Asus UX303U not turning on/battery not charging
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Thread: Asus UX303U not turning on/battery not charging

  1. #1
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    Asus UX303U not turning on/battery not charging

    I returned from a week's trip away to find problems with my Asus UX303U laptop. The laptop had been left unplugged in hibernation/sleep mode on a desk while I was gone, and I know that it was not exposed to water or extreme temperatures.

    When I first attempted to boot up before plugging in, I was not surprised that it was not successful. Even in hibernation/sleep, I imagine the battery would get low while I was gone. I plugged the power adapter in, the battery light immediately lit orange and the computer booted up successfully. I unfortunately had no reason to check the charging status in windows at this point. I left the laptop charging for a few minutes before returning and plugging in my fitbit to charge. After that I navigated to a video streaming site, started a video and plugged in an HDMI cable connected to the TV. The computer abruptly shut down around a minute or so later. I didn't see any warning, but since I was in full screen video mode I may not have seen any windows warning pop-ups. At this point I noted that the battery light was no longer lit. The computer would no longer power on or respond in any way. I unplugged the fitbit and left the computer to charge overnight. There was no change in the morning. I tried plugging the adapter into multiple wall outlets, all verified to be working with other equipment. The battery light still does not light, and I note that while the adapter had been warm to the touch the previous evening after the brief stint of functioning, it is no longer warm at all. My first thought was that the power adapter may have died. I plugged it in at work and measure the output to be 19V using a fluke meter. Unfortunately I don't have access to another Asus power adapter nor laptop to cross-verify functionality.

    Prior to leaving town for a week, I had no battery problems. I was able to run the laptop for a couple of hours on battery power and recall no error messages about the power adapter or charging. Even if my battery had died too far down while I was away, shouldn't the laptop be able to power directly from the adapter bypassing the battery?

    I have wondered whether the problem could be poor connection at the charging port, but do not know how to investigate that part. I'm also not sure why it would suddenly go bad when there had been no indications of problem before and no rough usage.

    I would certainly appreciate any suggestions for how to proceed next.

    Laptop: Asus UX303U
    OS: Windows 10

    Thanks!
    Alison

  2. #2
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    The first thing I would try is removing the battery, then try powering it up on just the AC adapter. See if you get any lights and if it boots up.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by jdc2000 View Post
    The first thing I would try is removing the battery, then try powering it up on just the AC adapter. See if you get any lights and if it boots up.
    Thanks. I will give that a try. It isn't immediately obvious how to remove the battery so I assume I must need to open up the case. I will do some research on that and will probably need a new screwdriver to deal with the super small screws. I will report back.

  4. #4
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  5. #5
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    I have the normal set of small screwdrivers. They may be adequate, though they are the normal cheap set. I guess this will be an adventure.

    I'm unclear on one thing mentioned above. Will/should this laptop power up on external power when the battery is removed? Or does the power pass through the battery normally? Is there an interlock which might prevent the laptop from powering up with the back open?

  6. #6
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    The laptop should power up with the battery removed from what I have seen on the ASUS models. When connected to the AC adapter, the adapter powers the laptop and charges the battery (if installed). It is unlikely that there is an interlock to prevent powering up the laptop with the back cover removed, but you should be able to see one if it is there. Do not allow anything to contact the internal components when trying to power it up however.

  7. #7
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    There is a very good chance the Power Adaptor has died.
    These usually go bad without a warning of any kind.
    Does the Adaptor itself have an LED Light showing it's plugged in (some do, some don't)?
    I know you said it's not warm any longer, if working it should be a bit warm to the touch (Not Hot)!

    If the Battery depleted itself while you were on your vacation which it very well could have in
    Hibernation Mode, your Battery will have no power or very little left (maybe not enough to Boot
    the computer again, once it was run out).
    If the Power Adaptor has Died, your Battery is now Unable to Receive a Charge from the Adaptor.
    This doesn't necessarily mean the Battery is bad too, although they do die occasionally!

    The advice above to Disconnect the Battery and try powering up with the Adaptor is good advice.
    If it doesn't power up (which I imagine it won't) the Adaptor needs replaced.
    You can pick one up on Ebay or Amazon much cheaper than you could in a Local Store or the Asus Website.

    Asus Zenbook Q508UG-212.R7TBL 2-in-1 Laptop
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  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by bugspop1 View Post
    There is a very good chance the Power Adaptor has died.
    These usually go bad without a warning of any kind.
    Does the Adaptor itself have an LED Light showing it's plugged in (some do, some don't)?
    I know you said it's not warm any longer, if working it should be a bit warm to the touch (Not Hot)!

    If the Battery depleted itself while you were on your vacation which it very well could have in
    Hibernation Mode, your Battery will have no power or very little left (maybe not enough to Boot
    the computer again, once it was run out).
    If the Power Adaptor has Died, your Battery is now Unable to Receive a Charge from the Adaptor.
    This doesn't necessarily mean the Battery is bad too, although they do die occasionally!

    The advice above to Disconnect the Battery and try powering up with the Adaptor is good advice.
    If it doesn't power up (which I imagine it won't) the Adaptor needs replaced.
    You can pick one up on Ebay or Amazon much cheaper than you could in a Local Store or the Asus Website.
    Indeed my first thought was the power adapter... but if it had died, would it still produce the rated 19V when plugged in? I plugged the plug into a wall outlet and measured the end which normally plugs into the laptop with a Fluke meter. It was a steady 19V. I was wondering if it wasn't getting warm because it wasn't supporting a load (ie battery or powering computer). The adapter itself does not have an indicator light unfortunately. The fact that the adapter still produces steady 19V is what led me to next question the continuity at the plug point into the laptop or a connection therein.

    I think we've found a screwdriver head microscopic enough for these screws on the case, so next I'll give a try at opening up to access the battery. Thank you jdc2000 for the links - I'd found one of those, but multiple sources are always good.

  9. #9
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    I disconnected the battery connector, plugged in the adapter and attempted to power the computer. Negative result - no sign of power or booting.

    How can I successfully troubleshoot the power adapter? If it has died, would it still read 19V when plugged into the wall? I unfortunately don't have a second compatible power adapter to test in the system.

    If not the power adapter, then what? Continuity between the power adapter plug and the power supply in the laptop? The power supply itself? The power adapter plug?

  10. #10
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    I'll try to clear up a possible bit of confusion here. My daughter posted from my desktop this evening, using my account, 4breezes, rather than her own, alisonb.

    As a point of interest, the screws holding the bottom of the case are not phillips head, they're Torx, T-5.

  11. #11
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    If the adapter output is still showing 19 volts, it is probably working OK. It won't get as warm as usual unless it is powering a load.

    It is possible that the connector on the laptop where the power adapter plugs in has failed. These are prone to failure also. If you have a meter, and can remove the cover to access the wires or circuit board solder pads where the power is delivered, you can see if power is getting to that point.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by jdc2000 View Post
    If the adapter output is still showing 19 volts, it is probably working OK. It won't get as warm as usual unless it is powering a load.

    It is possible that the connector on the laptop where the power adapter plugs in has failed. These are prone to failure also. If you have a meter, and can remove the cover to access the wires or circuit board solder pads where the power is delivered, you can see if power is getting to that point.
    That's my next thought. However, when I had the system open last night, it was not clear to me where I would be able to test this. I can see the black casing for the jack but can't tell where the connection goes from there. The next place in the circuit which was obvious to me was the battery connector. Should I be testing for power at that battery connector point? Or can I test somewhere before that? If so, where? The user manual is of course no help, just telling me to send the laptop to Asus tech. I've found some youtube tutorials for replacing the power jack, but none so far for how to test it.

    If I should test at the battery connector, what is the appropriate method? I noted 3 positive (red), 3 negative (black) and 2 other (white and yellow) wires on the battery connector. Which would I contact for checking voltage input? Sorry for my ignorance on this...

    Thanks!

  13. #13
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    Is the power connector soldered to a circuit board or does it have wires leading somewhere? You may need to perform additional disassembly to access test points for that.

    For the battery, assuming that red is positive and black negative, you could test for voltage there. If there are any labels or markings on the battery, they may tell you what voltage you should see.

  14. #14
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    Sorry I didn't get back to you about the 19v, been really busy.
    Here is a link that may help with testing your DC Jack on the Laptop.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74FT329igAg
    There are plenty of YouTube Videos for Replacing the DC Jack is needed.
    It won't be an easy job as you'll see from the videos.

    Asus Zenbook Q508UG-212.R7TBL 2-in-1 Laptop
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700U Processor
    8gb DDR4 RAM (Soldered on Motherboard)
    1gb Western Digital Blue NVMe SSD
    NVIDA MX450 (DDR6)
    15.6" 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) Touchscreen
    Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless - AC 7260
    USB 1 x 2.0 - USB 1 x 3.0 - USB-C 1 x 3.1
    Micro SD Card Reader
    Lighted Keyboard
    Webcam/Microphone
    Windows 11 Professional
    MS Office 365 Family
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  15. #15
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    I wanted to update on the status of the power issues on my laptop. Considering the level of difficulty in troubleshooting and repairing potential issues discussed above, I ended up taking my laptop into a repair shop last week. I went to Central Computers, for those familiar with the Bay Area chain. They diagnosed the problem as two shorted power chips on the motherboard. They replaced the chips and returned the laptop to me last night. (total cost $200 for diagnostic, parts and labor)

    Unfortunately, the repair seems to be only partially successful. The laptop can power on and boot now, which is a definite improvement. However, the battery does not charge. Windows says that the system is charging - specifically, status says "7% available (plugged in, charging)" - but the battery remains unchanged at 7% power even after being plugged in overnight. The battery icon at first shows the typical animation of battery level progressing left to right, but that lasts only ~30sec. After that the icon remains static showing the system is plugged in but not animating progression. If I hover the mouse over the icon I still get the "7% available (plugged in, charging)" status, though.

    I admit I am rather disappointed in the fact that they would return a system as "repaired" with such an obvious problem still existing. I will be calling them back to discuss the problem.

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