Old battery not charging, charger rating incorrect? Win7 Starter

chigwells · 25 Nov 2018

Hi everyone, maybe someone can shed some light on my predicament. I have acquired an Acer Aspire One D255E 10" Win7 Starter x32 Intel Atom laptop to attempt to bring back to life.

The laptop hasn't been touched for some four years, but it runs fine and has been updating for the past few days. The problem is with the battery and charger. The battery isn't charging, although the battery charging light is flashing all the time (it always flashes, never on constantly). Additionally, the charger cable is damaged at the point where it leaves the laptop, it only works if I twist and bend the cable to a certain angle, so I've bought a replacement.

The charger I received with it with does not look original. It is a Delta Electronics, input: 100-240V 1.2A, 50-60Hz, output: 19V 2.15A.

I have bought a compatible charger off amazon uk and is a Sunydeal replacement ac adapter, input: 100-240V 1.5A 50-60Hz, output: 19V 3.42A

On the underside of the laptop it says: Acer Aspire One Series, Model No. PAV70, DC Rating 19V, 2.15A.

I wonder if it is a software problem not a hardware one. I am also unsure if the current rating of either charger is correctly suitable for the laptop, as the ratings are different and I don't know if this is important or not.

Most of the time I have been using it with the new replacement charger, and the charging light flashes, but it does not charge.

Yesterday evening with the laptop shut down, I plugged in the old charger so the battery charging light was on (flashing), and let it sit there all night. This morning, with the charging light still flashing, it said the same as it did last night, '6% charged, not charging'. So the old charger is not charging the battery.

However, with the old charger, I have seen a couple of times that it has registered as charging. With my new charger, this has not happened.

I have taken the battery out, cleaned it, and visually (connectors etc) it looks in perfect condition.

So my questions are:
1. is the replacement charger completely wrong for this model, and I need to return it.
2. could it be some internal problem in the laptop, and not the fault of either of the chargers. Is there anything I can do to kickstart the battery to start it charging again.

All advice and suggestions greatly appreciated, Chigwells.

Edit: attached screenshot of Device Manager

iko22 · 25 Nov 2018

Hello Chigwells

I'd have bought a battery and power unit together, as one sale item. Then you'd know that that battery works with that charger.

Sometimes, new rechargeable batteries do not work until they have been left on charge for 24 hours.

Wandering one · 25 Nov 2018

That is the proper rating for the charger. Battery probably needs replacing. If you want I can give you the info for the one I got from Amazon.
Art.

Alejandro85 · 25 Nov 2018

The replacement charger, as per the specs posted here (and assuming that the first one is fine) is OK for that. The only difference is the current capability, and since it's greater that the first one, it won't have any problem with the same battery.
The rule for being "compatible" is that the output voltage must be the same (19V both) and current must be at least the same, no matter how greater it is (2.15A for the first, 3.42A for the second). The input must be whaterver you have with your local electrical outlet.

The real problem is most likely with the battery itself, rather than the charger. Collecting dust during four years is a sure way to degrade it to the point of little to no charge capacity, which Windows will likely point out. The charger itself won't matter too much, as over time battery cells degrade, specially when not used in a long period of time. I would look for a replacement battery instead.

Software is pretty much irrelevant. A dead battery won't work no matter what OS or programs you try to run.

Megahertz07 · 26 Nov 2018

Alejandro85 said:

The replacement charger, as per the specs posted here (and assuming that the first one is fine) is OK for that. The only difference is the current capability, and since it's greater that the first one, it won't have any problem with the same battery.
The rule for being "compatible" is that the output voltage must be the same (19V both) and current must be at least the same, no matter how greater it is (2.15A for the first, 3.42A for the second). The input must be whaterver you have with your local electrical outlet.

The real problem is most likely with the battery itself, rather than the charger. Collecting dust during four years is a sure way to degrade it to the point of little to no charge capacity, which Windows will likely point out. The charger itself won't matter too much, as over time battery cells degrade, specially when not used in a long period of time. I would look for a replacement battery instead.

Software is pretty much irrelevant. A dead battery won't work no matter what OS or programs you try to run.

There is nothing wrong with the new charger.
As the battery is old and hasn't been charged for a long time it has degenerated.
My advice is to buy a new battery and remove the old one. Bad battery may damage the laptop internal power supply.

chigwells · 26 Nov 2018

Hello guys, thanks to one and all for wonderfully helpful replies.

My main lack of understanding was around the differing ratings of the old and new chargers. From Alejandro and Megahertz I understand that there is nothing wrong with the new charger, although its rating is different. Also, that the output voltage must be the same, and so long as the output current is at least the same, it is a 'compatible' charger. Many thanks for that clarification.

Returning to my two questions, the first one is answered, the compatible charger with different ratings is okay.
The second question is also answered, software is not the problem here, the problem is a very old battery.

Massive thanks also to Iko and the Wandering One for their inputs. Marked as solved!

Megahertz07 · 27 Nov 2018

Remove the bad battery as it may damage the laptop internal power supply. Use the laptop without battery, only connected to the external PS.

mrjimphelps · 29 Nov 2018

Here is a genuine Acer battery for your laptop:
New Acer AL10B31 BT.00603.114 Black Netbook Battery 4400mAh 6 Cell

I like to go with the name brand on the battery; I've heard some horror stories about off-brand laptop batteries.