Laptop charges only when it’s off

By admin on Mar 11, 2010 in Hardware, Laptops

I came across a new problem, and this time the subject was a laptop. My mission was to repair an ACER Travelmate 2200 laptop that wouldn’t charge and run on AC power. It would run fine on battery, but when you plug in the AC adapter, it does nothing. It keeps running on battery power.

The problem gets weird when you turn off the laptop. Suddenly it charges the battery. Once the battery is fully charged, you can turn it back on and keep working. However, it would be annoying if you had to do turn off the laptop every time and wait for the battery to recharge.

There is a simple explanation for this, but I didn’t think of it immediately. The AC adapter I was using was not a genuine ACER brand. It was a Toshiba adapter that had the same DC plug. But that’s not the (only) reason why it didn’t work. Even though the adapter supplied the correct voltage of 19V, it didn’t supply the required current. ACER needs 7.1A, and Toshiba only supplies 3.65A, and newer models only 6.1A. For ACER to charge the battery and work on AC power at the same time, you need the exact same current or more. It doesn’t work if the current is less than what’s required.

The owner of the laptop lost the original ACER cable and found a replacement, but the Toshiba adapter doesn’ supply the same current. So, for anyone out there who has the same problem, please make sure that your laptop’s AC adapter provides the correct voltage (V) AND current (A).

You can find the required voltage and current details on the laptop’s bottom side.

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6 Comment(s)

  1. I know this article is a couple months old, but thank you SO MUCH. Here I’m thinking there’s something wrong with the main board in the laptop, I don’t know why I didn’t think to check this. I bought a laptop from eBay, in excellent condition, but he included a replacement charger, not the original. Can you guess why the charger was fluctuating when it was plugged in and on? Not enough voltage, not enough amps. Thanks so much, you saved me hundreds!

    Chris G | Aug 19, 2010 | Reply

  2. The laptop needs the correct voltage and current. If you don’t have the right charger, visit eBay and order a replacement. They are easy to find (with correct V and Amps) and are not that expensive.

    admin | Jan 2, 2011 | Reply

  3. This exactly the problem I was having! It’s nice to have conformation before buying a $50 dollar replacement adapter! I was trying to use a generic ac adapter to charge my new *used* laptop. Thanks for putting this up! I was ready to buy a new battery too…

    Bob | Jun 4, 2011 | Reply

  4. What if I have been using the laptop for some months already. Could the diagnosis still be the same?

    Mentor | Jul 20, 2011 | Reply

  5. Same problem except today the battery in my system tray actually said charging, i believe i switched outlets and some tweaking and now it doesnt say charging, i believe there must be a setting in the control panel.

    Ricky | Aug 29, 2011 | Reply

  6. hi i have a Toshiba satellite a70 and it have the same problem as mentioned above i recently ordered a 19v 6/6.3a charger with recommends that exact power for the laptop and it still does the same could it be that the battery is completely dead or could it be something els cuz the laptop was sitting for give or take 4 years and now it was givin to me i rebuilt it and now it just does that any help would b appreciated thx in advance

    Mike

    mike | Dec 9, 2011 | Reply

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