IBM ThinkPad A21m problem

[thespacedude]

Hello

I have a TPA21m that has a peculiar problem. It only runs when plugged into the wall, if I unplug it on a brand new battery it just shuts down.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[jaclaz]

Hello

I have a TPA21m that has a peculiar problem. It only runs when plugged into the wall, if I unplug it on a brand new battery it just shuts down.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

It is possible that hye "brand new" battery is simply NOT re-charging.

Has it been properly "activated" (like charged for 8-10 hours) before using?

Besides an obvious malfunction of the battery I have seen at least an example in the Acer one where a BIOS revision did not allow to chage the battery if the battery was too low. (basically leave the notebook unplugged for a few weeks and you are stuck with no way out). A BIOS upgrade was needed to fix the issue.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/891164-battery-not-charging-acer-aspire-one-6-cell.html

jaclaz

[thespacedude]

I let it charge overnight from when I got it. The weird thing is, I got up this morning and I saw the yellow light that said it was charging. Weird.

EDIT: I tried it and it still won't turn of if I unplug it. Although there is a light code: 10 short flashes and one long flash of the battery LED.

Edited October 1, 2011 by thespacedude

[jaclaz]

There has been a "recall" on defective batteries form Lenovo, but it is AFAIK expired and I haven't actully checked your model:

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Z-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/Flashing-orange-battery-light-while-charge-indicates-100/td-p/26833

Go thorough a "standard" teroubleshooting path:

http://www.daileyint.com/hmdpc/battery.htm

and report.

Here is a possible description of flashing led meanings, see if they are of use:

http://www.lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/2007/05/battery-indicator-light-behavior/

jaclaz

[thespacedude]

Could it be the OS?

[jaclaz]

Could it be the OS?

Naah, I don't think so.

jaclaz

[thespacedude]

So,I think the battery is not charging. It has a solid yellow light all the time, and when I boot it up, the IBM Battery Management says 0%.

[Ponch]

Is it possible that you got a new battery because... the previous one was not charging ? Or can you see a different behavior with the old one ?

[thespacedude]

OK, so according to my meter, power is not getting to the battery to charge it. The charging unit is not working. Is this even fixable?

[allen2]

According to the hardware maintenance manual (page 37), it is fixable: you need to replace the system board. That would be pretty costly (this one seems to be the right one but you should doublecheck the part number with yours) as it is pretty old.

Edited October 5, 2011 by allen2

[jaclaz]

...it is fixable: you need to replace the system board.

I beg to differ.

This is NOT "fixing" it is "replacing" one of the MAIN macro assemblies. it nicely equates to "it is NOT fixable, buy a new PC"....

It could be an as trifling issue as a bad solder around the power jack or the "power fuse":

http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2007/07/16/satellite-m35x-fixing-power-connector/

or an unknown failed component (that in most cases, even if you can pinpoint which one is the culprit you won't find easily a replacement for) .

jaclaz

Edited October 5, 2011 by jaclaz

[thespacedude]

OK thanks for the input guys.