What would you do if your laptop battery charger were out of order?
By Yanzalong
@yanzalong (18987)
Indonesia
December 8, 2012 8:33am CST
Two years ago I bough a new Acer laptop and it has functioned pretty well till now. Today I found that the battery charger seemed out of order. I tried to check its cable in the hope that the charger would function again but to no avail. I suspected that cable was cut off as it was often rolled up everytime I put it in the case. The wire might have got twisted and finally cut off.
Since I had no skill in it, I brought the charger to a shop where I bought the laptop. I know the shop has professional technicians who know how to fix it. they then checked my charger and said it wasn't because of the cable but the AC adaptor in its box might have been burned or loose. They ara not sure until the box is opened.
Has your laptop battery charger played up like mine? What did you do about it?
1 person likes this
14 responses
@jaiho2009 (39141)
• Philippines
8 Dec 12
Yah, I have experienced the same problem and my son checked the wiring first until he find out that it's the AC adapter.
He open the box and fixed the thing- now my laptop charger is working fine.
It's a common problem with laptop charger since we are using it for longer time when we're at home.
Try to use the battery even if you are at home till it is almost drain before using the laptop cable/charger to avoid it from plugging for a long hours.
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
9 Dec 12
That's what I do actually but my daughters seem to neglect it. They kept the laptop charged for the whole day. The battery has also lost its performance. It only lasts less than an hour. When I bought it the battery could last over 4 hours.
@StLouisMetroTutoring (678)
• St. Peters, Missouri
9 Dec 12
Really? I didn't know that. I just unplugged my laptop.
@jjzone44 (917)
• United States
13 Dec 12
My sister-in-law had a similar issue with her Acer netbook. It was not the charger itself, but the receptacle for the plug that is in the laptop. It had worked loose, and the plug would no longer go in far enough to charge. I had to basically take the laptop down to the motherboard (remove memory and HD covers from bottom, remove HD, remove battery, remove 8-10 screws from base. Unclip and remove keyboard and ribbon cable, remove 2 more screws, remove palmrest with ribbon cable for touchpad and mouse buttons, etc.) This was all to get to the little female plug that is held in place by what looks like 2 sided tape. I epoxied that plug back into place; reassembled the computer and now all is fine. Must be a common issue, as I found repair sites on the Internet that will do the same job for $75 plus parts and 2-way shipping.
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
15 Dec 12
Great job you did jjzone44. It seems to me you are an expert for it. Wish I could learn how to do it. Thank you for your information. This really boosts up my intention to learn fixing computers.
@jjzone44 (917)
• United States
16 Dec 12
Fixing computers is not all that hard; they just have small parts so you need small tools to work on them, and you need to be patient when doing it. The Internet is full of information on how to dissassemble different machines, and even how to diagnose certain errors.
And I don't think you use your machine too much. I have desktops that remain on 24/7/365,and my wife's laptop has not been turned off since we got back from Las Vegas in September. She just shuts the lid on it and puts it to sleep. It is one of the Lenovos that I refurbished that runs Windows XP; it is probably 4-5 years old. I have Acers that I used to run the same way, but those have Core2Duo processors in them, so I rarely use them as I now use this Sony or a Mac with a Core i5 in it. Laptops are made to endure the rigors of mobility, so they are constructed a bit tougher than a desktop. Take the processor for example, in a desktop it is held in place by a retention bar that puts pressure on the processors pins, or it's case. In a laptop, the processors are soldered to the motherboard, no chance of them comimng loose that way.
@UmiNoor (4522)
• Malaysia
9 Dec 12
After a year, the Acer netbook that my husband bought also had its charger not working. We had to buy a new one since none of us know how to repair a battery charger.
I think the charger must have burned out because my daughters always leave the charger in the netbook overnight. I've told them to unplug the charger once the battery is fully charged and only to charge the battery when the netbook pops up a box saying that the battery has run out and to charge it.
But they're so stubborn. It's difficult to get through to young people nowadays. They just don't value their possessions as we do.
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
9 Dec 12
Yes, UmiNoor. It seems to me that what I told them just goes in one ear and out the other. They never want to listen to their parents. So, what I did was I decided to buy a new one. It doesn't cost much. I've left the old one at the shop to have it fixed.
@UmiNoor (4522)
• Malaysia
9 Dec 12
I bought a generic charger which cost me RM89. An original Acer charger cost RM180 if I'm not mistaken. So my husband and I went to the Cash Converter shop located very near my house and bought the generic charger.
The one that was given to us when we bought the netbook was a generic charger so I guess it wouldn't really affect the netbook much if the charger is a generic one or an original Acer.
Children nowadays are all alike. They just wouldn't listen to their parents. They think that we're just nagging them and then when something goes wrong, it's just so easy to say to them "I told you so."
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
13 Dec 12
Where do you live? It's strange that you cannot find a charger in your city.
@heaytheblogger (2876)
• Philippines
13 Dec 12
I don’t have an Acer computer/laptop but I got a reliable brand. I think what caused your laptop to act abnormally is probably you overused it. Sometimes, putting your devices up for long can ruin it’s components such as its battery, the adaptor, etc.
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
15 Dec 12
You are right, absolutely. Thank you for your info. I work on my PC more than 8 hours with my laptop turned on nonstop.
@projna2008 (13)
• China
10 Dec 12
Gnerally we people always little note in the charger of instruction,plugging it if we find it less power of electric till we stop using conputer. i personally think it is our bad habbit in that pc work , we will finally meet the problem that the AC adper doesnot work. so using the battery as long as possible till it is going to drain ,which we can totally protect adaptor from burning ,unless you love to change the charger one another,,lol..
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
13 Dec 12
The best thing is perhaps we do not use the charger when the battery is full. What I have been told is that I have to use the charger when the battery is starting to run down.
@chiyosan (30183)
• Philippines
3 Jan 13
I would probably not do anything, i might as well not try and find a replacement for that battery already, my laptop is already beyond 5 years old and i think this meant that it would only be costly or may be difficult to find a replacement. i will probably just use my laptop all the time with the plug on. :D
@srganesh (6340)
• India
9 Dec 12
I own an acer netbook like you. Till now, the charger is working fine. If it goes wrong, then I will be checking with the service center and look for any repairs can be done. Because I don't want to just throw it away like anything.
Electronic goods are more prone to sudden failures, whatever the reason may be...........!
@nicanorr (1789)
• Philippines
9 Dec 12
Repair it myself or have it repaired by somebody knowledgeable of the gadget. I would replace it with a new set if works no longer. With the new set I'll handle it with care and keep it away from the reaches of unauthorized persons, like kids. etc.
@sender621 (14893)
• United States
8 Dec 12
I would probably try to find a way to get a new computer. the nattery charging would not be worth the trouble or the time or the price to pay.@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
9 Dec 12
Of course, you are right. If I had enough money, I would have a trade-in to get a new one. For the time being, I have to use my old laptop. I wish I could buy a new one in the near future. Thank for responding.
@chiwasaki (4694)
• Philippines
9 Dec 12
This can be due to faulty charger, cable or port. Better to have your laptop assessed or purchase a replacement charger. As for taking care of your battery, make sure to fully drain and fully charge it. I am not sure but there are some applications in some laptop where you can fully drain the battery. You can contact your laptop manufacturer to check on this.
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
22 Feb 13
I found that Toshiba had a better and more durable laptop charger. A friend of mine has an old Toshiba laptop, which he uses everyday. I never hear him complain about its charger. Don't you think?
@Guit08 (597)
• United States
9 Dec 12
Fortunately my laptop charger is still doing fine. However, if something ever was to go wrong I would start looking for another adapter with the same plug. If I couldn't find a good, cheap one, then I would look to get one from the manufacturer directly.
@enelym001 (8322)
• Philippines
9 Dec 12
Yes mine had a problem too. What I first did was use my brothers charger because at that time his laptop's HDD has to be replaced. So he wasn't using it for I guess a month. But when finally he has bought and installed a new HDD on, my choice is to buy a new one. The old one I have isn;t functioning at all and when my dad tried to open the box, it's completely sealed with a metal that he cannot even see inside. It's fully protected but cannot even do something to cut the wires and try to fix it. My laptop is Compaq. The new one is working okay.
So I guess you'd have to buy a new one.
So I guess you'd have to buy a new one.
@farid_lmu (70)
• Bangladesh
8 Dec 12
In most of the cases that is happen due to AC adapter problem. However, if its occur frequently i would recommend buy a new one as it is not a costly item.
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
9 Dec 12
You are right. I have just bought a new one. Thank for your sugggestion. Happy mylotting my friend.
