Join now - be part of our community!

Sony Vaio bizarre AC charger/battery problems?

crazihel
New

Sony Vaio bizarre AC charger/battery problems?

 

Hi,

 

I've had a Vaio for 2 years and have been very happy with it. However some recent events have been troubling me and I'm not sure what the problem is. Any diagnostic advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Here's what has happened in chronological order:

 

August: I was away visiting a friend. I used my laptop as normal and then shut the lid without powering it off. Some time later (either the next morning or after several hours out) I tried to turn my laptop back on using the battery power, but it refused to power up. As long as I held down the power button the LEDs displayed steady lights on the base of the machine but once pressure was removed from the button the lights faded away. I did the same thing after plugging in the ac charger but to no avail. I unplugged it, removed the battery and held down the power button for several seconds. Once connecting power to the laptop there were no further problems and the computer worked fine both on ac & battery power.

 

Late August: I've noticed at when using certain plugs at work the green/yellow LED on the ac charger is very dull, but appears to charge as normal.

 

September: Visiting the same friend as before. I used the laptop as normal to watch a couple of hours of catch up tv. I closed the lid and placed on the floor before sleeping. The next morning the laptop would not power on, but this time, no lights at all. I tried all the tests mentioned online - remove battery, hold down power button - to no effect. I took it to a computer store and they tested the ac charger which appears to function as normal. I left the laptop for a couple of hours, unplugged and with the battery removed. I reinserted the battery and the laptop powered up for about 3 seconds  - the screen, fan & LEDs came on - before dying again. With the ac charger plugged in the orange charging LED displayed on the base of the machine but only for a few seconds before fading again. This happened a couple of times. I left it for several hours again but could not see any signs of life. Left it overnight but still nothing the following morning. Travelled home and then retested the machine at home using the battery. The laptop turned on, booted up halfway before dying. I tried again and this time it powered on fully (I am using it now 2 hours later). The battery displayed 35% charge. I plugged in the ac charger and it displayed 'Plugged in, not charging' but the charge percentage was increasing. I unplugged and restarted the machine. Once plugged in again it displayed 'Plugged in, charging' and the charge percentage is increasing. Since then it has worked as normal. Will this happen again? Is something loose inside?

 

Sorry for the length of this but just wanted to give full details. Thanks for any advice!

0 REPLIES 0