Acts like it's getting plugged/unplugged while plugged in, tho only while powered on?

This is an HP laptop that acts as if it's getting plugged in and unplugged every couple seconds (screen brightens/dims, icon indicators change, etc), but not all the time. It appears to only do it while it's actually on, and it doesn't always even do it then. I thought at first it might be some issue with the cable and/or connector, but it happens even when the cable is perfectly still, and it stopped happening when I turned the laptop off (i was looking at the lightning led, which indicates when the battery is charging). After I left it off for a while, and then turned it on, it was fine, but it started doing it again for a short time while I was using it (on a tabletop, so the wire wasn't moving around), and then it inexplicably stopped.

So..any ideas?

 

It might be heating up near the power connector on the motherboard and expanding the soldering that holds the connection together. It was a known issue with older HP notebooks, and it might still be a problem with some of the current ones.

Anyway, you'll probably have to call HP and send it in for repair. Or, if you have the guts, take the laptop apart and solder the connection yourself. If you have the guts and skill, and time, and skill, and guts...oh, and did I mention guts .

 

If it's new and under warranty, most certainly call HP support and send it in. I've had this happen on a laptop before and it was as night mentions, issues with the actual connection soldering.

 

It's a Pavilion dv1000. I don't know how old it is (it's actually not mine), but the sticker underneath says it's only got a 1-year warranty. It might be more than a year old.

I played with it some more, this definitely only happens while the laptop is on, and it might not ever happen when the battery is fully charged. The battery-charging led lights up for about a second, then goes unlit for maybe around 3 seconds, and then the cycle repeats. The system tray icon indicates that it's plugged in/not charging (while the battery-charging led is not lit), then for an instant flashes the plugged-in/charging icon (it might skip it if I'm using the laptop) before changing to the not-plugged-in icon for the duration that the charging led is lit.

When I hibernated the laptop, the charging led remained lit, and everything looked good. So right now, the battery is charging. When it's done, it's probably going to be fine (as it was earlier when I had it fully charged).

I get the impression that while it's on, it tries to charge the battery, something goes wrong, then it stops and tries again a few seconds later, only to hit the same problem again. If so, that'd mean that this "problem" goes away when the laptop is shut off. Does that still sound like it's the solder inside as you two suggest? (i wouldn't really know)