Laptop Won’t Turn On Without Adapter Despite Full Battery – Need a Fix

Title: Laptop Won't Turn On Without Adapter, Despite Full Battery Charge

Hi,

I'm facing an issue with my 3-year-old laptop and could use some help. Even though the battery is fully charged, the laptop doesn't turn on when I press the power button. Instead, the blue power LED blinks five times, and nothing happens. However, it powers on when I plug in the adapter.

A bit more context:

The battery's original capacity was 48,004 mWh, but it has degraded over time and now only holds 26,996 mWh at 100% charge.
Despite this reduced capacity, the laptop lasts around 2 to 2.5 hours on battery power after turning on, so I think the battery is still functional.

Laptop specifications:

Brand: Acer
Model: Aspire 5 A515-45
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 1TB
OS Edition: Windows 11 Home Single Language
Version: 24H2
Installed on: 11/29/2024
OS Build: 26100.2605
Experience: Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.36.0

Given these details, I'm puzzled about why the laptop won't start on battery power alone. Could this be a hardware issue, or is there something wrong with the battery or power management system?

Any advice on diagnosing and fixing this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Accepted answers

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/718590/laptop-won-t-turn-on-without-adapter-despite-full-battery-need-a-fix

Hi, I am assuming your BIOS version is 1.52? Did you install 24H2 or was it automatically upgraded by WU? Run a battery report as after 3½ years you can expect unpredicted behavior even if you still get 2½ hours battery backup. Also try to reset the battery, there is a small pinhole in the back of your laptop (with a battery sign) stick a pin in that hole till you feel it click (micro switch), keep pressing the pin for a few seconds. Try this if no results: Power drain + CMOS reset: Open the back of the laptop and disconnect the battery cable from the motherboard. Locate the CMOS module (with 2 twisted wires Red and Black under the SSD) and remove the coin battery. Shorten the +/- terminals inside the CMOS capsule for 2 seconds with a bended paperclip and put the coin battery back with the + sign facing up, close the CMOS capsule. Next, press the Power Button on the keyboard for 10-15 seconds and remove the RAM module, replace it if you have a spare SODIMM or reseat it firmly in the slot, after that reconnect the battery cable to the motherboard. Close the laptop, plug-in the adapter and try to boot. If still the same you have a battery issue or there is a power button or power rail problem (MOSFETs, bad contacts, DC socket). Run a battery report, paste this in the command prompt: powercfg /batteryreport and open the report with your Edge browser, right click and select "Print to Microsoft PDF", attach the report to your reply, type @Puraw or use "Quote" when you reply so I will get an alert.

All comments

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/718590/laptop-won-t-turn-on-without-adapter-despite-full-battery-need-a-fix

Hi, I am assuming your BIOS version is 1.52? Did you install 24H2 or was it automatically upgraded by WU? Run a battery report as after 3½ years you can expect unpredicted behavior even if you still get 2½ hours battery backup. Also try to reset the battery, there is a small pinhole in the back of your laptop (with a battery sign) stick a pin in that hole till you feel it click (micro switch), keep pressing the pin for a few seconds. Try this if no results: Power drain + CMOS reset: Open the back of the laptop and disconnect the battery cable from the motherboard. Locate the CMOS module (with 2 twisted wires Red and Black under the SSD) and remove the coin battery. Shorten the +/- terminals inside the CMOS capsule for 2 seconds with a bended paperclip and put the coin battery back with the + sign facing up, close the CMOS capsule. Next, press the Power Button on the keyboard for 10-15 seconds and remove the RAM module, replace it if you have a spare SODIMM or reseat it firmly in the slot, after that reconnect the battery cable to the motherboard. Close the laptop, plug-in the adapter and try to boot. If still the same you have a battery issue or there is a power button or power rail problem (MOSFETs, bad contacts, DC socket). Run a battery report, paste this in the command prompt: powercfg /batteryreport and open the report with your Edge browser, right click and select "Print to Microsoft PDF", attach the report to your reply, type @Puraw or use "Quote" when you reply so I will get an alert.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/718590/laptop-won-t-turn-on-without-adapter-despite-full-battery-need-a-fix

Just some additional advice as the laptop could have a faulty EC chip that needs replacing or reprograming as that is the main cause(s) of a laptop only working on its adapter plugged in. Do a hard reset first by taking the main battery out, disconnect the ram and short its pins at its mobo plug and take the ram out, leave the laptop like that 1 hour and see if that will reset the laptop if not then you need expert diagnosis by a technician as you can't fix a problem like this yourself without knowledge and proper tools, Good luck.