ASUS N56 Not charging properly

[Dangerous_Dave]

I have an ASUS N56JN which has started behaving strangely when charging: When plugged in, Windows 10 is saying it is charging, but the battery is not charging - it is stuck on 6%. Then, if I unplug the charger and plug back in again, the machine does not detect the charger, and even if I shut down and restart, the machine does not detect the charger. Only by unplugging the charger from the wall and plugging it back in can I make the machine detect the charger - but it is still not charging the battery.

I have two chargers and two batteries (the other is stuck on 2%) and the machine is doing the same thing with all combinations of them - so I'm struggling to see how it could be a problem with battery or charger.

I've tried uninstalling the battery driver and reinstalling, but that does not help. I've also tried removing the charger and the battery and holding the power button for 30 seconds, but that did not help.

Any help fixing this issue would be greatly appreciated.

[cl-Albert]

Hi,

Sorry to hear the unit isn't working better.
There could be different things causing the problem, but sounds hardware-related whatever it is.

A little curious when the problem started though and if anything was changed (or happened like the notebook was dropped?) at the same time.

Also, just wanted to make sure you were using the correct AC adapter(s).
According to the N56JN website specs, your AC adapter should provide 19 V DC, 6.3 A output which is 120 Watts if your system uses the i7 processor, so please confirm which cpu your system is using and that the input rating label under your notebook matches the rating label under your AC adapter which should say Output: 19 V DC, 6.3 A if it is using the 120 Watt adapter.

If you AC adapter is not providing enough wattage, check if it is able to charge the notebook while the system is turned off if you have not already, but that may just be a temporary workaround.
If you are using third-party AC adapters, might also want to make sure they are okay or work on another N56JN notebook if possible.

Try carefully or gently holding the AC adapter plug in slightly different positions to see it works better which may indicate you have a loose DC jack on your motherboard, but you don't want to be too rough and make it worse.

If the problem is not related to your AC adapter or DC jack, it is probably a problem with either your battery or notebook motherboard, but feel free to check around for more suggestions. Thanks and good luck in resolving it!

[Dangerous_Dave]

Thanks for your reply. I don't think it's a problem with the charger (which is an original ASUS model with the correct ratings) or the jack, although possibly it could be. I have two batteries which are both exhibiting the same behaviour (i.e. cannot be charged).

A couple of things happened just prior to this behaviour starting: I was cleaning the machine, and Windows 10 did a large update.

Mostly I'm struggling to explain why the laptop will detect the charger fine and run off it (but not charge the battery) until the point that I unplug it from the jack, and then if I plug it in again, it will not detect the charger until I unplug the charger from the wall and plug it back in again. Why would the charger being plugged in at the wall end affect how the laptop detects the charger?

[cl-Albert]

Dangerous_Dave wrote:

Mostly I'm struggling to explain why the laptop will detect the charger fine and run off it (but not charge the battery) until the point that I unplug it from the jack, and then if I plug it in again, it will not detect the charger until I unplug the charger from the wall and plug it back in again. Why would the charger being plugged in at the wall end affect how the laptop detects the charger?

Apologize in advance if I've read your post too quickly or don't understand all the details, but I've seen before on other systems if you use an AC adapter with lower wattage (65 watts or 90 watts instead of 120 watts) that the charger would just stop working when you were drawing more than its rated capacity. Unplugging the charger and letting it 'rest' would usually get it working again temporarily, so it's possible your AC adapter just quit working until you unplugged it from the wall and plug it back in again.

If your charger includes a light, it should be easy to tell when it stops working, and if your AC adapter was defective, it may explain why it's not able to charge your battery or needs to 'rest' although there could be other causes/explanations as well.

Anyway, hope this makes some sense, but you may want to check your adapter rating label too just to make sure you received the correct one.

[Dangerous_Dave]

I was able to borrow another charger of the correct specs but the problem still persists. I also tried resetting to factory new in case the Windows update had caused the problem but that didn't help it 😞

[cl-Albert]

Haven't heard if the battery is still working (an hour or more?) and just showing the wrong percentage, but if the notebook is not usable on battery power, doesn't sound too good.

May not be worth repairing or not especially if you are out of warranty, but if you wish, considering discussing with your local ASUS support and getting an estimate although they need to check the unit before they can be sure what is wrong.

https://www.asus.com/support/callus

Otherwise, looks like the ASUS N56JN download site does have an ATK driver update for Windows 10 if you want to try that, but don't expect it can help if the battery isn't able to charge or hold a charge which sounds like a hardware problem.

[AtlasMinor]

Windows-10 1703 Creators edition ( ADDED) NEW battery aggretator Drivers to the OS, with a complete new Install process. Your ASUS N56JN ogt a REDDOT Award in 2012 and shipped with windows-8

The chances your battery is now compatible with the new Windows-10 , which has announced THEN removed ALL legacy support for Win-9xxx driver/software for hardware built for Win8 / 9xxx, which 9xxx was scraped and Windows-10 was developed instead i probably going to be the reason.

You stated yourself you trided just about everything except replacing the battery, which you have 2 units, both stuck, I suggest:

BEFORE spending money, Install a generic Windows8/8.1 version with a public key, install your Known Good drivers that are stock to your notebook, and plug-in your battery, and watch it charge, i bet that fix your problem 😉

No lie i had similar battery issues, My Unit was shipped stock windows-10, and i flipped it to Win8 and the battery + the Battery Indicator BOTH worked 100% no problem, like seen on windows10,

But for me the newer Battery Aggravater Drivers helped me a little.... not much mesed up USB Charger Plus , so now i a almost worry free battery but USB-Plus is BORKed,

Hope my experience helps you out.