My new Blade 15 is often used aggressively for video production, rendering, modeling, gaming, and multitasking. Recently, it has begun to ignore being plugged in. It will occasionally switch from battery mode to plugged-in-mode during work, and sometimes, it fails to charge. I'm seeking information as I currently have what appears to be a solution. But I fear this issue will get worse over time. Which I find unacceptable given the young age of this laptop.
1. The setup
2. The issue
3. My guess
4. Synopsis / TLDR
The Setup
- Early 2020 Blade 15 Base (RZ09-0328)
- Purchased online from Razer.
- Warranty details irrelevant. Shipping this PC to Razer is not an option.
- Qualified to issue OEM or non-OEM repairs and replacements.
- PC is very well maintained, cleaned, stored, cooled, and monitored.
- AC Adapter is not well maintained, cleaned, stored, cooled, or monitored.
- Heat generation is prominent in both PC body and AC Adapter, as expected. Within normal limits.
- Heat management has not always been successful. Both PC and AC Adapter have become unadvisedly hot. I arrive at such temperatures rarely.
- Laptop body never opened or modified.
- AC Adapter never opened or modified.
- First evident case of issue immediately following high-demand usage.
The issue
- Oscillating between AC and Battery while plugged in and in use.
- Charging for one to three minutes at a time while PC is being used.
- Occasionally not charging at all while PC is being used.
- Occasionally charging successfully.
- ACPI Adapter reset today. No changes to note.
- All connection points / ports always secured.
My Guess
- I suspect the battery is in good health.
- I suspect connection points / ports are in good health.
- I suspect infrastructural electrical supply and wall outlets are in good health.
- I suspect AC Adapter is in poor health.
- Explanation:
- Laptop plugged in, but on battery power.
- Brief Charge Period: A short span of successful laptop charging. These brief periods are taken as a good sign, indicating power is flowing properly. However, Brief Charge Periods are also a sign of the issues at hand, as they do not last.
- 80% occurrence when plugging/unplugging from the wall outlet.
- 80% occurrence when plugging/unplugging from the AC Adapter connection.
- 20% occurrence when plugging/unplugging from the Laptop charging port.
- I interpret the above as an accurate representation of the likelihood of the location of the issue: The AC Adapter.
- AC Adapter green indicator light functions properly
- AC Adapter green indicator light dissipates after 45-50 seconds. Within normal limits.
- The most successful charging periods, such as the one I'm on right now, occur when:
- both the PC and AC Adapter are constantly air cooled externally and
- The AC Adapter had been given three to five minutes entirely disassembled and unplugged.
Synopsis (TLDR)
I subject my system to high demands frequently. And even though I actively cool my computer, I still generate enough heat for it to become what I suspect is my primary problem. When my devices are cooled, over-cooled, and left to rest, they come back to perform as expected. Even though they malfunction to varying degrees on occasion.
Do my observations / summaries align with your experiences? And would you advise for me to continue under these assumptions? And finally, in the worst case, what kinds of hardware replacements do you see in my future if such issues worsen over time?
Sincerely,
Somasupremo