laptop power issues

[dhaynes]

I have a 2 year old Toshiba netbook. At one point this netbook had a power supply plugged into it that was for a larger Toshiba notebook. The other power supply had different specs than the one for this laptop. The laptop battery has a charge and the laptop can run off of it just fine. The laptop can also run off of the power supply just fine when there is no battery. However, the charging icon and light do not come on when the laptop is plugged in with the battery and the laptop is on or off. The power supply has a 19v, 1.58A specification. My multimeter shows a true output of 18.9v. The solder connection between the motherboard and dc jack shows 18.9v when no battery is in place, but it jumps around between 6 and 10v when a battery is present. Any ideas?

 

[jarotech]

Hi, what is the amperage and voltage written on the laptop itself?

 

[dhaynes]

19V 1.58A.

 

[jarotech]

If you have 6v to 10v when you plug the battery, then the adapter is defective. Try another one, if you have the same result, your battery has a short-circuit.

 

[dhaynes]

If you have 6v to 10v when you plug the battery, then the adapter is defective. Try another one, if you have the same result, your battery has a short-circuit.

Thanks! I understandwhy that could mean a defective battery, but can you explain why that could mean defective ac adapter?

 

[jarotech]

Because, when you plug the battery the voltage from the adapter should not drop from 19V to 10V, unless the amperage of the adapter is less than the amperage written on the laptop. What is the model of your laptop.

 

[dhaynes]

Thanks for the clarification. The model is Toshiba NB505-N500BL
If I do a DC amperage test using my multimeter (10 amp max) would that tell me if the ac adapter is bad?

 

[jarotech]

You can try and we will see how many amps it will deliver, I'm sure it will not give the full 1.58A.

 

[dhaynes]

I will test the ac adapter when I go home later. If I buy another ac adapter, will it damage anything if it has the same voltage, but about twice the amperage?

 

[jarotech]

To be honest with you, right now I don't know if the problem is coming from the battery or the adapter. I'm not 100% sure it's your adapter, but I bet it is. If you have another adapter with the same voltage and higher amperage, it will operate has the original.