aspire 5, A515-51G Has my charger gone bad?

I have an aspire 5, A515-51G (i5 8250u, 8GB RAM, MX150 2GB) laptop which is around 3 years old. Recently when I use it plugged in, the charging status fluctuates to charging and on battery with the regular beep every few seconds. There is no issue running on only battery, and it charges well when shutdown. The battery capacity is now 36,571 mWh from original 48,944 mWh which is at about 74% health so I think battery is ok. Is this an indication that my charger is getting dead? Is there any solution? Should I buy a new charger or a new battery? I have attached a screenshot from event viewer which shows the charging on off fluctuation. Also, please share sources to buy a new battery in India online.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/xk/wnhps9vqu8c8.png

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JackE

The beeping is due to intermittent loss of charger's connection to the AC mains or at the plug into the computer jack. Either the connectors are loose or perhaps a broken wire usally happens inside the charger plug wires. Replacement chargers for this model are very inexpensive so I suggest trying a new charger. Google search keywords A515-51G charger for vendors who ship to your location.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/0d/rxkl9vznfslr.jpg

theprogamer007

Thanks for the reply @JackE. I just want to surely know what is faulty, charger or battery. The laptop is always used on a desk and the charger hasn't been moved much or abused, and has no physical damage, hence I need to know for sure. Battery is also at 74% health. This issue doesn't occur when shut down. It starts when battery is above 90-95% and I am using it.
In India,charger costs 1400 in my currency, not very cheap, but available on Acer website.
But I am unable to find original 48wh battery so need a source for that if for now or for future when mine goes below 50% health.
Thanks!

theprogamer007

Or is there a possibility of the DC jack being faulty? It is modular so if I can manage to find one, it could be replaced. But out of these 3 possibilities, I would like to understand what is broken.

JackE

It is difficult for me to guess on line which part is broken without having access to the machine. My best guess is the charger but not 100% guaranteed. You can also look inside the laptop jack to make sure the center pin is straight and slider contacts are visible like shown below. I suggest that you don't try to disassemble laptop in hopes of getting a 100% guarantee because you may cause collateral damage in doing so.

The charger is available to you at reasonable cost at this link. https://www.amazon.in/Regatech-Aspire-A515-51G-58CQ-A515-51G-58D2-A515-51G-58EV/dp/B09BF1YZGP

Flipkart may also have them for reasonable cost.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/z0/5m4brduh6egh.jpg

theprogamer007

Thanks @JackE. Update: I checked with my friend's identical charger, and the same issue. And I observed that it happens after 98-99%, goes to 100, fluctuates (charging off/on), and also jumps from 96-99 and so on.
Btw I already wrote charger is available at Acer store, but thanks anyway but now I need a source to buy new 48wh battery as I suspect that is the issue now after testing another charger.

JackE

Google AC14B8K or AC14B3K for a replacement battery. This battery type is very common and used in dozens of ACER laptops . Amazon and Flipkart vendors have them for reasonable prices.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/1x/g8e7cso9f2gg.jpg

theprogamer007

Thanks @JackE. I'll check out and buy a new battery in some time. I have also found an observation. I cycled/calibrated the battery, and it steadily charges from 0 to 99/100% and the fluctuation starts then only. And once 100, it acts weird like showing 96 or 94, then 99 and also charging on and off. If I turn off the switch, it shows 99% and sometimes climbs up to 100%.
Even if I normally use it on battery till 50% or so, and start charging, it charges steadily till the 99 or 100% mark, then acts weird.

JackE

>>>0 to 99/100%>>>

Did the battery actually discharge below the critical ~5% level? Because this can permanently damage the battery and create a battery fire hazard.

theprogamer007

No, it auto shut down after the critical mark. Pressing power button just had the blue charging light beeping and screen didn't start. Then I charged it and It went well till 96%, then the same issue. Currently as I type, charging stopped and resumed multiple times, and when that happens, the percentage also changes like 100-99-100.
I had hwmonitor running and noticed it charges to 103% too. And the wear level also went from 26% to 41%, then back to 37%.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/s1/pczscqrce8h6.png

JackE

>>>No, it auto shut down after the critical mark. >>>

No???? What do you mean? If it auto shut down after the critical 5% mark, then it was below the critical 5% when it shut down. It should've auto shut down before 5%. This battery and its internal controller has probably been damaged.

Try this. Go to the elevated command prompt. Enter 'powercfg /batteryreport'. Then return to the desktop. Open file explorer. Then search for' battery-report.html' in the c:\windows\system32\ sub-folder. Double-click to open it in the browser. Post screenshot of the first part of the report if possible that compares design full charge capacity with its remaining full charge capacity.

theprogamer007

hwmonitor and battery report have same readings, but it changed again today, to 36% health (yesterday was 41% first then 37%).

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/up/0gosyhztf7dc.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/x0/itzlfmtbcrdp.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/66/6cmaww8ua2xi.png

JackE

>>>The battery capacity is now 36,571 mWh from original 48,944 mW>>>

Well, since last month, the battery has now lost nearly 40% of its original capacity with 31327. This is fairly typical for a 4+ year old battery based on your BIOS date. However, if this rapid deterioration happened in the last month, then it suggests the battery has been damaged after falling below the critical 5% level. If it was my laptop, I would order a new replacement battery as soon as possible to avoid the risk of a battery fire.

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