acer aspire 1520 AC/battery weirdness

headroom · 02-03-2008, 03:53 PM

Hi all, I have a 1520 which when connected via the mains cable shows an icon in the systems tray which looks like a lead with a blue flash through it, when the cursor is placed over it it shows "battery charging" and a percentage left; however that percentage decreases rather than increasing and finally it runs out of power and closes down as if it has actually been running off the battery and not mains. If I unplug the mains cable the icon reverts back to the battery symbol and the screen goes a little duller so I assume that it is actually drawing some power from the A.C. cable. When I shut down and leave the cable plugged in it charges the battery up again so the cable must be working? . . . I am stumped

any suggestions please?

loudnproud59 · 02-03-2008, 08:13 PM

Try removing the battery and then plug in the adapter and see if it will run without the battery just using the adapter,if it does not run on just the ac adapter then there could be a problem with the mainboard power supply circiut,or there could be a problem in the charging circiut,again a mainboard problem,one more thing to check would be the output of your adapter make sure the output is what it is on the label of the adapter do this first before you try the other suggestion,hope this helps let us know what you find.

headroom · 02-04-2008, 03:04 AM

Hi loudnproud, thanks for your reply, I tried to see if it would work without the battery before my cry for help, it didn't. So maybe a mainboard problem then?......how do I actually check the output of the adapter?

headroom · 02-04-2008, 12:41 PM

Hi Loudnproud,
I got the adapter checked and it supposedly was okay, however when I tried it later without the battery the laptop booted up (and showed it running off A/C) and then cut out again, I think the lead may not be making a proper connection but why would it be showing as "charging" with the mains lead icon (with blue flash) and not the battery icon? and why would it charge the battery when the M/C is shut down? The guy at the computer shop thought it may be the battery. I have to say I am totally confused . . . . I am going to try a new adapter

.
Thanks, any further ideas welcomed. Martin.

loudnproud59 · 02-04-2008, 08:52 PM

Mabe the dc power jack on the laptop needs to be replaced or resoldered back on to the mainboard or there is a problem with the power and charging circiuts on the board,look to see if the power jack on the back is loose,let me know what you find.

headroom · 02-05-2008, 12:33 AM

hi loudnproud, the jack plug is a very loose fit. When the battery was out I had to hold the lead steady and push the plug to maintain contact, but it did'nt stay on long before it shut off, I think (or maybe hope) it is a lead problem. If it is a mainboard problem, is it fixable? cheers! Martin

loudnproud59 · 02-05-2008, 09:57 AM

Hi if it is the power jack that is loose on the mainboard it can be resoldered or replaced,any other problems on the mainboard to do with the power circiuts would be very exspensive to have repaired even if it could be repaired,and a new mainboard from acer would also be costly if you can find a service manual for the laptop you could dismantle it and try to repair it your self,i have repaired quite a few boards with bad power jacks got the parts off ebay.let me know how it goes.

headroom · 02-09-2008, 09:40 AM

Hi LnP, just a quick update, when I examined the lead there was copper wire visible near the jack plug (within the collar) I have sent for a new lead . . . fingers crossed, thats the problem, I'll let you know. Thanks Martin.

02-03-2008, 03:53 PM	#1 (permalink)
headroom Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 17 OS: XP	acer aspire 1520 AC/battery weirdness Hi all, I have a 1520 which when connected via the mains cable shows an icon in the systems tray which looks like a lead with a blue flash through it, when the cursor is placed over it it shows "battery charging" and a percentage left; however that percentage decreases rather than increasing and finally it runs out of power and closes down as if it has actually been running off the battery and not mains. If I unplug the mains cable the icon reverts back to the battery symbol and the screen goes a little duller so I assume that it is actually drawing some power from the A.C. cable. When I shut down and leave the cable plugged in it charges the battery up again so the cable must be working? . . . I am stumped any suggestions please?

02-03-2008, 08:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
loudnproud59 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 129 OS: win xp pro	Re: acer aspire 1520 AC/battery weirdness Try removing the battery and then plug in the adapter and see if it will run without the battery just using the adapter,if it does not run on just the ac adapter then there could be a problem with the mainboard power supply circiut,or there could be a problem in the charging circiut,again a mainboard problem,one more thing to check would be the output of your adapter make sure the output is what it is on the label of the adapter do this first before you try the other suggestion,hope this helps let us know what you find.

02-04-2008, 03:04 AM	#3 (permalink)
headroom Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 17 OS: XP	Re: acer aspire 1520 AC/battery weirdness Hi loudnproud, thanks for your reply, I tried to see if it would work without the battery before my cry for help, it didn't. So maybe a mainboard problem then?......how do I actually check the output of the adapter?

02-04-2008, 12:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
headroom Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 17 OS: XP	Re: acer aspire 1520 AC/battery weirdness Hi Loudnproud, I got the adapter checked and it supposedly was okay, however when I tried it later without the battery the laptop booted up (and showed it running off A/C) and then cut out again, I think the lead may not be making a proper connection but why would it be showing as "charging" with the mains lead icon (with blue flash) and not the battery icon? and why would it charge the battery when the M/C is shut down? The guy at the computer shop thought it may be the battery. I have to say I am totally confused . . . . I am going to try a new adapter. Thanks, any further ideas welcomed. Martin.

02-04-2008, 08:52 PM	#5 (permalink)
loudnproud59 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 129 OS: win xp pro	Re: acer aspire 1520 AC/battery weirdness Mabe the dc power jack on the laptop needs to be replaced or resoldered back on to the mainboard or there is a problem with the power and charging circiuts on the board,look to see if the power jack on the back is loose,let me know what you find.

02-05-2008, 12:33 AM	#6 (permalink)
headroom Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 17 OS: XP	Re: acer aspire 1520 AC/battery weirdness hi loudnproud, the jack plug is a very loose fit. When the battery was out I had to hold the lead steady and push the plug to maintain contact, but it did'nt stay on long before it shut off, I think (or maybe hope) it is a lead problem. If it is a mainboard problem, is it fixable? cheers! Martin

02-05-2008, 09:57 AM	#7 (permalink)
loudnproud59 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 129 OS: win xp pro	Re: acer aspire 1520 AC/battery weirdness Hi if it is the power jack that is loose on the mainboard it can be resoldered or replaced,any other problems on the mainboard to do with the power circiuts would be very exspensive to have repaired even if it could be repaired,and a new mainboard from acer would also be costly if you can find a service manual for the laptop you could dismantle it and try to repair it your self,i have repaired quite a few boards with bad power jacks got the parts off ebay.let me know how it goes.

02-09-2008, 09:40 AM	#8 (permalink)
headroom Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 17 OS: XP	Re: acer aspire 1520 AC/battery weirdness Hi LnP, just a quick update, when I examined the lead there was copper wire visible near the jack plug (within the collar) I have sent for a new lead . . . fingers crossed, thats the problem, I'll let you know. Thanks Martin.