Laptop not charging & now not turning on at all

[TillyWilly]

Ah, sorry! I didn’t even realise mine was 14IAH7 until I noticed the distinction in the manual. I thought 82TK0020UK was the model number

If I can dig out a kettle lead, I’ll give that a go! Does wattage/voltage come into play with those or will any do?

Thank you for the link! At least I now have another option if the tech doesn’t have a suitable charger to test, for whatever reason.

There’s not much else I can do until I either find a kettle lead or take the laptop to a tech, so I probably won’t have another update for you for a couple days now.

Thanks once again for all your help! You’re much more helpful than Lenovo, that’s for sure.

 

[phillpower2]

Any UK household kettle lead will do and if it would be less worrying you could disconnect the kettle lead from the notebook charger and try it with the household kettle, if the kettle starts to boil using the notebooks lead you will at least know that the lead itself is good.

You are welcome and sorry that Lenovo have not been helpful, not unusual for big name brands, once they have your money you are generally surplus to requirements.

 

[TillyWilly]

I’ve tested the kettle lead - it works fine. I also risked testing the new 100w charger and that didn’t work either, but there was no tingling this time. Do you think it’s worth replacing the battery? Thanks.

 

[phillpower2]

Something else that is ruled out then.

I still think that having a local tech take a look is your best bet, if the notebook turns out to be toast the replacement charger can be returned for a refund and you haven't shelled out for a new battery, a local tech may also have an appropriate CMOS battery to swap in just in case that is bad and causing issues, try anything before considering sending it into Lenovo.

 

[TillyWilly]

Okay. Local tech it is! I’ll let you know if they have any luck. Thanks again

 

[phillpower2]

Please do keep us advised and good luck meanwhile

 

[TillyWilly]

Okay, so… the local tech I had in mind has apparently relocated so I didn’t get a chance to take it in. In the meantime, I ordered a replacement battery - using the product number Lenovo quoted me - and turns out it’s not even the right battery! I’ve included a picture for reference. As you can see, the “replacement” battery is a lot smaller. Luckily, this is returnable (I made sure it was before ordering).

I’ve also included a general picture of the open laptop in the hopes that you might be able to point out any obvious damage? I can’t see any loose wires or burn marks, but I have an untrained eye…

I’m still hoping to take it to a local tech, but it will have to wait until this weekend now.

Thanks

 

[phillpower2]

Sorry but even if your pictures were horizontal as opposed to being vertical it is most unlikely that we would be able to see if there was anything amiss.

You getting the wrong battery is unfortunately just adding to your stress.

Fwiw, you would have been better to get the product information off the original battery yourself, tech help service staff are clueless and read verbatim off a checklist when talking to customers remotely.

 

[TillyWilly]

Sorry about the photos! I have no idea why they’re vertical. That’s perfectly understandable.

There’s so much information printed on the battery, I was struggling to figure out what I needed. After looking for the battery via the “find parts” service on Lenovo’s website, which involves putting in the serial number so you can’t go wrong, it looks like they’re out of stock/don’t sell the right battery. Typical, right?

Anyway, I managed to find what I believe is the right battery (the model number and voltage matches) on a site called “Lenovo Battery Parts”. It’s legit, if the Trustpilot reviews are anything to go by, and unsurprisingly much cheaper than the Lenovo site.

I’ve already started the return process for the incorrect battery, so I’m considering buying the right one via LBP… At this point I’m pretty confident it’s not an issue with the charger itself, and it’s unlikely a local tech would have a replacement battery readily available. I’m still going to take it to a local tech, just in case, but I thought having a replacement battery they could play around with might be helpful.

Thanks again!

 

[phillpower2]

At this point I’m pretty confident it’s not an issue with the charger itself, and it’s unlikely a local tech would have a replacement battery readily available.

Sorry to put a dampener on your confidence but a notebook will still power up without a main internal battery in place and any new battery will only be of any benefit if it comes with enough charge in it to be able to power up a notebook, bottom line is that only having a known good compatible AC adapter can determine if it is the battery or the MB that is bad.

 

[TillyWilly]

Ah, okay. Fair enough! Well, that makes me think the MB is the problem seeing as I’ve tried a 100w charger now… Granted, it wasn’t a genuine Lenovo, but the specs all match and the reviews are good. In which case, it looks like this laptop was a waste of £800

I’ll take it to a local tech just in case, but it definitely isn’t looking good. I’d cry if there weren’t worse things going on in the world! I’ll just have to use my old laptop (it’s ridiculously slow but it does the job) while I save up for a replacement.

I’ll let you know what the tech says when I get a chance to take it in. Thanks again for your help and patience!

 

[TillyWilly]

Just wondering… I always thought that if the MB were broken, the laptop wouldn’t turn on at all. But before I drained my laptop of power, it was still turning on and working fine, it just wasn’t charging. Is it common for the only symptom of a faulty MB to be the laptop not charging? Maybe I’m just grasping at straws, hoping it isn’t a MB failure Thanks.

 

[phillpower2]

Just wondering… I always thought that if the MB were broken, the laptop wouldn’t turn on at all. But before I drained my laptop of power, it was still turning on and working fine,

This is the first time that you have mentioned this ( It should have been included in your OP ) and fwiw it goes a long way to what I have been advising you in that what you describe 99.99% proves that your AC adapter was not charging the battery which means that once the battery was totally depleted the notebook was not able to power up.

How on earth anyone could tell you that you needed a new battery is beyond me, big brand tech support at its finest, not

Had there been no mention of you getting tingling fingers from the notebooks lid when you tried the third party charger I would have been ultra confident that an appropriate AC adapter would have had you up and running by now but because of the tingling from the lid I am almost zero confident I`m afraid.

Edit to add: Just took a closer look at the third party charger that you tried, three things stand out, it costs £17.99p while a genuine Lenovo costs £66.99p, there is no customer support contact details for the el cheapo charger and last but most importantly your model of notebook is not on the devices support list, see the below;

Compatible Models:

• Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 910 920 C630 C930 C940 S940 910-13 920-13 c930-13 910-13IKB 920-13IKB Glass 910-131KB 920-131KB C940-14IIL
• Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Slim 9 Type-C Power Cord Cable

 

[TillyWilly]

In my OP I did mention that I was still able to restart the laptop, but maybe I should’ve been more explicit. I apologise.

I think that compatibility list is from the first charger I tried; I have since tried a 100w charger that claims to be compatible with all USB-C devices as long as the specs match, which they do exactly. In my defence, I definitely would’ve tried a genuine Lenovo charger first if Lenovo stocked it. And unfortunately the link you sent me is from a website with a very poor Trustpilot review, so I didn’t feel comfortable trying it. But I blame my own impatience for not shopping around more for a genuine charger!

I know I’m showing my ignorance again here, but I never would’ve thought that using a lower wattage charger could damage a laptop to this extent… I also never left the charger in for more than a few seconds, as the tingling was concerning. I guess a few seconds is all it takes.

Do you think leaving it plugged into a genuine charger for a while might do anything, or is the absence of a charging light on the laptop proof that it’s completely dead? Maybe a combination of a new charger AND a new battery, in case the lower wattage charger damaged the battery?

By “zero confident” I’m assuming you think the laptop is beyond help at this point? I feel so stupid for breaking an £800 laptop just by using the wrong charger…

Thanks

 

[phillpower2]

Nit picking helps nobody and so is not something that I ever do but I will always let people know that being clear from the outset is best practice.

I know I’m showing my ignorance again here, but I never would’ve thought that using a lower wattage charger could damage a laptop to this extent

Nothing ignorant about not automatically knowing something and just so that you know not having enough wattage would not do any harm and likewise neither would having slightly more as a computer will only draw the power that it needs to be able to function, not enough power simply means that the computer will not be able to power up.

What will cause damage, the voltage being too high and a poor quality brand power supply causing a short circuit, both of these could cause irregular power going to a computer and your tingling laptop lid falls into the " the voltage being too high and a poor quality brand power supply causing a short circuit, " category.

If the computer is going to work it will do so as soon as an appropriate charger is connected and turned on.

Maybe a combination of a new charger AND a new battery, in case the lower wattage charger damaged the battery?

Your thread is now eleven days old which I am sorry to say is more than enough time for you to have a tech to check this out for you and being honest I would not advise you to spend one penny more until this has been done.

I guess a few seconds is all it takes.

Try instantaneous.

What`s done is done so don't be too hard on yourself.

 

[TillyWilly]

The voltage was definitely lower (or claims to be!) on the third party charger, but maybe it was dodgy enough to cause a short circuit. The reviews seemed good, but who knows! I had hoped the 100w charger, which definitely matches the voltage of the original, would be “genuine” enough to work.

At the risk of getting too personal, I have extreme social anxiety, so doing anything slightly unfamiliar (such as going to a shop I’ve never been to before and then having to explain everything I’ve explained to you in this thread) is very difficult for me, to the point where I need someone to go with me. Combine that with the fact that I work odd shift patterns at work, and it’s made it tricky to find the right time to take it in. But you don’t need to know all that Hopefully I’ll get a chance to get it checked this weekend.

All I can say is, once again, thank you so much for all your help.

 

[phillpower2]

Lower voltage like lower wattage would just mean that there would not be enough power for the notebook to be able to power up.

We are not here to judge only to help, as mentioned previously your local council may have a list of trusted traders that includes one or more computer techs, failing that what about asking a family member or close friend take your notebook to a local tech, refit the battery, take the original charger and have them tell the tech exactly what happened originally, first thing that the tech should do is try an appropriate charger rather than trying to see a new battery.

You are welcome and I just hope that we can help you get things sorted,

NB: Can I ask you to post the voltage specs off the back of the original charger please.

 

[TillyWilly]

Thanks, I really appreciate that. I will have a look at trusted techs in my area. A family member will definitely help me get it checked.

I’ve attached a picture of the original charger. And in case I haven’t shared it with you yet, this a link to the 100w I’ve tried: https://amzn.eu/d/0jhcZaGO. I doesn’t list my device, but the specs match, and I’m really struggling to find a genuine charger from a trusted site. But like you said, I won’t bother buying anything else until a tech has had a look at it.

Thanks

 

[phillpower2]

No worries

Some info for you Can I use a Laptop Charger with a Higher Wattage?

The charger direct from Lenovo here should work but please read the first review there.

 

[TillyWilly]

Thanks for the link, but someone in the reviews said it didn’t work with their Yoga Slim 7, so I’m not sure it’s work the risk. I’ll keep looking