Power Supply/ Battery Isues

Well a few days ago I noticed after I woke up and my laptop had been plugged in (running) for several hours, was charging at 65% I immediatly thought my battery is going but now its become much more of a problem. It hasn't charged fully in days and when playing my game (fsx) it acts as if im running the computer unplugged (very very slow, terrible fps) Im running Vista ultimate. The battery icon continues to tell me im plugged in but it won't charge above 70%. I have notice over the last few months the charger gets very hot. To the point where it almost burned me on my bed. Since I use it mainly for music and games its pretty much always plugged in. My video card is ATI X1400 and all my drivers are installed. This notebook is about a year old.
So is it my power supply? How do I go about getting a new one - the cheapest way.

Thanks a lot
Mike

 

WHat laptop do you have. If its a Dell, it will have a Sony or Hyundai battery. Almost all of the laptop batteries on the market have a crappy shelf life. My old dell battery in my 8500 started to loose its charge after 4 years. The battery in my E1505 started to loose its charge after 4 months.

You can see if its the battery or the power brick by installing CPU Rightmark. It will tell you pretty much everything about the battery. CHarge rates, wear, current charge etc.

K-TRON

 

Yeah its a dell E1505

 

I ran the test and heres what was given-

 

If you install the RIghtmark CPU Clock utility, more basic and meaning information is given.
I am not pleased at all with the E1505 battery. It is only 53Whr's, and my system only gets like 2.5 hours on it even when undervolted. The batteries are really low quality these days, that why I mainly use my computers on ac power. My battery only charges to 95%, so my hopes are not high. I would not replace the battery just yet, as they are quite expensive to replace, and that cost is really not worth it for another crappy battery.

K-TRON

 

I just installed the CPU Clock utility and im not sure what to look at too see what the problem is. Can you help me out

 

The program icon looks like a gear. Double click to open. Then go to battery info. Then click the little + buttons in the battery parameters window. It will tell you everything you need to know about the battery. You are interestede in seeing the wear of the battery.

Also, in the Bios on the E1505, if you look through the pages, there is a battery page, which tells you if your battery is performing normally.


K-TRON

 

The only thing I can tell from this is that the voltage (12.6) is much lower than the 19V described on the charger

 

When a battery wears, the voltage required to charge it to the same amperage increases. My battery has 5% wear, and it charges to 12.2V. Look at your battery, if its the same 53Whr one as mine, it is rated for 11.8 volts I believe.

Wait, you have an 86WHr battery, take your laptop battery out of your computer, and it will tell you the voltage of the battery on there. If the voltage recorder with rightmark is higher than the voltage designated by the battery than your battery has worn down.
It is obvious that your battery has worn down significantly, as your max capacity is only 65 of your 86Whr.

K-TRON

 

Your battery is definitely messed up, if it is only charging at 11mah. It looks as if one or two of your batteries cells died, from looking at the Current battery status.

I would call dell and see if you can get a new battery under your warranty.

K-TRON

 

yep... Rating: 11.1Vdc Capacity 85Wh How much do battery's cost, not going through dell

 

My warrenty was up a few months ago.. I don't even think they can take my calls

 

If you type
"dell 85whr battery e1505"
into google products, you get a bunch of sites which sell that battery. Before purchasing, make sure the replacement battery has the same model number as the one its replacing.

The battery should run you like $75-100, or like $175 direct from dell.

By a new battery, not one which has been used of refurbished

Good luck,

K-TRON

 

K thanks a lot for your help, I really appreciate it

 

Your welcome,
it helps when help is coming from someone who has the same laptop.

K-TRON