Question
I have a R61i that has been great up until recently. Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction as to whether this is a problem with the battery, the AC adaptor, or the power receptor on the motherboard.
Symptoms:
Battery won't charge - computer won't power on with AC connected, regardless of whether the battery is in. AC indicator light does not turn on when plugged in battery light was flashing orange until the juice completely went out.
Since the system seemed to be running OK on battery, it seems it is just not charging the battery, which would lead us to either a faulty AC adapter or the charging circuit on the system board.
How can I test the output of the AC adapter?
Answer
Use a digital multimeter and set to 20v range DC voltage. With the AC adapter plugged in, hold the black ground connector of the meter to the outer part of the barrel connector (labeled #3 above) and touch the red + lead of the meter to the inner sleve of the adapter (labeled #1 above). Make sure you are not the checking the center pin (#2), which is actually a pin that tells the laptop what is the power rating of the adapter. The displayed voltage should be close to 20v - if substantially less, the AC adapter should be replaced.
