[olpc-help] charging battery/running with power cord

[Wilson Farrell]

Steve Holton wrote:
> 
>> So is the power cord port on the laptop bad or could it be the power cord itself?
>>
> 
> Sounds like either the AC adapter is bad, or the power cord is broken.
> 
> Are you handy with a voltmeter?  Could you test the output from the AC adapter?
> 
> Negative to the outer shield, positive on the inner pin.
> 
> ------------------------
> Steve Holton      http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Support
> Got an XO? Get on the map: http://tinyurl.com/37hmmm
> 

I'll pipe in here with a reason I think this is an issue with the 
firmware, hardware or the cord... not the battery.  I've noticed a 
couple of quirky things on my own laptop's battery, although nothing 
serious... yet.

1) If I watch the power level indicator, (by hovering over the battery 
icon) I notice it sometimes drains down a bit and then charges back up. 
  I am guessing this is normal, although once or twice I saw it lower 
than I thought it should have been. (in the 70's and 80's).  In one of 
these cases, I unplugged the laptop, left it unplugged for a minute and 
plugged it back in.  It started charging again.  Right now it says 
discharging (97%) and it has been there for a while.

2) The other day I was using the laptop with just the battery.  When I 
came back to my desk I plugged it back in.  I did not notice if the 
power light changed colors.  I then looked at it a couple of hours later 
and it was still discharging. The battery light was red and the 
indicator put the level down around 10%.  It was as if the laptop did 
not register the fact that power had been re-applied.   I closed 
everything I was working on and eventually it shutdown.  I disconnected 
the power and removed the battery.  Put it all back together again.  No 
joy.  I removed and reinserted the cord a few times, tried to power up 
and eventually the light turned yellow and the laptop came on.

It could be a problem with the power cord or the way the laptop decides 
to charge or discharge the battery.  The power adapters seem a bit 
flimsy, but I've been giggling it around and the power light stays green.

Just another data point to help you out.

Wilson