Battery charging issues /w Alienware 17 R2 + Probable BS lie from tech support?

So here's the issue:

Several months ago, my AC adapter light would shut off during gaming. Upon some google searching, I found that some people said I should ask for the 240W adapter instead of the 180W adapter that came with my laptop because I have the GTX 980m GPU. After some arguing, I got it.

A month or two passes with no problems.

Now, every 2 weeks or so, randomly even while watching youtube, my laptop stops charging. but the light on the AC adapter is still on. If I re-plug in the AC adapter, it only charges for a few seconds, then stops. Only fix I've found is to remove the back cover, remove the battery connector, hold power button for 30 sec. (power cycle). This fixes it for about another 2 weeks until it happens again. I should also note it doesn't seem to entirely "fix" it since although it says "plugged in, charging" it says ________(blank) until fully charged, and the battery icon is not doing the charging animation like it should be. (It does do the animation for about 15 seconds if I replug in the AC adapter then stops 3/4 of the way but still charges)

I have the latest BIOS, btw.

So the agent I talked to asked a bunch of questions but all he actually told me to do was while in the BIOS, to press the Function (Fn) key + X. He said that "resets" something to do with the software or drivers of the battery. Since my battery was 100% and I had just done the power cycle, it was currently working so he said it was fixed.

When I asked if it happens again what I should do, he said to format my PC. I've done that already.

Has anyone ever heard of this Fn + X key combo within the BIOS? It sounded like BS to me, I don't even think the Function key is enabled while inside BIOS? There was no message or prompt when pressing it and he said that was normal. WTF? When it happens again im gonna call back and make sure I get a different rep.

I've also tried reverting back to A00 BIOS but it didn't do anything.

Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

Did you enable desktop mode charge? You can find it by right clicking battery icon in notification tray and just hit Desktop Mode Charge. After that, check if its enabled or not? If its enabled, click on a button saying " Charge battery to 100% one time" and issue will be fixed.

 

Yes, I have tried both having desktop mode enabled and disabled. Currently, it is enabled. It does not fix the problem.

 

alienware overcharge the cells to 4.4V to achieve the 92whr on that model ( like mine) so these batteries tend to die soon ... in this moment i am without battery

 

Check the DC-in cable on the inside of the laptop, its next to the battery cable. Make sure its not burned. There are some faulty cables around.

If thats not the case. check hwo you can clear the NVram on your model. ON the R3 you have to short a jumper underneath the ram modules. But I dont know if thats the same with the previous model. I had a similar issue once and it was fixed after I did that. My PSU would "disconnect" every minute, while the PSU itself wasnt faulty, the cable wasnt etc. It was pure a software thing.

Not true, the cells arent overcharged, it only will charge at a higher voltage if you have express charging enabled.

Also running 18months now on the same battery with only 1.8% wear since day 1.

 

you have the skylake model .... they changed the cells brand for that model @VICKYGAMEBOY have panasonic cells ... i think you too. for the 2015 models, we have lg cells. panasonic are a lot better cells with overcharging protection by each cell

 

@rinneh 4,35v that cells need 4,35 to achieve the 3400mha ( in fact they are designed to achieve 3200mha) but Dell force the cell
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?389491-Test-Review-of-LG-18650-E1-3200mAh-(Green)
"These batteries can be interesting to drive led lights due to their slightly higher voltage, but it looks like LG has traded high current ability for capacity compared to the older 3000mAh cell.
When looking at Wh, this cell can match a 3400mAh cell, due to the higher voltage.

I will call it a very good battery, but a 4.35V charger is needed to really use it."
i hope you understand now how cells works on batteries

 

They mix the cells even within the same range. Mine are marked as compal, in the R1 I had they where marked as Toshiba. But they all have the same specifications. But its not like they are overcharged.

 

mine say toshiba too but internally the cells are made by LG as i told you. and there is not "mixed" cells only 8 cells of the same brand. panasonic are the best brand out there for 18650 batteries. is highly possible that toshiba make the battery logic board

 

@rinneh i dont know if you dont catch it... you can find cells out there that can match 3200 at 3.8v-4v out there. this specific LG cells need 4,35V to achieve 3400mah

look at the capacity ( the blue line) the cell need high voltage to achieve high capacity ( is easy to understand )

 

I know those cells, but they are also rated to be charged up to 4.35V witt, the quality of those batteries are actually quite high. That doesnt mean they wear out quicker compared to other batteries.

https://www.orbtronic.com/lg-18650-e1-battery-rechargeable-li-ion they are rated for 300 full cycles on 4.35V

1. LG Chem rechargeable lithium ion battery cell ICR18650E1
2. Typical Capacity: 3200mAh
3. Min Capacity: 3100mAh
4. Nominal Voltage: 3.75V
5. Standard Charge
Constant current: 1550mA
Constant voltage: 4.35V
End current(Cut off): 50mA
6. Max. Charge Voltage: 4.35±0.05V
7. Max. Charge Current: 2170mA
8. Standard Dicharge
Constant current: 620mA
End Voltage(Cut off): 2.75V
9. Max. Discharge Current
-20 ~ 5°C 1550mA
5 ~ 45°C 4650mA
45 ~ 60°C 4650mA
10. Weight: Max. 49.0g
11. Energy(Power)
Nominal 12.0Wh
Minimum 11.6Wh

 

@judal57: When I was charging the laptop battery, it was running too hot so did the palmrest too. The battery magically healed itself the wear level was 10% after charging wear level reduced to 9%. I don't know how, do you have any idea?

 

The wear level is not exact, its measured but the measurement can be off. With my old GIgabyte laptop it was even worse. Could fluctuate more than 10%. Just try to minimize your cycles. Charging a battery does make it more warm.

 

@rinneh 300 cicles are bad to me. specially for lithium batteries. the less i could accept is 500 cicles. i can live with less capacity and more lifespan
the quality have to bee good, but when you take a 3200mha battery and force it to achieve 3400mha you are not going to have that 300 cicles
you only have to have 1 faulty cell to become the entire pack unusable. in my case 1 pair of cells. the another 6 are good

 

It dowsnt work like that. The chemistry of li ion and li po doesnt allow for more. More cycles are reached by blocking the ability to fully charge it to 100%. This is what Apple and Samsung did with their laptops. If you only charge the battery to 80% it can easily reach more than 1000 cycles. Also if you just discharge it partially and never fully you can go much higher.

Anyway they arent pushing the battery beyond specifications. Both the R1 and R2 had solid batteries for me. It always can go wrong ofcourse. But this can even happen by unplugging the battery cable and have bad luck that causes a small short.

 

i can live with 80% charge for more lifespan ... they should user decide that
i have had 3 batteries, all are dead now. i dont want to spend on a battery pack anymore, unless i can be sure that the pack contain panasonic cells

 

Yeah I dont get why more manufacturers implement such a function. My old Vaio and Samsung let me both choose if i wanted to charge only up to 80%.

 

Even lenovo's on their low end laptops provide battery charge limiter too