battery not charging anymore

milk · 2013-02-06 20:14:52

hey folks,

i've been using arch for a few months now without having any bigger issues.
last night i got a real problem though, and i'm not sure how to solve it:

last night, i ran out of battery, so i plugged in the power supply and fell asleep. i was just about to use my laptop this morning when i noticed the organge battery led was blinking, although the laptop was on AC (it's a thinkpad x61t). since then the batter is not charging anymore. it's on 0%.
i've tried several things as unplugging the battery, rebooting and replugging the battery; shutting down the laptop and disconnecting from AC and all these combinations and variations...with no success.

since it was working for months before yesterday, i'm pretty sure it's a software problem. i've tried to downgrade acpi. no success.

oh, here's my acpi output (battery is plugged in!):

~> acpi
Battery 0: Unknown, 0%

does anyone have similar issues or a solution to that problem?

Last edited by milk (2013-02-06 21:00:21)

Kilz · 2013-02-06 21:29:38

How old is the battery?

Last edited by Kilz (2013-02-06 21:33:21)

milk · 2013-02-06 21:46:45

can't tell. it's not new, but until yesterday it was lasting at least 1,5h without having ever set any battery-saving settings.

edit: your question points to a hardware problem, but i'm pretty sure it's a software issue

Last edited by milk (2013-02-06 21:52:54)

WorMzy · 2013-02-06 21:57:38

Sounds like a hardware problem to me too. Try charging it while you're booted into the BIOS?

milk · 2013-02-06 22:10:48

i understand that a batteries last less and less over time but how can it stop working from one day to another? it wasn't shortened in any way and it has certainly done a good job.
i've read about issues where kernel updates made the os refuse to charge batteries and stuff like that. what makes you sure it's nothing like that? i'm running updates at least daily

WorMzy · 2013-02-06 22:13:19

Did you try downgrading the kernel?

Is the battery charging while you're in the BIOS?

milk · 2013-02-06 22:30:41

as far as i know i can't check if the battery is charging while im in the bios. i've doublechecked that. correct me, but i haven't found anything than performance-related settings that could somehow be connected with the battery

i'm trying to charge it while it's turned off, now. the orange batter-led blinks, as usuall. i'll let you know what happens in a bit.

and no, i haven't done a downgrade of the kernel, yet.

Last edited by milk (2013-02-06 22:31:18)

milk · 2013-02-06 22:49:08

instead of waiting too long now, i've had an idea before:

i booted into the hardware detection tool with the battery plugged in. it showed me information about the battery. i unplugged the battery, booted in the hardware detection tool again and the battery information is gone. so my idea is the battery recognition must be broken in the os, because there the battery is not recognized.

i will try downgrading the kernel

itman · 2013-02-06 23:13:52

excuse me: but - you unplugged the battery and no info is shown? What do you expect? no battery in the slot - no information about it.

long story short, get a new one. the whole internet is full with some tips how to revcover a broken unit. Save your time - shell out some money and don't waste your time.

Last edited by itman (2013-02-06 23:15:39)

the sad clown · 2013-02-07 03:08:25

milk wrote:

as far as i know i can't check if the battery is charging while im in the bios. i've doublechecked that. correct me, but i haven't found anything than performance-related settings that could somehow be connected with the battery

When you are at the BIOS splash screen, hit F2 or F12 (or whatever gets you into your BIOS setup). Then just let the computer sit there while you are in the BIOS setup and see if it charges the battery. You'll know because the light stops flashing or your computer shows the battery has a charge after recharging for an hour or so. If it does, then you are right, there is a problem with your Arch setup. If it doesn't then you have eliminated your software hypothesis and can move on to hardware solutions.

Last edited by the sad clown (2013-02-07 03:10:43)

ewaller · 2013-02-07 04:29:45

If it is a Lithium Ion battery, all it takes is over discharging it once. Most batteries have an internal safety disconnects that kill them if the voltage drops below safe levels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery#Safety

WonderWoofy · 2013-02-07 05:08:20

Ewaller, you know rediculous amounts about these kinds of things... you always seem to have some rather profound technical insight. What do you do with all this knowledge? Are you and electrical engineer?

OP, this sounds like the battery is dead, but I just figured I would throw this out there. I have a ThinkPad E430 and it sometimes gets confused, telling me that my lithium ion batteries cannot take any more charge at random levels. So I have found that if I take the battery out and hold the power button for ~20 sec then unplug (still holding the power button), hold another ~20, then (still holding) plug it back in. Then I just wait a few seconds before releasing and letting it power up. While or after it boots I put the battery back in and all is well. For my issue it works 100% of the time, but as I said, your issue sounds a bit different.

milk · 2013-02-07 09:54:36

i guess the battery is dead then.

i know that low temperatures and overdischarging can damage lithium-ion batteries. the first doesn't really make sense to me and for overdischarging there is an internal controller that takes care of that (must have failed..)

anyway, i just ordered a brandnew battery.
thanks for all your help

ewaller · 2013-02-07 15:33:27

WonderWoofy wrote:

Ewaller, you know rediculous amounts about these kinds of things... you always seem to have some rather profound technical insight. What do you do with all this knowledge? Are you and electrical engineer?

As a matter of fact, I am an electrical engineer

I've managed to stay on the technical side of the business since 1984 when I earned my degree. Now I do mostly systems engineering on products that use embedded microprocessors. As systems engineer, I get to play in all of the disciplines: Electrical, mechanical, firmware, software, manufacturing, and quality.

Arch Linux

#1 2013-02-06 20:14:52

battery not charging anymore

#2 2013-02-06 21:29:38

Re: battery not charging anymore

#3 2013-02-06 21:46:45

Re: battery not charging anymore

#4 2013-02-06 21:57:38

Re: battery not charging anymore

#5 2013-02-06 22:10:48

Re: battery not charging anymore

#6 2013-02-06 22:13:19

Re: battery not charging anymore

#7 2013-02-06 22:30:41

Re: battery not charging anymore

#8 2013-02-06 22:49:08

Re: battery not charging anymore

#9 2013-02-06 23:13:52

Re: battery not charging anymore

#10 2013-02-07 03:08:25

Re: battery not charging anymore

#11 2013-02-07 04:29:45

Re: battery not charging anymore

#12 2013-02-07 05:08:20

Re: battery not charging anymore

#13 2013-02-07 09:54:36

Re: battery not charging anymore

#14 2013-02-07 15:33:27

Re: battery not charging anymore

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