CF-18 Not starting up battery light starts yellow then goes Red when Green light next to it comes on

I bought this off of craigs list the owner swears it works but to be honest I am a bit doubtful. He claims that it sat around for a few years and that I believe and he also claims that if the battery is dead that it will not power up even hooked up to the charger. Is this true? I have two other Toughbooks that I use for my business, I'm a lighting designer and I run DMX control software and Love the touch screen and rugged design of these machines. Here are the symptoms:

1. When plugged into power supply the battery flashes orange every 2 seconds at a steady rate.

2. When the power switch is engaged the green light to the right comes on and the battery light turns to red, then the Panasonic start up screen comes on for three seconds the hard disk light blinks green and then it shuts off.

Does this help indentify the problem for those that know?

Thanks swani

 

It should run without the battery. Try that and then report back.

Also your model # from info page in bios.

My take is the battery is toast.

What charger are you using?

Welcome to the nuthouse.

Jeff

replace TEST with your query.
TEST site:forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic - Google Search

 

May be the bad battery, bad stick of ram, bad hard drive making it do that. I would pull everything out then try too boot it.

 

"... and that I believe" makes me think you're saying it was filthy? Storage in damp conditions can cause oxidation of contacts - ram, caddy, battery and any of the many internal connector contacts.
I'd follow Sadlmkr & ADOR's advice and if it's not the battery pulling the charger voltage down then I'd check those connectors and maybe the cmos battery before spending any money.

 

What is the voltage of the power supply? It should be 15.5 to 16.0 volts
How long have you left the battery charging? Try charging the battery with the CF18 turned off. Let it charge for a while. I have seen batteries that were so dead they took a while on charge before they would function at all. I have seen them so dead that I could not run the laptop and charge the battery at the same time...Well until I got my monster 8amp power supply

From the Panasonic FAQ

What does an orange indicator light mean?
A solid orange indicator light means that the battery is recharging. Do not disconnect the AC adapter until the indicator light turns green. A flashing (blinking) orange indicator light means that the system is unable to charge the battery because of improper temperature range.

What does a red indicator light mean?
A solid red indicator light means that the laptop's battery level is low. This light is usually accompanied by a recurring beep. Save your data and power off your computer. After connecting the AC adapter or replacing the battery pack with a fully charged one, turn your computer on. A flashing (blinking) red indicator light might mean that the system is unable to charge the battery. Remove the battery from the unit and disconnect the AC adapter for a few minutes, then replace them.

Once this process is done, the indicator light should be green and, within one minute, change to amber. If the indicator light stays amber, the battery is recharging. Do not disconnect the AC adapter until the battery indicator light turns green.

If the indicator light begins to blink red again, your battery might be damaged. Please contact Panasonic Technical Support at 1-800-LAPTOP5.