Asus X541N laptop shutting down when on battery power

Aidanmc

I have an Asus X541n laptop, it shuts down randomly when on battery power.

Battery icon shows as charged or charging when plugged in.

I have just changed the hard drive to SSD and clean install Windows 10.

The issue was present before i changed the drive, was hoping that the new drive and clean install would rectify the issue, but not.

Any ideas how to troubleshoot?

born_again

Check cables to drive & make sure nothing else has got trapped, or overheating due to drive.

Aidanmc

born_again said:

Check cables to drive & make sure nothing else has got trapped, or overheating due to drive.

It was shutting down randomly before i replaced the drive. Nothing is trapped and its not an overheating issue.

Is there a way to check the battery? I'm thinking even its showing as charged could be some other issue.

Confusedlad

How old is the laptop?  

I have a 5 year old Asus which has exhibited similar behaviour. Initially the battery ran down quicker, then fairly soon it needed to run on mains power. Its fine when plugged in but now wont even boot on battery & I have concluded that the internal cell has simply stopped holding charge.  This doesn't cause me any real issues as my usage pattern doesn't require me to be away from a power source but it now always needs to be plugged in.  But for some this will be more of an issue.

I tried the Asus helpline (via email), who I found to be of very limited use.  If you have a local PC repair shop they might be able to diagnose the problem and might be able to source and fit a (compatible) new battery (unfortunately modern laptops don't have an easily swapped out battery unlike those from 10 years ago!).  So swapping it would involve opening up the case.  It could be uneconomic to replace with parts and labour costs, so ask for a quote, if this is the problem.  I suspect you could be looking at c£100 plus for a battery replacement.

Good luck.

Aidanmc

Confusedlad said:

How old is the laptop?  

I have a 5 year old Asus which has exhibited similar behaviour. Initially the battery ran down quicker, then fairly soon it needed to run on mains power. Its fine when plugged in but now wont even boot on battery & I have concluded that the internal cell has simply stopped holding charge.  This doesn't cause me any real issues as my usage pattern doesn't require me to be away from a power source but it now always needs to be plugged in.  But for some this will be more of an issue.

I tried the Asus helpline (via email), who I found to be of very limited use.  If you have a local PC repair shop they might be able to diagnose the problem and might be able to source and fit a (compatible) new battery (unfortunately modern laptops don't have an easily swapped out battery unlike those from 10 years ago!).  So swapping it would involve opening up the case.  It could be uneconomic to replace with parts and labour costs, so ask for a quote, if this is the problem.  I suspect you could be looking at c£100 plus for a battery replacement.

Good luck.

Hi, i would say this laptop is around 5 years old also,but its done nothing.

Does you battery icon display charge in battery and still shuts down?

I would be confident enough to replace the internal battery if i was sure it was the cause.

Had the laptop open today replacing hard drive and its easy enough to access.

But i just wonder if something else could be the cause apart from the physical battery, maybe some drivers/bios issue but i dont know much about that area.

Aidanmc

I read something on  ifixit.com where someone had a similar issue, someone suggested running the device in safe mode and if it didn't shut down itself it was probably driver or settings issue.

I tried running in safe mode (battery power)and it shut down again after a few minutes.

I'm now thinking there is an issue with the battery connections. I noticed sometimes when i move the laptop around or shake gently it also shut down,

I'm going to open it up again, remove battery, clean terminals and replace to see it that helps!

J_B

Many moons ago, I bought and fitted a new battery to my Asus laptop ... then realised that it wasn't a battery fault, it was something to do with the cable that goes to the screen.

Confusedlad

If, as I think you've said, you have had the laptop case open recently - it is possible that connections or cables have been disturbed and need reseating. That would be a useful thing to check first. My suspicion though is that you might be looking at a failed battery.  You have to decide whether the cost to replace the cell is worthwhile (given that you've already spent some money on a new SSD etc) or whether to cut your losses and invest in a new laptop.

Black Friday tomorrow 🤔

cerebus

You have answered your own question 

If its only happening whilst on battery power and not whilst plugged in then there can only be one possibility.......

Given new battery's on ebay are 11 quid,  bit of a no brainer really , would certainly not be considering changing the laptop like some posters on here are

OP its always best to ask for advice before guessing and part swapping , it usually works out a lot cheaper that way

Aidanmc

cerebus said:

You have answered your own question 

If its only happening whilst on battery power and not whilst plugged in then there can only be one possibility.......

Given new battery's on ebay are 11 quid,  bit of a no brainer really , would certainly not be considering changing the laptop like some posters on here are

OP its always best to ask for advice before guessing and part swapping , it usually works out a lot cheaper that way

Yeah, but whats confusing is the battery icon is showing fully charged.

I won't be buying a new laptop as this one is a second laptop anyway.

That why i started the thread, to get advice. I was replacing the hard drive regardless as the laptop was slow loading and the hdd was making some noises.

As you say a battery is cheap, so this probably replace it, thanks