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Compaq R3000 Charging Issue

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Ryan P.

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Aug 20, 2009, 11:22:04 PM8/20/09
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Hello,

I have an old Compaq R3000 that doesn't seem to be charging the battery.
When plugged in, the laptop works perfectly fine, and the charge light
stays on constantly (when the battery is connected). The laptop itself
reports that it sees the battery and is charging it, however, it never
goes above 0%. If I remove the battery, the charge light goes out.

I've tried different batteries, so I'm confident the battery isn't the
issue.

I know Compaq has issues with the AC plug, but I have no power issues
when running off AC only.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Ryan

Ryan P.

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Aug 20, 2009, 11:37:58 PM8/20/09
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One additional note, I recently replaced the AC adapter with an
aftermarket adapter (the wiring became frayed by the connector). Is it
possible that this new adapter is not making proper contact to charge
the battery, even though it runs the system just fine?

BillW50

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Aug 21, 2009, 7:40:10 AM8/21/09
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In news:h6l3t1$ub0$1...@news.eternal-september.org,
Ryan P. typed on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:22:04 -0500:

In news:h6l4qq$31r$1...@news.eternal-september.org,
Ryan P. typed on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:37:58 -0500:

It could be a lot of things, including the adapter. Try this program.

BattStat v0.98
http://users.rcn.com/tmtalpey/BattStat/

It should give you stats about your batteries, the charger, etc. And
knowing this information, it would be much easier to troubleshoot what
is going on there.

--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2


Ryan P.

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Aug 21, 2009, 11:49:09 PM8/21/09
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On 8/21/2009 6:40 AM, BillW50 wrote:

> It could be a lot of things, including the adapter. Try this program.
>
> BattStat v0.98
> http://users.rcn.com/tmtalpey/BattStat/
>
> It should give you stats about your batteries, the charger, etc. And
> knowing this information, it would be much easier to troubleshoot what
> is going on there.
>

Okay, I ran the program with the two batteries that I have. One
battery reports a 55% charge and 60% wear. Under conditions, it says
"0mW, 16.159V, 0C. In the updating graphic, "Power", though checked,
produces no line or number. Nor does "Runtime" which reports at 0:00.

The second battery reports 0% charge and 74% wear, with 14.881V under
conditions. Same result with the runtime and the power.

I did notice that when I swapped the batteries, a "Power" level of
-2147483.-6' showed for about one second, sometimes two, and then
returned to no reading. This didn't happen every time I inserted the
battery, and didn't seem to be dependent on force or angle.

Does this ring any bells?

Ryan


-2147483.-6'

BillW50

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Aug 22, 2009, 8:51:42 AM8/22/09
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In news:h6nprm$p07$1...@news.eternal-september.org,
Ryan P. typed on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:49:09 -0500:

Hello Ryan! First BattStat only reports what the laptop is willing to
give it. And not all laptops will have all of the information that
BattStat requests.

Runtime should tell you how much time you have if the AC was removed.
Yours shows 0. So I would boot up and go into the BIOS screen (so
Windows won't boot). And removed the AC. Does the computer stay on? If
so good and reboot. Now see what the Runtime, Charge, and Power all now
say running from on this battery.

Note: The Power level refers to what is happening to the battery. 0
means it is charged or it isn't charging. Any positive numbers means it
is being charged. Any negative numbers means the battery is draining.

Ryan P.

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Aug 22, 2009, 10:03:04 AM8/22/09
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On 8/22/2009 7:51 AM, BillW50 wrote:

> Hello Ryan! First BattStat only reports what the laptop is willing to
> give it. And not all laptops will have all of the information that
> BattStat requests.
>
> Runtime should tell you how much time you have if the AC was removed.
> Yours shows 0. So I would boot up and go into the BIOS screen (so
> Windows won't boot). And removed the AC. Does the computer stay on? If
> so good and reboot. Now see what the Runtime, Charge, and Power all now
> say running from on this battery.
>
> Note: The Power level refers to what is happening to the battery. 0
> means it is charged or it isn't charging. Any positive numbers means it
> is being charged. Any negative numbers means the battery is draining.

Bill,

Booting into the BIOS screen, the laptop immediately shuts off when the
AC is removed. I tried this with both batteries (the one that reported
55% charge, and the one that reported 0% charge).

If the battery truly has a 55% charge, but the laptop doesn't want to
use the battery even though it sees the battery, does that mean then
that there is a problem with a pathway between the battery and the rest
of the system?

Ahh, the thrill of laptops!

Ryan

BillW50

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Aug 22, 2009, 10:30:27 AM8/22/09
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In news:h6otqt$2u5$1...@news.eternal-september.org,
Ryan P. typed on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 09:03:04 -0500:

Hi Ryan! Well lithium batteries in laptops draw lots of amps. And
lithium batteries may work if drawing little current, but fail when they
use lots like in a laptop. It is acting like the batteries are bad
and/or the safety circuits maybe preventing the battery to have any
interaction with the laptop.

Can you use the original power adapter? If so, see what happens if you
can use it. As some off-brand power adapters don't always work right.

ohaya

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Aug 22, 2009, 10:45:09 AM8/22/09
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Ryan P. wrote:


Hi,

Maybe some of the info here might be helpful?

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/53234-2-solution-compaq-r3000-power-jack-solder-issue

Jim

Ryan P.

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Aug 23, 2009, 12:19:45 AM8/23/09
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On 8/22/2009 9:30 AM, BillW50 wrote:

> Hi Ryan! Well lithium batteries in laptops draw lots of amps. And
> lithium batteries may work if drawing little current, but fail when they
> use lots like in a laptop. It is acting like the batteries are bad
> and/or the safety circuits maybe preventing the battery to have any
> interaction with the laptop.
>
> Can you use the original power adapter? If so, see what happens if you
> can use it. As some off-brand power adapters don't always work right.
>

Hi Bill,

Unfortunately, the original adapter failed on me several months ago.
The wiring at the connector became frayed inside the insulation over the
years, and my choices were to splice in a new female adapter, or
purchase a new charger. I figured purchasing a new charger was the more
logical choice.

I don't really want to spend $200 on an OEM charger and battery only
to learn that its something internal to the laptop. Is it possible one
of the battery connectors in the bay has gone bad? I still find it odd
that the laptop can see that there's a charge, and how much of a charge,
but won't use the battery. Or is the information sent on a different
pin than the power?

Is there a reasonably safe way to reset the circuits inside the
battery pack?

Again, thanks for you help!

Ryan

BillW50

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Aug 23, 2009, 9:23:31 AM8/23/09
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In news:h6qg11$quq$1...@news.eternal-september.org,
Ryan P. typed on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 23:19:45 -0500:

Yes it is very possible that one of the pins from the battery socket
came loose from the motherboard. If you ever get the laptop apart, I
would definitely check that out. And I totally agree, I wouldn't spend a
lot of money on it either. As new laptops are pretty cheap and it would
be better to put money into a new laptop instead. There isn't really
much more you can do.

undisclosed

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Aug 26, 2009, 3:39:50 AM8/26/09
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when running off AC only" not means the ac adapter is good.

Can you run your laptop without adapter only battery in. If can, it
maybe your adapter failed. As my experience it is not the " laptop cant
recognize the battery":rolleyes::rolleyes:

I suggest you buy new 'presario 3000 battery'
(http://www.laptops-battery.co.uk/compaq-presario-r3000-battery.htm)
adapter


--
jacksmith

ghelf

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Aug 30, 2009, 11:20:34 PM8/30/09
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How old is the battery. If it's older than 5 years old buy a new battery. Be
prepared to spend $120 for the new battery.
"Ryan P." <rdelet...@wi.rr.comm> wrote in message
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