Laptop battery can't be re-charged

[ricky1973]

Hi everybody; I have an old laptop with windows 7 (32 bit); I have the mentioned problem: its removable battery can't recharge.


Whenever I detach the power plug from the laptop and then I re-attach it, the battery starts the recharge (the animation of the battery icon on the desktop bar starts to move; also the icon upon the laptop's keyboards gets illuminated steadly) but after few seconds it stops (the animation of the icon on the desktop bar stops and the icon on the pc flashes - it means that is under usage and not recharging). Note: as soon as the recharge is stopped, the message on the icon on the destop bar says "AC plug connected and battery in charge" although the battery is not charging at all (and the % of charging doesn't increase, of course).


Please note:
- same problem with the original battery and with a new one I just bought
- I tried to update the drivers related to the battery components (from the control panel>system>battery) but everything is up to date

- I already tried to shut down windows, disconnected everything (cables, battery), reconnected and restarted windows... nothing changes.


any suggestions?


Thanks for you kind support... regards
ricky

 

[TechnoMage2016]

You didn't say the brand name or just HOW OLD that laptop is.

I can only guess what brand that laptop is. ??? There is one in particular that I'm familiar with that is known for problems that develop with the internal battery recharge circuitry.



You can just run the little lappy on House Power 100% of the time, or if you need portability, get a new laptop.



There are many places that sell factory refurbished laptops.


Good Luck mate,

 

[ricky1973]

Hi, thanks for your kind reply!
It's an Olivetti S1530 (it must be 8-10 years old I think)...

the problem is not related to portability because it's always at home...but in case of lack of electricity, the laptop shuts down

 

[johnhoh]

Since the battery is new my guess is you have a continuity failure somewhere between the wall and the motherboard. Electrical current, when passing through wires that are too thin (which is the same thing as a not-snug connection, or a frayed external or internal wire), results in extra electrical resistance that produces excess heat which then increases resistance again and the cycle builds until the current halts. The result is your battery charges, but only for a short time.

So between the wall and your motherboard you have the contact between the outlet and your cord, then your cord, then the contacts between cord and your adapter, then the circuitry within the adapter, then the cord coming out of the adapter, then the contacts between your computer charging port and the cord, then the battery (which we can skip because you just replaced it), then the contacts between the battery and your computer.

So check all of the above, and know that the thing most likely to degrade over time is the connection between your cord and your computer, that is, the charging port on the computer. It likely is now connecting less snugly that when you bought it, which creates resistance, which produces heat that then further increases resistance, and that increased resistance then creates more heat, and then the circuit shuts down, maybe after 5 seconds, maybe after 5 minutes, whatever.

A way to remedy this is to press the cord a little upwards and see if that fixes it. Or press it a little to the side, or down, or toward the other side. I had a laptop once where it would only keep charging if I put a book under the cord which allowed to weight of the laptop to create a slight angle with the cord, and that torque increased the connection snugness which decreased the resistance. Its not a great solution but cheaper than getting a new laptop.