Database Users

Charger Keeps Burning Out

Does anyone else's charger keep dying/burning out/burning up? I've had my TF since July and after 5 weeks it decided it didn't want to charge anymore, so I sent it to the Asus repair center in Houston, Texas and it came back three weeks later and everything was fine.
I just got my dock two days ago and pretty much had the tablet connected to the dock and the charger connected to the dock for almost all the time I was using it since it was taking forever to charge both batteries. By the end of the first night the tablet was completely charged and the dock went from about 4% to 80% during the whole time I had it charged (but I was using it at 1.4GHz with the screen brightness all the way up). While it was charging the power brick (the actual transformer lol) was getting really hot, almost too hot to touch, but I know those normally get hot when they charge stuff so I didn't think anything of it.
I tried to finish charging it yesterday and noticed that it stopped charging (again). I checked my AC power cables and everything was connected, I re-seated the usb end into the adapter, rebooted the tablet and tried connecting the charger to both the tablet and the dock. Neither would charge. I also tried the adapter in different outlets too. I'm not going to send it back to Asus this time since AFAIK there's nothing wrong with the tablet or the dock itself, I'm just going to shell out $40 and get one off of ebay. If that doesn't fix the issue then I'll send it back because I don't want to be without it again for three weeks.
Has anyone else had this happen to them more than once?

Funny you post this. Mine stopped charging last night. I know the cable is good because I can hook it to my computer and transfer data. However plugged into the actual power transformer, it will not charge. Tried many different outlets and did my best to make sure it was not damaged.

I think we need to find a good way to charge it from USB 3.0 ports on the PC by buying a PCI card or whatever, and keep the power brick for traveling
They seem very feeble
I still have my first one but it stinks of burned electricals

It's bull**** that they don't sell the chargers separately and there aren't any third-party chargers available. I think I'm going to try the charge from PC mod for my normal charging duties since my PC is always on and my PSU is 850w.
Why can't we just directly charge from a USB 3.0 port (or two of them for that matter with a y-cable like they do for portable HDDs)? I may have to rig something up with the help of my father who's an electrician

magicdave26 said:
I think we need to find a good way to charge it from USB 3.0 ports on the PC by buying a PCI card or whatever, and keep the power brick for traveling
They seem very feeble
I still have my first one but it stinks of burned electricals
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The USB 3.0 port on a pc will not charge unless you want to leave it overnight turned off. The power connector/connector on the TF is a physical USB 3.0 connector, BUT not an electrical 3.0 connector.

If it's not an electrical connector (odd thing to call it since these run off electricity no matter how you spin it, but I know what you mean ) then how does it get charged using the power brick? Are there leads in the cable that are specifically for power and not for transmitting data (meaning they don't connect to anything in a USB3 port on your PC)?

I was able to fix mine by throwing my power brick into the freezer for about a half hour or so. I followed this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1284303
I was about 1 click away from buying a universal Dynex one that is on amazon and then read around, so far so good. Hope it works for you.

I just made my own PC charger and so far so good, I didn't even have to buy anything!
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brando56894 said:
If it's not an electrical connector (odd thing to call it since these run off electricity no matter how you spin it, but I know what you mean ) then how does it get charged using the power brick? Are there leads in the cable that are specifically for power and not for transmitting data (meaning they don't connect to anything in a USB3 port on your PC)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both usb 2.0 and 3.0 have one 5v power and gnd line with limited current capability. 2.0 has one pair of data lines. 3.0 has two pair of data lines. The TF power cord is essentially a 3.0 cable with coductor # 7 ( part of a data pair in 3.0) used to sense a gnd signal from the tablet to tell the power brick to output 15V on the normal 5v line. If the brick does not see the gnd on pin7, the 5v line only outputs 5v. This is why a 2.0 usb extension will not work.There is no conductor 7. Best bet buy the dynex video camera adapter and set itt for 15v to the usb connector.

Hardware mod: Fully integrated Powermat receiver

So I finally got a Powermat charger for my phone (MyTouch 4G Slide) and along came a free battery door for a Blackberry (or something else).
I didn't want to let it go to waste so I decided to use it for my Nook.
Anything external wouldn't have been aesthetically pleasing enough so I thought that maybe it would fit inside and cracked it open.
To sum it up: It fits perfectly under the battery and is completely invisible from the outside.
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Apart from being compatible with the Powermat the Nook works just like before.
If you want to do this yourself, you can see the soldering points in the pictures.
Nook + Powermat = Powernook
http://imgur.com/a/Lx5By#0
Have fun
Oh and... if anyone knows of a Powermat solution for the Desire S, please post a link
Edit:
When I would wake up my nook before, there was a 95% chance that it wouldn't react to my first slide.
Taking it apart and reassembling it seems to have fixed it.

That's really neat.
We need more soldering on this forum!

WANT
This is really cool, will you be posting a tutorial? Or do we have to actually know how to solder?

Yes, you will have to know how to solder
I wouldn't know what more to write as a tutorial.
There are tutorials out there on how to open the Nook (pry out power button, remove single screw, slide open)
The rest is in the pictures, soldering points clearly visible.
You don't even have to remove the board from the front as shown in the pictures.

It still charges via USB and everything?

Yes, no drawbacks at all.

Does it connect directly across the battery or into where the USB comes in?

The Powermat receiver is connected to USB +5V / GND.
For the Nook it's the same as connecting a charger.

shadow# said:
The Powermat receiver is connected to USB +5V / GND.
For the Nook it's the same as connecting a charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guys,
I recall, the nook (as most other devices) battery “doesn’t like” to be frozen, completely discharged, have limited number of charge/discharge cycles, etc.
Not sure tho, how many of these rumors are true, actually.
About charge/discharge cycles:
Won’t it’ll be better to charge battery only if it’s discharged below some threshold and leave it along otherwise?
I guess, it’ll require some advanced schematics, something almost impossible for DIY projects...

What did you use to get the powermat part? Did you just rip open a different accessory or what?

ApokrifX said:
Won’t it’ll be better to charge battery only if it’s discharged below some threshold and leave it along otherwise?
I guess, it’ll require some advanced schematics, something almost impossible for DIY projects...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Nook already does that. If it's above 93% it will not start charging.
I don't charge it regularly anyway, it's just that now I can do it with the Powermat.
brendan10211 said:
What did you use to get the powermat part? Did you just rip open a different accessory or what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I took the Blackberry receiver that came with the Powermat, put it on the radiator to soften up the glue and removed the electronics by prying them off with the clear piece of plastic you can see in the first gallery photo.

If it's connected directly where the USB goes than it relies on the Nook seeing that it is a charge device. My experience has generally been positive, but don't be surprised if you look at the Nook after 8 hours on the mat and it says 36%, not charging. USB charging theoretically relies on handshaking of the data lines. It might also be charging at the lowest rate of 100 mA.

So far I only charged it once and it seemed to do just fine.
I don't know what the normal charging rate would be but it didn't seem slow.

Renate NST said:
If it's connected directly where the USB goes than it relies on the Nook seeing that it is a charge device. My experience has generally been positive, but don't be surprised if you look at the Nook after 8 hours on the mat and it says 36%, not charging. USB charging theoretically relies on handshaking of the data lines. It might also be charging at the lowest rate of 100 mA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe that is the case. If you use an AC charger with the usb cable, there is no data communication going on, just the 5V and GND connections.

If you use an AC charger, the charger short-circuits the DATA- and DATA+ lines of the USB cable. This way the device knows it is connected to a charger and not to a computer and it knows it can draw more power to charge. I think Renate NST means that the nook won't know it is connected to an AC charger and will charge as if it is connected to a USB port e.g. slower than with an AC charger.

Additional battery supply
Hi! is there possibility - maybe using heat to change back casing to get more space, to include larger or additional battery? This way one may get more power to usb host mode and also more time on charged nook

What a wonderful idea, but it would be easier to just make a new backing for it that was thicker.
But the entire point of the nook is how thin it is, so that would defeat the purpose of a thin reading tablet.

brendan10211 said:
But the entire point of the nook is how thin it is, so that would defeat the purpose of a thin reading tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you read that? The point of the Nook is to be an E-Reader, not being a thing thing. I could apply that to... an orange slice if I wanted to. It's thin(ish), but it's food.

Googie2149 said:
Where did you read that? The point of the Nook is to be an E-Reader, not being a thing thing. I could apply that to... an orange slice if I wanted to. It's thin(ish), but it's food.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Must you go against everything I say?

brendan10211 said:
Must you go against everything I say?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't a clue what you're talking about, now could you stop before this becomes a flame war?

Car charging with Ignition off, any suggestions?

I have a Nexus 7 installed in-dash, but I've already read everyone else's builds and I would really hate to install an inverter just to charge my car entertainment. So what I do is I use a 2.1A car charger that somehow isn't able to charge to Nexus 7 while the screen is on, it merely just keeps the power constant so it doesn't drain, and is just an indicator of whether to turn on or not. I constantly have to deal with recharging it by AC power in the garage and that's getting tiring.
So here's my schematic,
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When the car is shut off, the ignition switch would be set to open, and then from there I can set the mechanical switch to close so it can charge my Nexus 7 while I'm out of the car, of course I would turn the screen off. I did the math, and this shouldn't be able to kill a whole car battery in a week, I'm just worried about fire or something that may or may not work or any fire hazards, does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks!

Rule #1: Never connect power sources directly in parallel. They will fight.
It's not clear from your explanation if the problem is with your charger or the Nexus' reluctance to accept a lot of current.
You may have to short or bias the data lines on the USB to make the Nexus use all the current available.
I'd be interested to know some actual current measurements, peak internal current demand on the Nexus, peak charging current.
If I were making a permanently installed tablet, I think that I would just buy a buck converter from ebay, set it on 4V and wire it directly into where the battery was.

So the wiring schematic is bad news?
Well that's a shame, I'll take amp readings tomorrow, I'll grab an amp meter and cut up the USB extension.
You see here's how the power goes:
Indicator mode: Monoprice 2.1A Charger -> USB Ext 3ft -> Original Nexus 7 cable -> Angle Connector USB extension -> Nexus 7
Charge Mode: Original Nexus 7 Charger 2.0A -> USB Ext 3ft. -> Original Nexus 7 cable -> Angle Connector USB extension -> Nexus 7.
Test 1: Indicator Mode
Test 2: Charge Mode
Test 3: Indicator Mode with Data Wires shortened at the 3ft USB ext
Test 4: Charge Mode with Data Wires shortened at the 3ft USB ext.
You just want amperage readings on these right?
I know the set up for the wiring is ridiculous and may cause a lot of resistance, but it charges up just fine with the original AC charger, and even an iPad's AC charger. I'm not sure what the problem is but I'll come back on Thursday afternoon with my results.

There's nothing special about the AC charger.
The reason that the AC charger can charge is because the display is off.
With all systems running full tilt the charger may not be able to keep up.
Measurements on this can be difficult.
The problem is, from the outside you are getting a limited view.
Let's say you plug a cell phone into a charger and measure 500 mA.
You could turn on the display, GPS and the most processor intensive thing and the current might still read 500 mA.
You don't really know how much slack the battery is taking up.
Is this a dedicated, hard-wired thing for your car?

Yes, it's a dedicated set up for my car.
Well you see here's the thing, I've tested it a long time ago, and charging by the AC charger for the Nexus or the iPad under full load of processor intensive task + screen on full brightness on the display it still charged a little, yes the wiring was the same extended wiring. From this data I assumed that using any 2.1A car charger would do the same, but I was wrong, none of the car chargers even put a single percentage of charge on the tablet even when all it was doing is standing by with the screen on.

Not exactly sure what you are trying to do with the diagram in the OP. If this is a hard wired installation you could just grab a 12v to 5v converter module that puts out enough current. I'd suggest using Battery Monitor Widget or something similar while testing since that can show the current draw/charge on your device so you can see what its charging at. Or better yet a ammeter/multimeter that can measure current to see what its drawing. You may have to short the data pins on your microUSB cable to get it charging at a higher rate.
As far as it killing your car battery the device won't be drawing much current once its charged. Personally I'd be more worried about keeping it in a hot car for the sake of the tablet battery.

spunker88 said:
Not exactly sure what you are trying to do with the diagram in the OP. If this is a hard wired installation you could just grab a 12v to 5v converter module that puts out enough current. I'd suggest using Battery Monitor Widget or something similar while testing since that can show the current draw/charge on your device so you can see what its charging at. Or better yet a ammeter/multimeter that can measure current to see what its drawing. You may have to short the data pins on your microUSB cable to get it charging at a higher rate.
As far as it killing your car battery the device won't be drawing much current once its charged. Personally I'd be more worried about keeping it in a hot car for the sake of the tablet battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have any suggestions for the 12v to 5v converter module?
I'm willing to cut up one of the USB extensions to see the amperage tonight, so I'll post my findings then.
I live in Texas, and the heat's been up to 115 F at one point in the summer. I've had it installed in my car before summer started this year and there hasn't been any damage at all to the tablet. Maybe the occasional hiccup when the tablet doesn't want to turn the screen on when it realizes it has power, but other than that, it's been fully operational.

[How to] Get AC charging speed in your car

This post is dedicated for those who frequently use their beloved smartphone/tablet in the car for navigation or music.
Bored to see your device still loosing battery even if plugged in the car? The charging speed is way too slow?
Seems it gets less juice than it consumes for GPS ?
We will discuss why and how to trick this.
(I know it is already a well known subject but who knows, maybe it will help someone.)
Why ?
The low speed battery charge is due to the fact modern devices control themselves AC power they need for charging.
The device see two possible states when pluggin the microUSB connector :
- The USB plug is used for data connexion (with a Computer, USB Stick or any OTG accessory)
- The USB plug is used for charging only
Here is a wiring diagram of microUSB/USB cable (non-OTG) :
View attachment 2852878
To know in which state he actualy is, the device test the two data connectors D+ and D-.
If there is no connection between them, the devices assumes it is plugged on a computer. Then it limits its own consumption for charge to 500mA. This is how much a standard USB port is able to provide on a computer.
But if the two data pins are connected together, the devices believe he is plugged on standard AC and get the power it really need to charge efficiently (1A, 2A,... depends of the device).
How ?
WARNING
Do NOT plug this connector in your computer.
Do NOT use it for another usage than the usage I describe.
It might destroy the planet (almost)​Assuming you don't want to destroy a connexion cable, there is a simple trick to achieve the very same result using a simple USB Female to USB Male Adapter.
View attachment 2852841
Why such a connector have been created is quite weird to me but it serves our purpose so let's get a cheap one on ebay
For the modding you will need
A sharp knife / cutter / scalpel
Soldering tools (iron, materials)
Cyanolit glue (or any glue you likes)
5 min
First, use the knife to open the connector form the side. Do it gently since you will reassemble it the same way in the end.
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Use the knife again to remove some of the white plastic to reach the internal connector pins
Here you can see the two pins are unconnected
Use the soldering kit you have to connect the two central pins
(In fact the USB specification mention a 200 Ohm resistance. Mine works without it).
Beware for the soldering not to touch the external part of the connector
Verify the connection between D- and D+ through the connector
Reassemble the connector with the glue
Result
You will get "AC charging" on your device while using this connector between your car power supply and the charging cable of your device.
Before / After
Corrections and advices are of course welcome
Narkoa

Yep or if you have an s3 or s2 get siyah kernel then install stweaks and change charging speed on USB plug
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Free mobile app

thatonerootuser said:
Yep or if you have an s3 or s2 get siyah kernel then install stweaks and change charging speed on USB plug
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Input: DC 12-24V and Output: DC 5.0V/1000mA . Nealy 1A output current is enough for most cell phones
Edit. Sorry the image is a little bit large . I dont' know how to limit it's display width on forum thread.

SallyChen said:
Input: DC 12-24V and Output: DC 5.0V/1000mA . Nealy 1A output current is enough for most cell phones
Edit. Sorry the image is a little bit large . I dont' know how to limit it's display width on forum thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
very interesting trick...

Nexus 7 power issues (in Car)

Ok, I have a Nexus 7 2012 with Timur's kernel for USB otg.
I have connected a USB-hub to the tablet and a harddrive to the hub:
Also I use a 5A psu to power the devices.
This is how my psu case looks btw:
http://www.diskusjon.no/uploads/monthly_08_2014/post-74970-0-45943400-1409441424.jpg
In the Car:
http://www.diskusjon.no/uploads/monthly_08_2014/post-74970-0-65076400-1409441702.jpg
anyway to the case:
the tablet getting power, but I have a problem with it often uses more power than it charge, and so goes the power level down like 90%, 89%, 88%....
(With display turned off it's working ok, bur that's not a solution)
Here is the setups I have tryed:
This works (charging up):
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This don't work (charging down):
This don't work (charging down):
Well, it applies generally, sometimes a setup works, and than the nest time the same setup don'y work.
Also, with the browsn arrow, I have tryed the cut the pluss wire (+), charging down, also tryed vcut pluss (+) and minus (-), charging down.
Any suggestions? Starting to get very tired of this problem,'ll never get forward in the project when I keep having problems with charging.
I have considered maybe buying the 2013 version of nexus, perhaps it may have less charging issues?
Anyway, I have seen someone recommends resetting the power input, how do you do that?

Evelen said:
Ok, I have a Nexus 7 2012 with Timur's kernel for USB otg.
I have connected a USB-hub to the tablet and a harddrive to the hub:
Also I use a 5A psu to power the devices.
This is how my psu case looks btw:
http://www.diskusjon.no/uploads/monthly_08_2014/post-74970-0-45943400-1409441424.jpg
In the Car:
http://www.diskusjon.no/uploads/monthly_08_2014/post-74970-0-65076400-1409441702.jpg
anyway to the case:
the tablet getting power, but I have a problem with it often uses more power than it charge, and so goes the power level down like 90%, 89%, 88%....
(With display turned off it's working ok, bur that's not a solution)
Here is the setups I have tryed:
This works (charging up):
View attachment 2929547
This don't work (charging down):
View attachment 2929548
This don't work (charging down):
View attachment 2929549
Well, it applies generally, sometimes a setup works, and than the nest time the same setup don'y work.
Also, with the browsn arrow, I have tryed the cut the pluss wire (+), charging down, also tryed vcut pluss (+) and minus (-), charging down.
Any suggestions? Starting to get very tired of this problem,'ll never get forward in the project when I keep having problems with charging.
I have considered maybe buying the 2013 version of nexus, perhaps it may have less charging issues?
Anyway, I have seen someone recommends resetting the power input, how do you do that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of usb cable and how long are you running from your power supply to your tablet and hub.
Most usb cables have too small of wire for the power. They are supposed to handle only 500 ma. You need to find some usb cables with heavier wire for the power leads and keep them as short as possible.
I have a gps speedo app that is a real power hog and with the stock cable would discharge with the charger plugged in.
I replaced it with a 3ft cable with larger power wires and then it would keep the battery at a plus charging rate.
It also made the charging rate faster when the tablet was off.
What I would do is measure the voltage right at the plugs going into your devices and see what it actually is
Hope this helps.

Old Guy said:
What kind of usb cable and how long are you running from your power supply to your tablet and hub.
Most usb cables have too small of wire for the power. They are supposed to handle only 500 ma. You need to find some usb cables with heavier wire for the power leads and keep them as short as possible.
I have a gps speedo app that is a real power hog and with the stock cable would discharge with the charger plugged in.
I replaced it with a 3ft cable with larger power wires and then it would keep the battery at a plus charging rate.
It also made the charging rate faster when the tablet was off.
What I would do is measure the voltage right at the plugs going into your devices and see what it actually is
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I have to set my multimeter to "volt" and mesure between + and - on the cable?
Anyway, I use a USB-Ysplit cable I bought from another user on this forum, it's connected direct to the psu, so it ca 10cm.
casble from hub ti nexus is maybe 1-1,5 meters, the hub's powercable is (when in use 1,5-2m).

ok, I've done some volt readings.
Unfortunately I did not measured the micro usb because this is so extremely small.
Measuring 1:
Measuring 2:
Measuring 3:
Measuring 4:
Measuring 5:
Measuring 6:
Measuring 7:
Does this look alright ?, or is there something wrong?

Evelen said:
ok, I've done some volt readings.
Unfortunately I did not measured the micro usb because this is so extremely small.
Measuring 1:
Measuring 2:
Measuring 3:
Measuring 4:
Measuring 5:
Measuring 6:
Measuring 7:
Does this look alright ?, or is there something wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to measure the voltage right at the plug going to the tablet and any other devices with your tablet on and charging and running everything that is drawing power.
Just measuring at the end of your usb plugs with nothing attached is not going to tell you anything because there is no load on the power supplies.
To measure right at the plug, remove the sheath around the cable right at the mini plug and expose the wires inside. Skin back the red and black wires and measure the voltage with your system fully loaded.If you are not getting a full 5volts, you are getting a voltage drop in your cables.
The power supplies you are using should have no problems outputing enough voltage and amps.

I heard that the variable voltage between the power supplys could be the problem.
I tried stuffing both usb cabels in the same powersupply.
Works 100%: D: D
View attachment 2938534
EDIT: (Look away from the voltmeter and the noted volts at the last picture. I forgot to edit it away.)