Lenovo Z710 "Plugged in, not charging" Battery Switch Board?

[guitarzxt]

I have a Lenovo Z710 with Windows 10. A couple weeks ago my computer started giving me a "plugged in but not charging" notification. When it is plugged in, sometimes it charges and other times it does not, and it will (seemingly) randomly stop charging after a time. When I see it is not charging I pull the A/C plug out and put it back in and most times it will start charging again. I sometimes have to do that a couple times before it works. When I have the computer on my lap it seems to stop charging more often than if I have it setting on the table, and thus not moving around. When I leave the computer alone, most times it will charge the battery, though lately I have only seen it get up to "1 min. until fully charged" but never actually get to fully charged. When I unplug the A/C and use the battery is discharges normally (i.e. it doesn't drain super fast or jump around in how much charge it has left.) When I took out the battery and only had it plugged in it worked fine for a few minutes and then shut off. Now this is the really strange part to me, when I have it plugged in and it is not charging it drains the battery and goes into hibernation when it gets down to the 5% mark or whatever I have it set at. So even though it is plugged in, and recognizes that it is plugged in (the screen brightness is higher and the battery indicator in the tray says plugged in) it is still using the battery to power the computer instead of the A/C power and shutting down as if it were on battery power.

I have tried uninstalling the battery stuff in device manager and that did not help.

So, my question is, what is most likely causing this problem? Is it the battery, the power board, or the battery switch board? My guess is the battery switch board, but I wanted to get some other opinions before I start ordering parts and opening the computer. I thought I might just try a new battery and could have an extra around if it happens to not be the battery, but I'm leaning against it being the battery.

 

[webworkings]

If it changes when you are moving the device, per your saying it was on your lap, I would say that either the charger cord, or the charger port are the issue.

A way to test it is to try using a different charger cord. If you can borrow one that works in your device. If you don't get the problem once you are using that other one, then your cord is the issue. If it still happens, then your charger port is probably the issue.

In the case of the port, that is a bit more work. If you are comfortable doing the work yourself, then you just need to get the right part. If you aren't comfortable doing it, then you would have to find someone who could.

NOTE: If the device is still under warranty, then I would contact the manufacturer about a repair or replacement before you open up the device or have anyone do work on it, as that can void the warranty.

 

[guitarzxt]

Thanks, but I have tried moving the charging cable around and it doesn't seem to affect it. I also have my screen set to be dimmer when the computer is not plugged in, so I would see my screen get dim if the cable were not providing power to the computer. I don't see my screen randomly getting dimmer and brighter, and the indicator in the system tray says it is plugged in but not charging, so I'm pretty certian it is not the charging cable.

 

[webworkings]

Actually, the cable can cause that, as the cable does two things run it and charge it. However, it is also possible that the battery doesn't sit right, or the charging circuit is damaged/fried. If it is the circuit then depending on the way the laptop is set up, and if the circuit is part of the motherboard or not, you will have to replace either just the board with the circuit or the entire motherboard.

 

[guitarzxt]

So as I understand it, by looking at parts lists and such, and seeing some pictures and videos, plus the tech manual for it, there are two boards, the power board and the battery switch board, and neither of those are part of the main board. The trouble is, I don't know what specific tasks those preform, and which one (if either) is giving me the trouble.

 

[webworkings]

You would need to be able to test them to see if they are getting power at all, or only intermittently. TO know what part or parts are stopping the power from getting through to the battery you are going to need a multi meter and check the different components on the board to see how far the power is going through and where it stops before getting to the battery. Then you will know if it is something you can repair yourself, or something that you would need to take somewhere to be fixed.

 

[gnuarm1]

I am having the same problem. I find that rapping on the battery sometimes will result in the battery making contact, or other times I push on the battery and down on the top of the laptop just below the screen. I can get it to charge as long as I hold this position or if I remove my hands very gently it will maintain contact and the battery will charge.

My battery is very weak these days and I see double capacity units on eBay. I will buy a new battery to see if that fixes the problem. I see "battery connector boards" on eBay as well. The battery board has blades that stick out and the battery has recessed contacts to connect with the blades. It may be that the battery contacts are sprung or worn. If replacing the battery doesn't fix the problem I will try replacing the battery board as well.

 

[guitarzxt]

I'm thinking about buying a replacement battery board and seeing if that helps.