Battery controller problem?

[deserttrail]

Some poor bastard needs a new laptop.

It started while on AC, it would randomly and rapidly flicker back and forth between AC and battery. If the battery was removed, it would die.

Then I noticed that it would stop charging mid-charge. Unplugging the AC adapter from the laptop (not the outlet) was the only way to get it to resume charging.

Then, it wouldn't even make it through boot w/o the battery, and even with the battery, it would randomly shut off.

Now, the display won't light. The image is there, just really faint (backlight not coming on?). It started with it randomly cutting out, but closing and reopening the lid would turn it back on. No longer.

Now the first part sounds like battery controller, but what's the deal with the display? Could it be a result of a problem with the charge controller, or is there something more going on? Any ideas?

The offender is a Hopeless Pile (HP) pavilion xz295. Not sure what specs will be helpful here. Not sure if the battery controller is in the battery or the laptop (heard it can be either way).

[mr_spider3]

sounds like you need to get a new battery. dont know about the display problem but it could be that the battery doesnt have enough power to turn it on.

[deserttrail]

I don't believe that it is the battery directly. With the battery out of the laptop, plugged into AC, the result is the same, except that, when it tries to ficker between AC and battery, whammo, dead laptop.

[PMich]

Sounds to me like your AC adaptor has gone/is going bad. The reason why you get a dark screen is probably because the default is to display at minimum brightness when on battery power to conserve battery power. This should be changeable in the bios. I would try an AC adaptor first (its a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a new battery). Have you checked your cables on the adaptor to make sure none are worn/frayed and everything is plugged in securely?

[deserttrail]

The AC adapter seems fine. It powers another batteryless laptop without a problem.

Regardless of the default settings, I should be able to adjust the brightness manually, which I can't. Trust me, there's a difference between the brightness turned down, and what it's doing now. Even with the brightness as low as it'll go, there should still be a backlight. Or at least there always has been with this laptop.

Sorry that I wasn't specific enough on my first post. Once I try something, it kinda falls out of my head and I forget that I tried it.

[deserttrail]

You know, on second thought, the AC adapter could make sense. It does seem to be fairly random. It just may have not have been "acting up" when I tried on the other laptop.

More testing required!!!!!

[deserttrail]

Results are in!!!

And they aren't good. Using a different AC adapter, my laptop behaved the same way. Unlight screen and random loss of power.

If this were a desktop, I would conclude that the common factor between the power and display is the motherboard. Not a terribly big deal for a desktop. Super pain in the ass for a laptop.

[PMich]

So what happens when you try to boot with just a fully charged battery?

[deserttrail]

Before the display went out, it seemed to run fine while just on battery. Now it seems to run fine on battery, but still without display.

[PMich]

If you connect to a regular monitor it might give you an idea if it is a video card problem or a display problem (not that either is inexpensive to fix but may give you an idea of what is going on). On another note, is there any chance this thing was hit with a power surge whiile plugged in recently?