HP Elitebook 8560w battery not charging

[HeuristicToaster]

Hello!

I recently bought a HP Elitebook 8560w second hand, and so far it's proving to be a brilliant workstation. Unfortunately, as the title reveals, the battery is not on par with the rest of the hardware.

The laptop boots and runs okay, regardless of whether or not a battery is connected. I assumed the battery that came with the laptop was dead, since it was outputting only 0.1-0.2v, not charging no matter how long it was connected (in as much as the instant mains power was disconnected the laptop powers off), and Windows is adamant "no battery is detected; battery not available for use". I bought a (non OEM) battery as a replacement, but it's got the exact same problem. I've tried powering off, removing battery and AC, holding power for 20-30 seconds and powering back up but no dice.

The battery indicator is flashing amber, which according to the manual is supposed to mean there is critically low charge left in the battery. Interestingly, it is supposed to only flash if the critically low battery is the exclusive power source. To quote the manual:

Amber: A battery is charging.

White: A battery is close to full charge capacity.

Blinking amber: A battery that is the only available power source has reached a low battery level. When the battery reaches a critical battery level, the battery light begins blinking rapidly.

Off: If the computer is plugged into an external power source, the light turns off when all batteries in the computer are fully charged. If the computer is not plugged into an external power source, the light stays off until the battery reaches a low battery level

The laptop actually supports two batteries, via different interfaces. I've ordered an 'extended battery' for the second interface to establish whether this is a problem only affecting the one type. I've tweaked all the battery related BIOS settings and tried updating the drivers in Windows (though since it doesn't charge prior to booting I'm not sure that would help).

Only other bit of info is that the PSU I'm using is not an original one. The laptop came with no PSU, but the one I am using is rated with the correct voltage / current (double checked with a multimeter). Not sure if this could make a difference or not

So, essentialy my question is what more can I do to confirm whether the battery or the motherboard is at fault? Anybody have any similar experiences with this laptop or know whether this is something that can be repaired? An imported replacement motherboard from the US costs me more than I paid for the whole thing, so it would be a shame if I had to go down that route.

Thanks a lot to anyone taking the time to help

 

[Ne0Wolf7]

To determine if you have a motherboard, abttery, or charger problem, remove all batteries from the laptop and plug in the charger. With just the charger plugged in, you should be able to fully use your computer, just dont move it, or (duh) the cable will unplug. If it doent work like this, the charger is at fault. If the PC does work with only the charger, you have either a battery or motherboard problem. Considering that you bought another battery and it still doe not work, it looks like you have a battery port problem, becuase it seems you got to use it first. Before deciding you have the dreaded compleatly broken motherboard (wich seens unlikely becuase you were able to use it), try out the other port.

 

[MusenMouse]

I am going to guess that the PSU is the issue. Even if the chargers have similar voltage or current, it may not work. For example I have plugged in a Dell business laptop charger into a HP business laptop, and it will run, but the battery will not charge. Windows will also sometimes complain that the charger is not functioning correctly.

If you are curious about purchasing a good charger, this is the one that my work purchased from Softmart. It's rated at 90W so it should charge just about any HP laptop.

https/www.amazon.com/HP-External-Adapter-H6Y90UT-ABA/dp/B00O1AFGVI

Otherwise try updating the BIOS and see if that helps.

 

[HeuristicToaster]

Thank you guys!
The laptop runs perfectly fine whilst plugged in without (and with) a battery connected. I've just started running prime95+furmark simultaneously to see what happens when everything is drawing lots of power because so far I've only tested the PSU's voltages.
I'll see about the second battery port first (will hopefully arrive by the end of this week), then go about finding a compatible PSU. The 8560W's default PSU is 19.5/6.15A so a beefy 120W which appears to come with an equally hefty price tag on eBay compared to my free Dell spare, though still a lot cheaper than a motherboard so I'll definitely give it a shot

 

[MusenMouse]

That's too bad, just out of the range. Maybe check to see if the HP docking station chargers for the 8560w are more readily available?

Oh I was checking out that idea and came across this on Amazon, 200W
https/www.amazon.com/supply-677764-002-Hewlett-Packard-EliteBook/dp/B00OL4WAZ4

and this 230W for cheaper:
https/www.amazon.com/Genuine-HP-Adapter-HSTNN-DA12-EliteBook/dp/B00AWCHARC

Best of luck.

 

[HeuristicToaster]

Quick update, got the exact same behavior with an ST09 second battery as the primary battery and even with an OEM 120W PSU nothing is charging
I can only assume that the problem is then something minor on the motherboard, in which case is it possible or even worth fitting a new charging port? My guess is that if it effects both ports then it might be something a little more technical

 

[Ne0Wolf7]

If the computer works while plugged in with no battery installed, it's either you battery ports (motherboard) or you batteries. Considering you've tried both ports with different batteries, it's very likely to be your mobo. Laptop motherboards tent to be expensive, nearly half the price of a regular unit. I'd maybe look into getting it refurbished, or replaced if its still under warranty.

 

[MusenMouse]

Quick update, got the exact same behavior with an ST09 second battery as the primary battery and even with an OEM 120W PSU nothing is charging
I can only assume that the problem is then something minor on the motherboard, in which case is it possible or even worth fitting a new charging port? My guess is that if it effects both ports then it might be something a little more technical

Sorry to hear that. Have you tried to download the BIOS diagnostic tool from HP's website and doing a diagnostics scan with the batteries in? Maybe that will give you a more definitive answer to the problem.

 

[HeuristicToaster]

Been a while! Reporting back with success! It's a funny ol' story, turns out the non-OEM charger WAS preventing the battery charging. It also turns out that the ST09 battery works perfectly.

The battery that came with the laptop was dead, and the replacement battery was dead too - with a dead battery connected, the ST09 battery doesn't work either. I found this out after I bought the same model of laptop, and out of curiosity swapped the battery from the new (working) one with the original one. And it all worked okay.

So to anyone finding this from a Google search, try an OEM charger and a battery. Or two, apparently. Thanks a lot for the suggestions guys, turns out both of you were right to be so suspicious of the battery

 

[MusenMouse]

Glad to hear this got resolved. Was scratching my head at what it could be.