A slightly different laptop charge problem

sparrer

I've searched but could only find posts about batteries with zero charge. I have an HP 6735s, 18 months old. While under guarantee the socket where the mains lead (sorry don't know the technical terms) goes in had to be replaced. Recently I replaced the battery with a new one as it wasn't charging at all, and the mains lead as the original had a loose/broken wire inside . All was well until the day before yesterday when it read 86% available, plugged in not charging. Today it reads 85%, plugged in etc etc. Someone suggested not running it on mains but letting the battery run right down and it should start to charge when plugged into the mains again but I'm a bit loathe to try that without advice from the techie board. Any help would be very much appreciated. Tia
Sparrer

macman

Remove the battery and see what happens on mains power. That will tell you if the transformer is outputting DC voltage correctly (or test the output with a multimeter, should be around 19.5V).

sparrer

Thank you macman I did that, the laptop ran fine without the battery. I put it back in after 10 mins, it now says it's charging and is at 89%. Whatever happened it seems to be okay atm, I'll know to take the battery out for a short while if it happens again. Amazing how it was something so simple when I was thinking new laptops, £'s in repair etc etc. Thank you

sparrer

Following on from the problem in August, the same thing has happened again so I tried the 'remove the battery' trick but nothing, the laptop won't even turn on with or without the battery. As it's now well out of guarantee I got a quote for £120 to have a new socket put in. Is this a reasonable price? It sounds a lot but perhaps because I only bought the laptop 18 months ago and have already paid for new a battery and a new power lead.

I appreciate that 18 months would be considerd 'old' to computer boffs but for a little old lady it's getting expensive. I'm wondering if I just have a duff comp?

Tia for any advice/comments

Hammyman

Beware that some models have "battery saving". What they'll do is not charge the laptop above 85%, the idea being that it reduces the number of full cycle charges and once the laptop battery starts dying, you disable the battery saving and get some extra time out of it. First time I saw that on one, it had me quite puzzled and thinking a dodgy battery.

AdamMerry

First of all check that the warranty has run out, you can check here

http://www11.itrc.hp.com/service/ewarranty/warrantyResults.do?admit=109447626+1285767694575+28353475

If I'm right i seem to think the 6735s was sold as a business laptop and actually was sold with a 3 year warranty from HP. Were i work it's my job to book these faulty laptops in with the manufacturer and surprisingly although the customers think they are out of warranty they still have warranty with HP

sparrer

Hammyman sorry but I admit I haven't a clue what you mean! I do know that when the laptop was working correctly it would charge to 100% each time, if that makes any difference? I'm fairly certain that it's a socket problem, not a battery one though as when I held the plug in the socket hard it would start the battery charging.

AdamMerry thank you for the link, however on the base of the machine it has a product label which includes the words 'Warranty 1 Year'.

eta I checked the product and serial numbers anyway but the warranty expired in Jan 2010.

Hammyman

Yes, sounds like the charge socket in that case. I hate to say it but its 99% user error. I seriously would love to know how people manage it despite the fact I've repaired loads. I've had laptops constantly for over a decade. My kids have laptops, my wife's boss has them and non of us have ever done this. One of my laptops I owned for nearly 3 years and never had the problem. The only conclusion I can come to is either hamfistedness plugging it in or using it in such a manner that pressure is applied to the plug.

peterbaker

Yes it sounds like a loose connection / broken solder where the socket fits to the motherboard. That was the point of macman's post earlier - to see if the laptop worked ok relying solely on the mains socket connection. Clearly it did for a bit, but that's typical of an imperfect connection ...

Obviously it is very easy to put strain on the socket by tripping over the power lead or otherwise pulling on it. Most people perhaps do not realise that the socket is connected directly to the motherboard.

I got lucky and fixed one for a friend recently where the pin in the middle of the socket had actually broken off - I obtained the socket on eBay for just £3 ... I am now daily waiting for a call saying that it is broken again as my soldering wasn't fantastic.

You need to be a bit handy to dismantle and reassemble a laptop without damaging something, and even more handy to dare to try soldering on the motherboard :eek:

However, if you know someone like that, then could be a cheaper fix than the £120 you have been quoted.

PS Hammyman sounds like the someone you need !

sparrer

With respect I also know many, many people with laptops and they've not had the problem. I've also had two laptops previously, now passed to grandchildren to use, and they're still going strong so I'd not like to think this one, bought as possibly my last one, has been singled out for abuse.

Thank you for your reply peterbaker. Well done on being able to repair a similar problem yourself but it's rather beyond my capabilities. Better I pay £120 that the price of a new machine. I wish I did know a local hammyman, I'd be going to him rather than the shop.

Re tripping over the power lead - I'd need to be a contortionist as the lead goes over the back of the desk and into the socket on the wall three feet up from the floor!

Thanks for the replies, seems I have to make the choice between saving for another repair, or a new laptop.

peterbaker

Sparrer, it has just occurred to me that the replacement you had under guarantee was self-evidently not of appropriate quality. It might be worth pressing the point with HP.

Googling for others who may have reported the same problem with this model may give you some ammunition:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&lr=&as_qdr=all&q=%28HP+6735s+OR+HP6735s+OR+HP6735%29+%28DC+OR+power%29+socket+%28fault+OR+problem%29&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

(you'll even see this thread appears on page 2 )

IIRC, the one I fixed (a Medion 98250 also about 18 months old) was a model where an unusual number of others had reported a similar problem.

Good luck :money:

Edit: Here is an interesting thread about a possibly similar HP problem and there is a quirky fix which I presume has nothing to do with a bad DC socket ... might be worth a try though ... http://www.digwin.com/plugged-in-not-charging-windows-vista-laptop