Toshiba Laptop Power Issues

Raekwon

I'm trying to fix my mates laptop but it's giving me more problems then I expected. It's a 3 year old Satellite A300 and he was complaining that it won't charge properly and cuts out on him all of the time.

I imminently thought it was over heating so I opened it up and cleaned off lots of dust that had gathered around the fan and got lodged in the air-duct.

I then charged the battery to 100% but after I unplugged it from the mains it dropped to 10% in around 15-20 minutes then died. I took the battery out and ran the laptop off the mains and it worked fine until I twisted the power plug in the DC jack and it died. I booted it up again off the mains and it died again after I twisted the power plug. The reason I twisted the plug was because he said that it had to be at a certain angle to charge.

I got a replacement DC jack and installed it but the problem remains the same. I used a different power adapter but it made no difference. It runs fine if untouched and charges the battery to 100% but the battery dies far too quickly.

I'm concerned that if I buy a new battery for the laptop it still won't solve the underlying issues and could be more of a temporary solution. I personally think that it could be a motherboard/processor issue caused by overheating and if that's the case it wouldn't be worth replacing as a new laptop would be a better investment.

Any suggestions?

yoyo

Have you checked a charger with a multi meter? Could well be a charger issue. I doubt two jacks would be faulty! Does the fan actually kick in at all? It could be overheating but the fact that you twist the power adaptor and it cuts out says to me the adaptor is worth checking

Nick

JonathanAnon

I booted it up again off the mains and it died again after I twisted the power plug. The reason I twisted the plug was because he said that it had to be at a certain angle to charge.

I deal with a quite a few of these adapters, and nearly all the time the problem is with the DC coax end.



Why did you assume that the issue was with the jack? Did you try the second adapter BEFORE changing the DC jack..

I usually test the laptop power supply with my volt meter, and if that looks good I have a little gadget I made up for connecting a 24V bulb across the pins of the adapter to make sure that it works with a load...

Freddy Smelly

the battery itself is probably knackered... time to buy a new battery for it. laptop batteries rarely last more than 5 years before they degrade and hold less n less charge.

also if you have to hold the charger dc plug at an angle its likely the socket has come loose and will need to be resoldered back onto the mainboard


my mum's Toshiba Satellite P100-160 has a crap battery life too... but mum usually just leaves it plugged in all the time now anyways.

Raekwon

Sorry I should have clarified more in my OP. I used the original Toshiba power adapter and a universal power adapter that I have myself and I experience the same issues with both.

I also tested each adapter before replacing the DC jack as faulty DC jacks seem to be a common problem with Toshiba machines, so it was definitely worth a try.

That leaves a massive question mark over the battery. It does take a charge and reaches 100% in around 30 minutes but it dies far too quickly. I'm just not sure if it will keep on cutting out even with a new battery installed.

Btw there was no soldering required for the DC jack, it was simply a case of plugging the new one straight into the motherboard and slotting the jack into place.

Freddy Smelly

Raekwon wrote: »

Sorry I should have clarified more in my OP. I used the original Toshiba power adapter and a universal power adapter that I have myself and I experience the same issues with both.

I also tested each adapter before replacing the DC jack as faulty DC jacks seem to be a common problem with Toshiba machines, so it was definitely worth a try.

That leaves a massive question mark over the battery. It does take a charge and reaches 100% in around 30 minutes but it dies far too quickly. I'm just not sure if it will keep on cutting out even with a new battery installed.

Btw there was no soldering required for the DC jack, it was simply a case of plugging the new one straight into the motherboard and slotting the jack into place.

yes but like all batteries... they will still charge to 100% but they degrade over time... the lithium ion in the battery degrades also the cathodes inside the battery also degrade. eventually the battery will no longer be able to hold much charged ions.

your battery looks like it has begun to reach end of life. Time to buy a new battery for it.

yoyo

Universal adaptors may not give or be set to the correct voltage, check underneath on the sticker for the input voltage on your laptop, it is probably 19v so the charger should be providing a steady 19/not much less or more. The laptop should work fine minus the battery, if it's reseting while plugged in I doubt the battery is causing the issue due to when you twist the power adaptor it cuts out

Nick

Raekwon

I'm using a universal adaptor that has an LED display showing output voltage and it's consistently at 19v.

I turned on the laptop this morning and charged the battery but it stopped at around 25% (from 0%) and started to die even though it was running off the mains.

It's strange because the DC power light was still on the laptop display so it was still getting power from the mains yet the battery light went off (and flickered slightly) so the battery obviously was not excepting a charge.

This issue could be down to the battery alright, I've no way of testing it though, but that still doesn't explain how the batteryless laptop dies when the power adapter is twisted around the DC jack.

Freddy Smelly

Raekwon wrote: »

I'm using a universal adaptor that has an LED display showing output voltage and it's consistently at 19v.

I turned on the laptop this morning and charged the battery but it stopped at around 25% (from 0%) and started to die even though it was running off the mains.

It's strange because the DC power light was still on the laptop display so it was still getting power from the mains yet the battery light went off (and flickered slightly) so the battery obviously was not excepting a charge.

This issue could be down to the battery alright, I've no way of testing it though, but that still doesn't explain how the batteryless laptop dies when the power adapter is twisted around the DC jack.

take your battery to a laptop repair shop and they could test it on another toshiba

yoyo

Raekwon wrote: »

This issue could be down to the battery alright, I've no way of testing it though, but that still doesn't explain how the batteryless laptop dies when the power adapter is twisted around the DC jack.

I reckon myself the battery may be degraded to the point of it being near unusable. A new battery should fix that. I'm more concerned that when you twist either adaptos the machine powers off completely, that to me would warrant further investigation.
Now if only one of the chargers does that, then it could well be that charger is broken, but if both are I am not sure

Nick

Raekwon

Yeah I think I'll let him know that he'll need a new battery anyway but I'm still really concerned about the power cuts running solely from the mains.

In the mean time I'll try to get my hands on another compatible power adapter to test as I'm running out of ideas.