plugged in but not charging?

Last week I took my battery off my laptop to give it a break and just had my laptop plugged in for power.
My cat stepped on the cord and pulled the connection loose today while I was working on Finals/exam projects & papers. I figured to keep it from happening again I'd plug in my battery again.....I did and the battery got hot but it says plugged in but not charging and it drained the power that was left on the battery. Another odd think with it plugged in it says 89% plugged in not charging so I'm assuming there was some battery power transferred to the battery since it was only around 30% when I plugged it in.
Anyone know how to get that to say charging/make sure it's charging? I've checked all the connections and they're all secure.

Thanks for your help!

If you have a multimeter, check for power out on the charge cable. Usually, its about 2 volts higher than the battery.

i.e. 10vdc battery, 11.5/12vdc on the output of the charge cord.

If its the round type with a hole, the outside is ground and inside is hot.

Dont short the two, you may kill the charger.

Also, the battery just may be too old. The worst thing you can do to a battery is to leave it charging constantly.

Proper battery usuage is charge it all the way up and run it all the way down. Prevents "charge memory".

A consistantly half charged battery charged up will eventually only be half charged.

Some new types are better at preventing this than others. NiCads are the worst. I think Li ions are better.

Hope this helped.

The battery could be cactus.

Was it flat or near flat when you pulled it out?

Mine was getting weaker for a few weeks and I unintentionally let it go dead flat and the battery would no longer hold a charge.

My solution was to fork out for a new battery.

How old is the battery in the laptop?

If it is two years or older it is probably stuffed and needs to be replaced.

I have seen this n more than one occasion and had to fix it for my sister very recently. On the back of the input for the AC jack there is a very VERY frail connection that is soldered to the mother board. This connectin breaks off all the time if one is not careful with the plug.

Chances are when your cat stepped on the cord, the animal didnt step on it in such a way that the jack was pulled sraight out, but rather at a downward angle, and most likely broke this connection. If you are slighly mechanically inclined, its not a hard fix.

Disasseble the machine, and solder a small bead connecting the ac adapter back to the mther board, but be careful not to create a new ground. What model machine is it? You can also buy a new input jack for simply a few bucks on ebay, but that fix is a little bit more involved, ie using some solder wick to draw out the old connection.

Hope this helps.



edit....ignore what I said as I misread your post....but I'm not deleting it as it might be helpdul to others who have a battery that will not charge when plugged in and there is no transfer f power to the machine from the ac cord.

reply to post by felonius


Thanks for the info...I have no idea what a multimeter is so I don't think I have one?
I went into the device manager and chose update driver software on the 2 parts associated with the battery and it said it was up to day but then the battery popped up to 100% charged so I think I fixed it?
Time to unplug from the wall power source to be sure.

Wish me luck!

reply to post by kittendaydreamer


Good luck!

2nd line added for entertainment purpose only. Reader's discretion is advised

Peace out.

It sounds like you are back to 100% but your battery sounds like it is showing its age. I recommend leaving the battery out on laptops if they are not being moved around. Store it in a cool place. Buy a good battery backup (not the cheap junk from APC) to keep cat caused crashes away.
My guess is that as it was charging, the silicon that monitors the voltage and temp was regulating the time needed to fully charge.

OccamAssassin- the battery and laptop are just under 2 years old. I've probally deminished the battery life but I do unplug it for a while usually. I did it a lot when I was traveling around more.

youdidntseeme-I would have so much fun with a soldering iron. I think I might have to convince my husband to get me one for my birthday just because.

bigwig22-Thank you and it worked when I disconnected the power cord! I was getting worried I'd have to try and find a substitute computer for this week/exam week and am still thankful I got carbonite to backup my files.

Thank you all for your advice!

Toshiba satelite laptops (I have one) are famous for faulty power "jack" connections on the motherboard. The low temp solder the factory used is for "surface mount components and gets soft and loose( =bad connection) with repeated heat cycles generated by the laptopand stress on the cord/power jack.

however; I disagree with the above reply:IIMHO dis-assembly of the laptop and resoldering it is NOT a repair for the faint of heart or technically inexperienced or those without the proper tools.. broken wire strands in the power supply cable can limit your current output even though you show full (open circuit ) voltage at the bare connector.

If you don't know what a"multi-meter" is you need to take it to a "tech". it could be the external power supply; thecable/connection or the battery itself ( they do go"bad").

This happened to me and dell said that my hard drive was about to take a crap. They replaced it and I haven't had the issue since.

reply to post by kittendaydreamer


Good luck

Go to Radio Shack or any home diy place. You can get a volt meter/ multimeter for less than $20 usually.

reply to post by felonius


If it's a toshiba , its a relatively easy fix if you can solder.
That is if it is not your battery or power supply.

If your power jack is faulty, you can replace for a couple of dollars
from radio shack.

Here is a link to fix the offending part

www.insidemylaptop.com... ack-toshiba-satellite-l305-l355-laptops/