Laptop not charging

[r8sso]

Last night I noticed my laptop wasn’t charging.  It’s not like some people on here where the laptop recognised the power lead (cord) is plugged in and says not charging, mine just implies it’s running off the battery; doesn't recognise that it's plugged in.

I’ve tried a power reset, I’ve also tried another HP power lead from work. Same issue. When booting up I get a flashing white light. I’ve run out of options now two days before I go on holiday.

This seems to be a common problem with the spectre. Really annoyed I’ve paid a heavy premium for a laptop which has lasted just over three years. Is there anything left to try before I use my consumer rights under the Sale of Goods act as I don’t think 3 years for a 1300+ laptop is fair.

[Huffer]

Lets get terms straight here. Does the laptop actually power on and run on AC power or is it just that the battery will not accept a charge? 3 years is about the lifetime of a laptop battery but it may or may not be the lifetime of a laptop as far as the UK Sale of Goods Act is concerned. I will not comment on that. How does it imply it is running on battery? Please clarify. 

[r8sso]

So when I noticed this the laptop had 40% battery.  The laptop works fine running off the battery. I’ve no idea if it will run once the charge dissipates. I think likely not as the light on the charging port on the side of the laptop doesn’t change.  I’ve ran a battery check and it says the battery is fine, has an 86% capacity when I did the check via the BIOS on boot.

Disagree with 3 years being the lifetime of a modern battery. As the norm I’d expect it to last beyond this with capacity degrading over time rather than a hard failure.

[r8sso]

My main concern is there seems to be a common issue with model where a capacitor on the charging port, attached to the MB, overheats and burns out; usually through the sticker which is on it. If it’s this then the repair will cost as much as replacing the laptop!

[Huffer]

3 years is within the normal range of life of a modern battery but that is not the issue you have anyway. I have alerted HP moderators and we should hold off until they have a chance to come in and take over.