Thinkpad Mini Dock Plus 3

Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem. I have my T420s plugged into my Mini Dock Plus... and everything seems to be working correctly with the dock in terms of USB, monitor, audio in/out, etc. but the laptop is not being charged.

The 90w adapter is plugged directly into the Mini Dock Plus, and the battery says '0 minutes' to fully charge. Is there something I'm missing here?

 

I had that problem once with a dock I rebooted the computer and it worked oddly enough.

 

Also plug the adapter directly into the computer and see what happens.

 

Just rebooted nothing happened. Also, all drivers/BIOS updated.

If you plug the adapter into the laptop directly, the dock doesn't work properly. I also tried plugging in an adapter into the dock + also into the laptop at the same time. Strangely enough, the laptop still won't charge in that case.

 

I guess it might because that too many peripherals plugged which makes 90w adapter unable to fully support it.
Considering that 90w is initially designed for the laptop itself, you can try the 135w adapter, which should have extra 45w for the dock and all the stuffs connecting to it

 

Any other ideas regarding this? I'm surprised no one else has this issue... is it bc no one else is using the Mini Dock?

A quick google search brought up similar issues with other ppl, but unfortunately, all of the threads where ppl posted are dead and there was never a solution.

 

What else do you have in the dock? Icesample ventured a guess and the appropriate way to test that out would be to completely unplug everything from the dock. Use the laptop's monitor, and then plug the adapter into the dock. If it works that way then you're overloading your 90w power adapter.

 

To many docks. I just installed my mini dock plus 3 but I ordered the one with the 170w brick. It is charging perfectly.

Perry

 

I have the same dock bought from ebay charging with the 90W with no problems.

 

Mine was bought off of eBay too. Do you have a T420s plugged into it?

 

I have a lot of trouble with the dock. It seems to be all related to a poor connection between the notebook (W510) and the dock. Sometimes the computer doesn't charge or USB devices don't work. And sometimes the computer takes a long time to boot or won't boot at all in the dock. All of these things seem to be solved by removing and reinserting the computer into the dock, and sliding it around a little to encourage a better electrical connection between notebook and dock.

 

Thanks for the tips. I tried trouble shooting a bit, and this is just very peculiar.

1. I know the T420s is receiving power from the dock bc the battery icon is remaining at a percentage, rather than showing how many hrs/mins remain on the battery. As soon as I undock the laptop, it changes to hrs/mins. As soon as I attach it, it goes back to being a %.

2. Even with no extra peripherals (e.g. monitor, usb devices, etc.) attached, it does not charge.

 

bumpppppppppp

 

seems like faulty, that's all. return it and you'll see what happens