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January 17th, 2023 12:00
m17 R4, randomly shutting off on battery power
Alienware m17 R4
I'm having what seems to be a new pretty unique issue with this laptop. for context I've already had the motherboard replaced twice in 2022, first time for a misdiagnosed issue and the second time because the charge controller on the replacement motherboard half-fried itself after a couple weeks.
fast forward to today, I've been having no issues until I decided to run my laptop off of its battery. I primarily use it plugged in anyway, and i have zero issues when its plugged in. but when i unplug the AC adapter, it will die after about 5 minutes of use, no matter how full the battery is. it also has no error codes and will restart normally and then shut off again after another few minutes. the battery is not low, it was doing this at 90% and seemed to drain normally between shutoffs. i gave up the few minute on then random shutoff cycle at around 60%, plugged it in and its working as normal as long as its plugged in.
I had this same issue about a month ago, but that time, it would be at 100, then almost immediately flash 7% with a battery low warning then turn off if you didnt plug it in. if you did plug it in, then the battery would jump back to like 70%. after talking to a dell customer service rep, they had me update the BIOS then reset the bios to default settings (Adaptive seems to be the default, though i was using "primarily AC use" because i usually keep it plugged in) though its still doing the same thing no matter if its on adaptive or standard.
also now its still randomly shutting down on battery power, but the battery % is staying about the same as it was before the shutdown (not fluctuating), and from 60 to 100 charging it now it seems to be incrementing normal as long as its plugged in
RPT943
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January 17th, 2023 15:00
@crimsom i just tested it, and the problem seems to be intermittent. earlier it was shutting down every 5 minutes but i just used it from 100% and it discharged at a normal rate and then hibernated on its own and shut itself off at around 60ish percent and turned on normally at 57% and ive got it plugged in now. sometimes it will make itself hibernate but most of the time it will just immediately shut off at random. i spoke to a dell rep maybe an hour ago and hes scheduling me yet ANOTHER motherboard replacement
RPT943
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January 18th, 2023 19:00
@crimsom after having another issue today with the laptop repeating a battery optimization error, i spoke with a customer service rep who told me to do a diagnostic check and the check gave an error saying the battery was not installed.
i got permission to open the laptop up after the support chat was over and i found that the battery cable going into the motherboard was melted, but the motherboard looked perfectly fine at first glance. after disconnecting and reconnecting the battery cable, the laptop turned on but said the "battery could not be recognized and therefore the laptop will not charge this battery", and after that i just shut it back down and removed the battery completely and removed the melted battery cable from the battery. i have the laptop running on AC power with no battery right now.
the battery is out of warranty anyway, and dell doesnt sell the battery cable by itself. the battery looks perfectly fine, it is not swollen or warm or anything, and the motherboard looks fine at first glance, so i decided to order a new battery cable on ebay.
The worst-case scenario would be that the new cable just doesn't fix the problem. But it's better than spending $140 on a new battery straight from dell if all my current one needs is a $10 cable. In the morning I might ask them to postpone the motherboard replacement (it's on backorder anyway) until after the new battery cable arrives. IF the cable fixes the issue, I might ask them to cancel the motherboard replacement, as I don't want to risk receiving another faulty warranty replacement motherboard (it has happened before with this laptop) if my current motherboard is fine.
crimsom
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January 17th, 2023 13:00
Hi @RPT943 welcome to this free user-to-user Alienware laptop discussion forum.
Your BIOS/UEFI setting should be "primarily AC use" because you usually keep laptop on ac adapter (charger) power.
Please create Battery Report to determine if main battery ability to retain charge is low and near to end of life. How to Check Battery Health Status on Dell Laptops | Dell US. Alienware m17 R4 Remove and Install Battery | Dell US.
Does the RTC CMOS (coin-cell) Battery require replacement? How to Replace a CMOS (Coin-Cell) Battery on Your Dell Notebook | Dell US.
RPT943
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January 17th, 2023 14:00
@crimsom iirc the CMOS is integrated into the main battery circuitry, windows Battery report indicates that the battery has 65,573mWh out of 86002mWh. hardwareinfo64 says the battery has around 24% wear
crimsom
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January 17th, 2023 15:00
Hi @RPT943 thank you for sharing update.
My bad, search missed Coin-cell battery Not supported, Alienware m17 R4 Battery | Dell US.
How long does Alienware m17 R4 battery charge last, opening post says it will die after about 5 minutes of use! A new OEM battery is recommended on real time use.
Dell Alienware m17 R4 OEM Original XPS 15 (9500) 6-Cell 86Wh Battery is DP/N 69KF2.
Dell Alienware m17 R4 OEM Original XPS 15 (9500) 3-Cell 56Wh Battery is DP/N 8FCTC.
RPT943
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January 17th, 2023 15:00
@crimsom Hardware info is showing some very weird results. the battery seems to be discharging regularly but for some reason, right before it shuts off the battery appears to be "charging" based on the increasing charge wattage and remaining capacity, despite no charger being plugged in... then it shuts off.....
crimsom
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January 18th, 2023 21:00
Hi @RPT943 thank you for sharing the result of your Alienware m17 R4 physical investigation that revealed m17 R3 R4 Battery cable (DP/N 0302J5) going into the motherboard was melted.
RPT943
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January 21st, 2023 19:00
@crimsom the new battery cable arrived early this morning and the laptop and battery are working flawlessly now. im going to give it a few cycles to confirm but so far no issues. if all goes well by monday morning i will ask them to cancel the motherboard replacement.
crimsom
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January 21st, 2023 23:00
Hi @RPT943 thank you for sharing a very positive update. Is the 40 minutes Full Test and Battery Report also saying that Alienware m17 R4 is good?
RPT943
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January 22nd, 2023 23:00
@crimsom the 40-minute full test passed everything with flying colors and the battery seems to be working perfectly fine for now. hardwareinfo64 says the battery has around 24% wear. considering that this battery is over a year and 4 months old, it's hard to complain about that.