EiSystems 3103 charging fault

twowombles · 03-17-2009, 06:28 AM

Hi, I have a strange charging fault with my son's EiSystems 3090 laptop.
With the ac adapter connected, Vista says the battery is charging but the %age never goes up.
I have swapped batteries with my other similar Advent and both batteries charge up and work perfectly.
I have tried several correctly rated chargers without success.
I have compared the voltage at the battery connector pins of both laptops and they are identical.
I have even soldered a new dc socket in and re-installed Vista from desperation.
The laptop works fine on ac power, and also on battery power once charged by other machine.
Any ideas gratefully received.
Cheers.

**TriggerFinger** · 03-17-2009, 09:45 AM

You said you 'swapped' that means your laptop in question (laptop-A) was able to charge the other laptop's (laptop-B) battery? And with that, laptop-B was able to charge the battery from laptop-A.

twowombles · 03-17-2009, 01:00 PM

Sorry, laptop-B will charge both batteries, laptop-A will charge neither.

**TriggerFinger** · 03-17-2009, 01:04 PM

Are the ac adapters of laptop-A and laptop-B exactly the same (model/output voltage/power)?

twowombles · 03-17-2009, 01:16 PM

Yes, both laptops are re-badged Uniwill L51's with the same chargers (20v 3.25a).
With the batteries removed and chargers plugged in, the voltage at each of the laptop's 10 connector pins is also identical on both machines.

**TriggerFinger** · 03-17-2009, 01:46 PM

So adapters are OK and batteries are OK. Check and clean laptop-A's battery terminal (laptop side and NOT the terminal on battery).

Also I am not sure if EiSystems has a separate power circuit board (separate from the motherboard) which controls the charging. This is also worth taking a look.

twowombles · 03-18-2009, 02:51 AM

OK, have just done that, pins are clean and shiny but still not charging.
I also cleaned the residual soldering flux from the motherboard in the dc jack area.
There is definitely not a separate power board.
I forgot to mention that the charging light flashes as normal.

twowombles · 03-18-2009, 02:52 AM

OK, have just done that, pins are clean and shiny but still not charging.
I also cleaned the residual soldering flux from the motherboard in the dc jack area.
There is definitely not a separate power board.
I forgot to mention that the charging light flashes as normal.

**TriggerFinger** · 03-18-2009, 08:33 AM

So sorry to say but it looks like a defective motherboard. When I say that there's still a few things you need to look into. One is a BIOS update and/or a possible recall/replacement/extended warranty... I have known of some battery charging problems that have been resolved by a BIOS update... while some by a motherboard replacement.

twowombles · 03-19-2009, 10:10 AM

Have just updated the bios but still no success.
Thanks for all the suggestions though.

03-17-2009, 06:28 AM	#1 (permalink)
twowombles Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 7 OS: win XP service pack 3	EiSystems 3090 charging fault Hi, I have a strange charging fault with my son's EiSystems 3090 laptop. With the ac adapter connected, Vista says the battery is charging but the %age never goes up. I have swapped batteries with my other similar Advent and both batteries charge up and work perfectly. I have tried several correctly rated chargers without success. I have compared the voltage at the battery connector pins of both laptops and they are identical. I have even soldered a new dc socket in and re-installed Vista from desperation. The laptop works fine on ac power, and also on battery power once charged by other machine. Any ideas gratefully received. Cheers. Last edited by twowombles; 03-17-2009 at 06:56 AM.

03-17-2009, 09:45 AM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,826 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: EiSystems 3103 charging fault You said you 'swapped' that means your laptop in question (laptop-A) was able to charge the other laptop's (laptop-B) battery? And with that, laptop-B was able to charge the battery from laptop-A. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-17-2009, 01:00 PM	#3 (permalink)
twowombles Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 7 OS: win XP service pack 3	Re: EiSystems 3103 charging fault Sorry, laptop-B will charge both batteries, laptop-A will charge neither.

03-17-2009, 01:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,826 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: EiSystems 3103 charging fault Are the ac adapters of laptop-A and laptop-B exactly the same (model/output voltage/power)? __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-17-2009, 01:16 PM	#5 (permalink)
twowombles Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 7 OS: win XP service pack 3	Re: EiSystems 3103 charging fault Yes, both laptops are re-badged Uniwill L51's with the same chargers (20v 3.25a). With the batteries removed and chargers plugged in, the voltage at each of the laptop's 10 connector pins is also identical on both machines.

03-17-2009, 01:46 PM	#6 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,826 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: EiSystems 3103 charging fault So adapters are OK and batteries are OK. Check and clean laptop-A's battery terminal (laptop side and NOT the terminal on battery). Also I am not sure if EiSystems has a separate power circuit board (separate from the motherboard) which controls the charging. This is also worth taking a look. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-18-2009, 02:51 AM	#7 (permalink)
twowombles Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 7 OS: win XP service pack 3	Re: EiSystems 3103 charging fault OK, have just done that, pins are clean and shiny but still not charging. I also cleaned the residual soldering flux from the motherboard in the dc jack area. There is definitely not a separate power board. I forgot to mention that the charging light flashes as normal.

03-18-2009, 02:52 AM	#8 (permalink)
twowombles Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 7 OS: win XP service pack 3	Re: EiSystems 3103 charging fault OK, have just done that, pins are clean and shiny but still not charging. I also cleaned the residual soldering flux from the motherboard in the dc jack area. There is definitely not a separate power board. I forgot to mention that the charging light flashes as normal.

03-18-2009, 08:33 AM	#9 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,826 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: EiSystems 3103 charging fault So sorry to say but it looks like a defective motherboard. When I say that there's still a few things you need to look into. One is a BIOS update and/or a possible recall/replacement/extended warranty... I have known of some battery charging problems that have been resolved by a BIOS update... while some by a motherboard replacement. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-19-2009, 10:10 AM	#10 (permalink)
twowombles Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 7 OS: win XP service pack 3	Re: EiSystems 3103 charging fault Have just updated the bios but still no success. Thanks for all the suggestions though.