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Question

Laptop plugged in. Battery not charging.

Sep 15, 2016 7:31AM PDT

I have an Asus Q501LA running Windows 8.1. I started having an issue, once again, with my battery not charging even though the screen indicates the charger is plugged into the computer. The first time, I took the laptop back to Best Buy to have them send it for warranty repair. It came back with a "fix" of plugging the battery terminal back into the motherboard. Okay, I guess that can happen. It worked for about a year and started having the issue again. This time, I checked the terminal for myself. Still plugged in. I made sure it was secure only touching it gingerly. It suddenly started working but then crapped out again, this time for good apparently. My battery indicator light on the front is solid orange when the laptop is plugged in. I thought it was either a bad battery or a bad charger so I bought both new, installing the new battery. Ops check bad even with the new charger too. Same symptoms. I then tried the 60 second power button reset, plugged it back in and powered up for a normal start-up. No fix. Obviously, the laptop recognizes the charger being plugged in. The battery and charger are both new but the battery power level drops rather than goes up. Also, the time required for a full charge keeps increasing even though it is plugged in and supposedly "charging." Could this be a software issue or could it be a very expensive hardware issue? Help!!! Thanks!
Robin

Discussion is locked

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Answer
This is where a tech is needed.
Sep 15, 2016 10:17AM PDT

You are asking me to diagnose without access. Just last week I had a not charging machine and it was just fine. The new laptops do not charge if the charge is at 80 or more percent in order to extend battery life span.

The owner was unaware of how this works.

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Battery charge level
Sep 15, 2016 5:54PM PDT

I have heard that the newer laptops do not charge until the charge level is at or below a certain point. My charge level during my situation was far below 80%. In fact, the new battery, out of the box, after being installed was at 15% and dropping because it was not charging. It is currently at only 2%. That brings to mind a question. Should I still be able to use the laptop even with a dead battery but still plugged in for power? Thanks.

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Should I still be able to use the laptop even with a dead
Sep 15, 2016 6:06PM PDT

" Should I still be able to use the laptop even with a dead battery but still plugged in for power? "

At the office we have models that will not work with a dead battery. We have to let them charge up a bit before they turn on.

Your model shipping in 2013 so it's possible to wear out a battery in just a year. You are well past that. As I can't see your laptop my first part to replace would be the battery. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dcomputers&field-keywords=Q501LA+battery finds these are about 60 bucks. Your consumer is usually asking how to test this. The answer is you put in a new one to see if that's it.

Next you replace the charger and after that you are into laptop repair.