Acer V3 771G is continuously showing only 14% charge.

Trampster
Trampster Member Posts: 11

Tinkerer

I've has this Aspire V3 771G from new and it has been brilliant. It's a bit like Trigger's broom, reent new Screen, Keyboard, 9 cell battery, extra HDD, 16Gb RAM. In the last 48hrs, it is showing 14% charge whether the charger is plugged in or not. I'd bought a new spare charger and that is showing the same. It is showing 'plugged in when the charger is connected, but the battery percentage never changes either way. The light on the front edge of the laoptop is flashing Red too.
I've got a vague memory of having this issue before but can't remember how I fixed it.
I've tried re-installing the battery drivers in Device manager, I've done numerous restarts, and just can't eliminate the problem. Advice needed please.

Best Answer

  • Trampster
    Trampster Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Answer ✓

    All is now back to normal. I had to plug & unplug the charger a couple of times to get the charge level back,

    but all is now well. Other than having a clearout, no idea what fixed it.

    Many thanks for the advice & help offered.

Answers

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 13,358 Trailblazer
    edited September 6

    This is a Windows8.1 2012 laptop with a 3rd generation 2012 Intel CPU that may be upgraded to Windows10 but not W11. Acer no longer supports this 771G model so there is no BIOS update available on Acer Support. What kind of power adapter are you using, barrel plug type as you can't use a USB-C charger for this model. If still the original battery it will be dead after 12 years and I recommend replacing it. A flashing amber battery LED means a depleted battery.

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,142 Trailblazer
    edited September 7

    Your Aspire V3-771G laptop is a 2013 and an 11 years old laptop and you might have issues with the main power rail and charging rail. These laptops are very easy to repair so and if you have already changed this laptops old battery to a new battery and you have the proper charger (see captions below) then there is no reason why the battery should not charge beyond 14%. If you haven't changed the main battery then do so asap, as that could be the reason for the issue.

    If you have changed the battery, then take your laptop to a technician as your laptop has a faulty mosfet chip in its main power rail that is restricting or stopping the charging phase in your laptop, as these parts should be readily available. Good luck and hope this helps you out.

    Adapters and batteries suitable for the V3-771G, these lists are from this laptops Acer service guide:

    If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

  • Trampster
    Trampster Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Morning and thanks guys. I've just put up an update to this topic, hit 'post comment', and it has totally vanished? Lots going on today so will have to get back to this later.

  • Trampster
    Trampster Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    OK, so a final update.
    Yes, the charger was a new Delta one, and the 9 cell high capacity battery was new a couple of months ago.
    Late yesterday, the charge light had turned to steady Red, and this morning it was Blue, so fully charged, but the taskbar battery icon had vanished all together. We were supposed to be dashing out this morning, but a family member turned up, which left me more time to have another look into the problem.
    Again I tried many things, but no luck.

    I went into Device manager and deleted both of the battery items, then did another restart and the battery icon came back but still no charge level showing. One of the pages in Settings was still saying 14% charged.

    In a moment of madness, I ran CCleaner, deleting the cache and a mountain of cookies, (usually do it once a month anyway) and checked the Registry for any corrupt entries. Did another restart and all is now well. I had to unplug and reconnect the charger a couple of times for the charge level to show, but all is now fixed.

    Thanks for the help and advice offered. 👍👍

  • Trampster
    Trampster Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    OK - a short final update. I did find a bit more time earlier to look into this issue.
    Last night the charge light on the front had gone to steady Red, and this morning it was Blue, so fully charged. Also, last night, the battery charge icon had completely vanished from the taskbar.

    I'll do this in shorter posts in the hope it doesn't vanish again.

  • Trampster
    Trampster Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Yes, it was a new Delta 65w charger, and yes, the 9 cell high capacity battery was new a couple of months ago. I tried all sorts of things from different sources this morning but no luck.

  • Trampster
    Trampster Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Tried all sorts this morning with no luck.

    I deleted both of the Battery entries in control panel, did a restart, and that got the battery icon back on the taskbar, but still no charge level.In a mad moment, I ran CCleaner, cleared the cache & a mountain of cookies, plus ran the registry cleaner, and did another restart.

  • Trampster
    Trampster Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Answer ✓

    All is now back to normal. I had to plug & unplug the charger a couple of times to get the charge level back,

    but all is now well. Other than having a clearout, no idea what fixed it.

    Many thanks for the advice & help offered.

  • Trampster
    Trampster Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Thanks for the info guys. Maybe I should have mentioned that I worked for an Acer repair company for a few years on the hardware side, but about 20 years ago. I'm convinced this is a software problem.

    Update: After trying everything I could find online, there was no change yesterday. Later on in the evening, the Battery charge taskbar Icon had vanished altogether ,and the option to turn it on in 'settings > Personalisation > taskbar > turn system icons on or off' is greyed out. The icon for the battery in 'select which icons appear in the taskbar' is available & on. I did see somewhere in settings this morning that windows is still reporting the battery as being at 14%.

    The front panel battery light stopped flashing by the evening and is blue this morning so the Laptop is fully charged. The charger in use at the moment is a new genuine Delta 65w one as at the top of StevenGen's table. The battery is a fairly new 9 cell high capacity one, and I've had no prior issues with it. The Laptop is also running the latest version of Windows 10. It came with Windows 8 which I detested, so reverted it back to 7, and then did the free upgrade to 10 when it was offered.

    I realise it is 12 years old, but has been fabulous and still is apart from little glitches like this. Having worked as an Acer tech, I am capable of keeping the hardware running, but struggle with software issues like this one. This one has an Intel i5 processor, and I also have a similar V3 771G with an i7 as a spare. No interest in Windows 11 - reports i've read have not been great.

    Lots of other things to do today, but when I get chance, the next mission is to find out why the battery charge taskbar icon has vanished completely.

    Thanks guys - Dave.

  • Trampster
    Trampster Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Being an "Oldie", I'd forgotten about this thread posted in September, had another similar problem last night, so have just posted another thread about it.
    As above, the battery is less than 12months old, and the charger is a new Delta ADP-65VH BA. This problem is occurring approximately once per month, and since the Laptop is OK the rest of the time, I'm convinced it is software or driver related.