The laptop doesn't want to run on battery anymore.

renaudbus · 2023-08-03 20:18:49

Hello,

My laptop can't seem to be able to run on battery anymore, it needs to be plugged, otherwise it doesn't work. The laptop is a Thinkpad T430, I can easily remove the battery if I want. In Gnome, it knows when the battery is plugged in, and it seems to be able to charge it. I though the battery might be dead... so I got a new one, and it still doesn't work. So I guess there is something wrong with the laptop hardware, or there is something wrong with Linux. Sometimes I put the laptop on a docking station, and I think the first time the problem appeared, it was when I took the laptop out of the docking station, and instead of continuing on battery energy, like it usually does, it just halted suddenly. Since then, I haven't been able to run on battery, AC needs to be plugged in, and like I said, the battery itself doesn't seem to be the problem.

This is very inconvenient. Do you have any ideas of what I could do to fix this? I've read a few things on internet, and what I found that look similar to my problem, the solution is to restart some modules on Windows. Since I'm on Arch Linux, would there be something similar I could do?

Thanks a lot for your support

twelveeighty · 2023-08-03 20:46:14

renaudbus wrote:

it doesn't work. [...]

Please don't do that. Based on your description, I think 99% of us would infer that the laptop doesn't power up at all unless it's plugged into AC power, but you do not actually say that's the symptom. Because if it doesn't make it to the BIOS/UEFI load screen without power, then it can't possibly be the OS (Windows or otherwise).

So is that the case, or does it make it to the initial boot phase where the bootloader spawns without being plugged in?

renaudbus · 2023-08-03 21:00:58

If AC is plugged in, the laptop powers on normally, and everything works. If AC isn't plugged in, the laptop doesn't power on, no BIOS screen, absolutely nothing. That is, of course, regardless if the battery is plugged in or not, that is the problem: the laptop doesn't seem to be able to use the battery anymore. Somehow, if I'm in Gnome, with AC plugged in, it sees if the battery is plugged in or not. If it is plugged in, it tells me it fully charged. I've tried with a new battery, same issue, so the problem doesn't seem to be the battery itself.

twelveeighty · 2023-08-03 21:04:54

It would be very unlikely the OS would have anything to do with that. I would look through any BIOS options and/or diagnostics to see if it detects the battery, or its health. Otherwise it may be time to see if there's warranty left on the unit.

seth · 2023-08-04 07:18:32

tail /sys/class/power_supply/*/*

But if the laptop doesn't power up at all w/o the wall outlet, this is a HW issue for pretty much sure.

renaudbus · 2023-08-04 13:03:40

Here is the report from 'tail /sys/class/power_supply/*/*':

https://0x0.st/H2dJ.txt

Thanks for your support

seth · 2023-08-04 14:11:34

That's a new battery, right?
If you unplug the AC, does the system still power down immediately?

renaudbus · 2023-08-15 15:39:57

Hello @seth and everyone else,

I have been away a few days, but this is still an issue, sorry for the late reply. Here are some reports from the "tail /sys/class/power_supply/*/*" command:

- Without a battery plugged in: https://0x0.st/HLKa.txt
- With the old battery plugged in: https://0x0.st/HLKB.txt
- With the new battery plugged in: https://0x0.st/HLKM.txt

Like right now, I have plugged in my old battery, while on AC, and Gnome statusbar indicates that the battery is at 90% of charge, and it is charging (now at 92%...). But if I unplug the AC, the computer shuts down instantaneously, just like no battery would be on.

So in other words it seems the OS can see the battery, it can charge up the battery, but it cannot use it to power the computer.

Another detail I noticed: if I shutdown the computer, unplug the AC, but keep a battery plugged in, if I press "Power", nothing happens (the screen remains dark, no fan spinning, nothing), but if I plug in the AC, the computer turns on right away, while normally the computer does not turn on after plugging in the AC, I also have to press the Power button... this seems strange to me.

seth · 2023-08-15 18:39:22

The old battery isn't actually that bad, the voltage is there, but that's oc while it's pumped by the AC.

I assume the system is trying to boot, but there's not enough voltage w/ only the battery to get the system up. Once you plug the AC there's all out of a sudden enough voltage to actually succeed.
You could try to power it up on battery, fail, go to bed and plug the AC the next morning and see whether there's still sth. going on.

Did you tamper w/ the HW? Change or add devices?

Have you already tried to simply reset (or update) the firmware (UEFI)?

espritlibre · 2023-08-15 20:43:37

this might be of help

Lenovo Manual wrote:

Computer stops responding
Print these instructions now and keep it with your computer for reference later.
If your computer is completely unresponsive (you cannot use the UltraNav pointing device or the keyboard),
do the following:
1. Press and hold the power switch until the computer turns off. After the computer is turned off, restart by
pressing the power switch. If the computer does not turn on, continue with step 2.
© Copyright Lenovo 2012, 2014
135Note: Do not remove the battery and the ac power adapter to reset the computer.
2. While the computer is turned off, remove all power sources from the computer (battery and the ac power
adapter). Hold down the power button for 10 seconds. Plug in the ac power adapter while keeping the
battery out of the computer. If the computer does not turn back on, continue with step 3.
Note: Once the computer starts up and enters the Windows environment, use the proper shutdown
procedure to turn the computer off. Once the computer is off, reattach the battery and restart the
computer. If the computer does not start with the battery reattached, remove the battery and again
start with step 2. If the computer starts with ac power but does not start when the battery is attached,
call the Customer Support Center for support.
3. While the computer is off, remove all sources of power (battery and the ac power adapter). Remove all
external devices that are attached to your computer (keyboard, mouse, printer, scanner, and so on).
Repeat step 2. If step 2 is unsuccessful, continue with step 4.
Note: The following steps involve removing static sensitive components from your computer. Make sure
that you are properly grounded and remove all sources of power attached to the computer. If you are
uncomfortable or unsure about removing components please call the Customer Support Center for
assistance.
4. While the computer is off, remove all sources of power and external hardware. Remove any non-original
memory module added to your computer. After removing the extra memory module and reseating the
original memory module, repeat step 2. If the computer still does not turn on, consult the user manual
for other customer-replaceable components that are attached to your computer.
If the computer still does not start up, call the Customer Support Center and a Customer Support Specialist
will assist you

there's more battery related stuff in the manual... PDF

Arch Linux

#1 2023-08-03 20:18:49

The laptop doesn't want to run on battery anymore.

#2 2023-08-03 20:46:14

Re: The laptop doesn't want to run on battery anymore.

#3 2023-08-03 21:00:58

Re: The laptop doesn't want to run on battery anymore.

#4 2023-08-03 21:04:54

Re: The laptop doesn't want to run on battery anymore.

#5 2023-08-04 07:18:32

Re: The laptop doesn't want to run on battery anymore.

#6 2023-08-04 13:03:40

Re: The laptop doesn't want to run on battery anymore.

#7 2023-08-04 14:11:34

Re: The laptop doesn't want to run on battery anymore.

#8 2023-08-15 15:39:57

Re: The laptop doesn't want to run on battery anymore.

#9 2023-08-15 18:39:22

Re: The laptop doesn't want to run on battery anymore.

#10 2023-08-15 20:43:37

Re: The laptop doesn't want to run on battery anymore.

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