixes the problem.

Cheers.

[thisrob]

Ok, at this point I received (and am using) a new adapter from IBM support. UPS first offered the adapter in like 26.5 hours after making the call.

I've been using the new adapter since yesterday morning, and all seems OK now. The new adapter doesn't turn itself off and all is good. I hope the behaviour which made me start this post in the first place does not return.

Conclusion for now: The original adapter which came with the notebook out of the factory seems to have had a glitch in its matrix.

The new one works, so far so good. Let's hope it stays this way

Cheers.

[K. Eng]

Good to hear your problem is solved

[thisrob]

Good to hear your problem is solved

For now it certainly seems solved.
I myself won't cheer for another two to three weeks tho
(Ok silently cheering must admit) :