CF-M34 charging problems

Hi folks!

I'm new to Toughbooks, I just bought an CF-M34 MK7 of e-bay. I have some charging problems; when I plug it into my charger the indicator LED blinks orange, it seems like the battery takes a charge because the LED changes to green after a couple of hours, but when i power up the machine the LED shows nothing. It boots fine into windows but doesn't show that it's charging here either... Is it my battery or charger that's bad? or is it something else?

Best regards
Alex
Norway

 

The charger is fine since the unit turns on. Bad battery for sure. Get a new one.

Thanks

 

Thanks for your reply!

Ok, but isn't it strange that the machine only runs for about 20 min even when the charger is plugged in?

Alex

 

Pull the battery out and let me know how long it runs for while it's plugged into the charger.

Thanks

 

Will do when I'm home from work!

Alex

 

The machine doesn't run at all when i pull out the battery.

When the unit has been plugged into the charger the green LED appears, then suddenly it starts flashing orange again. (Not red). Is it possible that the unit is "stuck" in refresh battery mode?

Alex

 

That's VERY ODD... I'm not sure. Rick, Mnmenth, Alex, Jeff... any ideas?

 

hmmm... I'll try to find another adapter... I can see that the one I got isn't original.. It delivers 16V - 4A, on the back of my unit the specs says 2.5 Amp's. Could the difference be the problem??

Alex

 

More amps is fine. The power supply may be going bad and not put out enough voltage which could cause some bizarre events.
Have you tried it by booting to the bios, a dos or linux disc?
It sounds to me like the unit charges the battery, but for some reason it isn't powering the motherboard. Bad fuse or connection?
What does windows say about the battery level after it the led turns green? Does it show 100% or something close to that?
What does windows show the battery level to be after 5min--10min--15min ?

 

Thanks for your reply shawn!

Yes, Windows shows 100% when i boot the unit straight after the light turns green. But when I turn the power on the light goes dark... If I leave the unit turned of the green led suddenly start blinking orange again. If I boot the unit when the led is green and indicator Says 100% it runs for about 30 minutes...

Alex

 

Just for giggles, go into the bios and look for the high temperature setting. It's one that limits the battery to an 85% charge. Change the setting and see what happens. I doubt that it will make a difference, but it can't hurt to try.
Do you have a Volt ohm meter? I am still curious about the voltage from that power supply. What brand is the power supply? Is it IBM or some Chinese brand?

 

Btw I also measured the charger, it gives 16 volts

 

Bios settings are now default values... No temp limits, but now sett to normal charging. Mine is a chinese brand, what IBM model is compatible?

Alex

 

Here's the real deal for a m34.


M34 adapter

 

My bad. The m34 takes the old style. They are used on some Sony's. Not IBM.

I have a Sony PCGA-AC16V6. I use it to test equipment.


Sony Vaio adapter

 

You will be lucky to get an hour out of that battery, probably more like thirty minutes. All the 34 batteries are years old and are just worn out for the most part. I have several 34's and most of them will get about an hour (more or less) depending on how much work the hard drive does. At least the MK7 is the best model with the 1.0 processor and the internal wifi.

 

Thanks for your replys!

Is the unit supposed to be able to boot only with the power supply without the battery inserted?

Alex

 

Yes, it should boot using only the power supply

 

My wild guess on it, is that you have a cold solder somewhere on the power supply circuit. Either a transistor, resistor or maybe an ic that start to fail due to heat.


ohlip