Should my T430 start up and run just with the power adapter cord plugged in but the battery removed

I'm troubleshooting my T430 (see my other thread near this one) and have determined that the power brick does work so that's not it. I've taken the battery out to bypass whatever's going wrong with the Power Manager missing "Battery Maintenance" tab.

But nothing happens when I try to start the T430 with just the power cord plugged in. I'm guessing it should and the problems lies in the connection inside the case where the power adapter cord plugs in.

Thing is, I can't keep turning on my T430 because sooner or later the battery is going to be totally dead.

Since I never tried this when the T430 was working correctly (ya know like yesterday morning), can someone tell me if there's some light that comes on, either on the lid or somewhere in the keyboard area if the cord is plugged in but the unit is not on? My T61 has a light on the lid that indicates it's plugged in even before I power it on.

 

Have a T430i. Just checked. No permanent lights when plugged in.

Noted that with battery out, power cord unplugged from T430: when the power cord is plugged into the T430, the "battery+" light on the outside lid flashes 3 times (no battery?), then goes out.

Battery out, power cord plugged in. Pushed power button. Yes, it does run. If you look on the lid (NOT the screen side, but the lid) when you press the power button, the 2 lights (battery+ and "moon sliver") at the top right hinge will flash, then go out.

Noticed another indicator: with battery out, power cord plugged in, T430 off, if there is an ethernet cable connected, the 2 small led lights adjacent to the ethernet port are lit and stay on.

 

Thanks for your reply. And the answer to all the testing is: no no no and no. No lights ever anywhere nohow. So I guess there is no power being fed throughout the unit. Of course, whether that's the power jack gone south or the motherboard acting up or something else, who knows?

I'm no stranger to building desktops and I'm going to get another power jack (much research there before I know what to buy) and take this T430 apart and replace the power jack. It will be instructive and frustrating but it's of no good to me now.

Last question: do you or anyone else out there know what's up with the missing "Battery Maintenance" tab in my Power Manager 4? Have you or anyone else ever heard of it just go missing? Somehow I'm thinking it's tied in with the lack of power, like software has shut down my T430's ability to power on.

 

I know you've all been losing sleep over this so here's an update: I decided not to dismantle my entire T430 in the hope that it's a messed up power jack and could be repaired once I get to it. Forget that, so I've ordered a docking station off flea bay to bypass the power jack altogether. My theory is power to the T430 will go a different route through the docking procedure. If that doesn't do it, well heck, I'll just buy another T430 and I'll have that docking station to use later.

 

I know you've all been having sleepless nights wondering how this will all turn out. Well, I just got a docking station off fleabay, set the comatose T430 (without the battery installed) into the station, plugged the power brick into the station and...wait for it...the T430 fired up. Apparently the power jack on the back of the notebook is hosed. Or maybe something else but by bypassing the power jack the unit works.

 

But still no "Battery Maintenance" tab in Power Manager 4. I put the battery in and it charged all the way up to "one minute to full charge". Where oh where did my Batt. Maint. tab go?