Irratic charge behaviour

[Bosbeetle]

My 1GHz pandora often charges up to 42% and then starts to discharge again. Once in a while It'll be on 42% and then I leave it in suspend for while and when I get it out it's on 80 something %. This value is given in both the pandora system info program as on the indicator in the status area. (sometimes the 2 give different values but not often).

When the pandora is on 42 % and starts discharging I can reset it by unpluging the adapter from the pandora and replugging it. Most of the time it then will go up to higher percentages but not always...

Is there a way to prevent/solve this behaviour (I know there is some talk about this subject on the forums but I couldnt find any clear answers)

 

[TrashyMG]

Preventing not sure, but I think that if you take the battery out for a minute or two and put it back in. The charging circuit most likely has some bad values and needs to be reset... Waiting a bit before putting the battery back in is important as you need to ensure the charge circuit resets properly.

 

[levi]

Make sure you don't have the system plugged in while you reset the battery - you ought to unplug it, shut it down, remove the battery, wait, put battery back in and then once it's booted up plug in the charger again (assuming you need to charge it).

The number shown in system info is the percentage of the full_design value, while the number shown on the task bar seems closer to the the percentage of the actual full value (which is less, as the battery ages).

Have you done logging on it using system info to see exactly where it turns of and off charge?  I'd also try charging without putting it into low power/standby mode, and see if that works any better.

But it's probably worth trying to reset the battery first.

 

[Bosbeetle]

I never charge it in low power mode. (is that even possible) I'll try to reset it again (I have done it recently not to reset the battery but the same exact things and it is still stopping at 42%) 

Could it be an issue with the battery? I've got the same battery since my very first pandora...

It's 5 years old now

 

[rygD]

I never charge it in low power mode. (is that even possible)

I also want to know if it is possible.

 

[levi]

Sorry, what did you mean by 'then I leave it in suspend for a while and when I get it out it's on 80 something %'?

AIUI, it's not possible to charge in suspend mode, but it is possible to charge in low power mode.  It goes into low power mode if you slide the switch right after plugging the charger in.  If you slide the switch right when it's not plugged in it goes into suspend mode instead.

 

[Bosbeetle]

Sorry, what did you mean by 'then I leave it in suspend for a while and when I get it out it's on 80 something %'?

AIUI, it's not possible to charge in suspend mode, but it is possible to charge in low power mode.  It goes into low power mode if you slide the switch right after plugging the charger in.  If you slide the switch right when it's not plugged in it goes into suspend mode instead.

Charge it.. it says it's 42% charged. I take out the charger put in in de low power mode and put it away somewhere. The next day I use it and it says the battery is charged to 80% ... (I think the 80% is the real value but I don't know how the update of this value comes about)

 

[levi]

Hmm, that does sound like the battery is reporting false values; if resetting it isn't working, maybe you'd be better off with a new one?

It's not unheard of for these sort of batteries to screw up - my current laptop battery only has one cell out of six working I think, but its estimated total current capacity is all over the place.  It approaches the expected 1/6th value, but when it gets close it throws a wobbler and reports that actually its capacity is ten times the original capacity.  Then, as I use it and recharge it, the total capacity slowly creeps down with each cycle, until the process restarts.  I really should get round to ordering a replacement for that one.

 

[Bosbeetle]

Hmm, that does sound like the battery is reporting false values; if resetting it isn't working, maybe you'd be better off with a new one?

It's not unheard of for these sort of batteries to screw up - my current laptop battery only has one cell out of six working I think, but its estimated total current capacity is all over the place.  It approaches the expected 1/6th value, but when it gets close it throws a wobbler and reports that actually its capacity is ten times the original capacity.  Then, as I use it and recharge it, the total capacity slowly creeps down with each cycle, until the process restarts.  I really should get round to ordering a replacement for that one.

I think that might be the best solution....