Database Develop

Car chargers bricking Kaisers

What exactly is the scoop on this? Is it that they overpower the charging circuit (everyone says they charge the phones faster)? Is there a way to tell you're about to do damage?
I don't use the car charger that came with my Kaiser, I have several generic chargers which all work just fine. However I noticed that when running GPS, although the charge light was on, the battery wouldn't really charge. It wouldn't discharge either, I put it up to the extra drain on the phone's power system.
The other day though, my phone... stopped charging? I was driving (GPS) and the phone suddenly beeped a critical battery warning, the charge light was off... but the power was plugged in and the charger's power light in the cigarette socket was on. It WAS making a connection to the phone: if I unplugged it the screen would go dimmer, if I plugged it back in it would get brighter. But it still seemed to be running off the battery, which was draining regardless. The moment I got to my destination, it all powered off. Is this a forewarning of darker circumstances to come?

from what I've read you should not be using generic chargers. The amperage could differ. Therefore, if the electricity in your vehicle spikes you could be riding with a paper weight.
In addition, it is common that your device will not charge (nor discharge) while running your gps application. I play monopoly often while my phone is in the charger and my device usually doesn't charge while I am playing.

Also, I think the pinout on generic USB chargers are different. The ones that are for Moto Razr / Blackberry phones dont work to charge the phones ( as I have a work blackberry and tried it) It didnt hurt my phone, however it just didnt charge. I have heard of others damaging but if its not made for the kaiser, I wouldn't try it.

I've never had access to Moto Razr / Blackberry chargers. While I can't speak for those, I know generic USB chargers would have exactly the same pinout as the stock Kaiser charger. The amperage supplied may indeed differ, I think that might have explained my issue above. It was almost like the charge circuit 'gave up' since the phone was demanding as much/more power as it was getting.

CrArc said:
I've never had access to Moto Razr / Blackberry chargers. While I can't speak for those, I know generic USB chargers would have exactly the same pinout as the stock Kaiser charger. The amperage supplied may indeed differ, I think that might have explained my issue above. It was almost like the charge circuit 'gave up' since the phone was demanding as much/more power as it was getting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My razr charger works perfect with my tilt.. (MOTOROLLA branded - not generic)

Ditto on the motorola razr charger;Have an old razr charger I use it for travelling instead of unplugging my original;works fine!!

+2 on the Motorola branded car charger...charges my Tilt just fine. Now I'm paranoid, though...

CrArc said:
What exactly is the scoop on this? Is it that they overpower the charging circuit (everyone says they charge the phones faster)? Is there a way to tell you're about to do damage?
I don't use the car charger that came with my Kaiser, I have several generic chargers which all work just fine. However I noticed that when running GPS, although the charge light was on, the battery wouldn't really charge. It wouldn't discharge either, I put it up to the extra drain on the phone's power system.
The other day though, my phone... stopped charging? I was driving (GPS) and the phone suddenly beeped a critical battery warning, the charge light was off... but the power was plugged in and the charger's power light in the cigarette socket was on. It WAS making a connection to the phone: if I unplugged it the screen would go dimmer, if I plugged it back in it would get brighter. But it still seemed to be running off the battery, which was draining regardless. The moment I got to my destination, it all powered off. Is this a forewarning of darker circumstances to come?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the exact same thing I am experiencing with my Tilt.
Tilt is charging from a generic car-to-USB and USB cable.
I start TomTom.
Charging works fine for a while.
Then suddenly the charging stops and the battery is drained.
I found only two ways to get it to charge again:
1. Turn off device with TomTom charging; hold Tilt against cool air flowing from AC; plug into charger (while still off) ... then the phone turns on and charges.
2. Take out the battery; put it back in ... start phone.

It does seem that either the phone can draw power faster than a USB charger can supply it or the use of wifi and gps whilst charging overheats it. I particularly see this behavior when I'm running tomtom and navizon. The phone seems to remain charging longer in cooler weather or if I point an air vent at it. My current no wifi woes started after an occurrence of just this behaviour the other day.

RAZR chargers don't have enough current and it doesn't keep a positive charge when using the GPS. It says it's charging but ultimately it goes down. Sometimes it stops charging and I had to unplug it and plug it back in. Use a charger made for the Kaiser. The charger from my brother's bluetooth GPS works fine though.

I have a generic USB cigar lighter adapter which I have been using to power mine with no problem. The only way I can see a charger frying a phone is if there is a voltage spike that isn't regulated.

The charger needs to be rated with an output of 5v 2amps which is what the electric charger is rated at. Bought one off ebay for $6. Most car chargers are rated quite a bit lower (400ma).

As the previous post states, some chargers are rated at under 500ma. This is not enough to change the Kaiser... I find that the Blackberry charger works fine, but sometimes takes a very long time to charge as the current isn't quite enough. I have a generic one at about 1000ma and that works fine.
USB from a PC is normally 500ma sustained.

I think there's another thread or 2 about this somewhere. I've been having the same problem with the Kaiser not charging via generic and razr car chargers.
After seeing the other thread I bought an HTC charger from ebay - at least it looks like one and is advertised as one! The sticker on the 'real' HTC charger only says 0.5 amp (same as the others are rated), but charges no problem with TomTom going.
I tried measuring the current using different chargers and PowerGuard and I think there is a definite difference (although not an easy thing to interpret). I notice the cable is significantly heavier on the real HTC charger (also coiled and tends to drag the phone from where I mount it a little). Others have said the pinouts are different too.
I looked for a 2amp charger but couldn't find one (if anyone knows a source?).
It's an intriguing problem but a 'real' HTC charger seems to fix it.
The other thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=406771

There were a range of brodit car mounts with built-in chargers that bricked the kaiser. I bought one and it instantly blew it's fuse. I replace the fuse and it blew my kaiser up instead.
Assuming it was the kaiser I had it replaced, only for the charger to blow it up again.
Since then I contacted dsldevelopments (UK Distributor) who replaced it with an updated model. I have not had any issues after that.

I had this problem (Kaiser not charging in the car when GPS is on) and resolved it totally by getting the offical HTC car charger. Although output is 0.5A it is rated to 2A - my previous generic car charger was only rated to one amp and that would work fine as long I wasn't using GPS but once I ran GPS it just couldn't cope. Definately resolved this problem with the official HTC car charger (got mine of flea bay for £8)
cheers
Barney

I've had no problem with designed-for-Moto chargers and ones specifically designed to charge over USB from a dumb charger.
The problem is that drawing more than 100 mA without negotiating a connection with a PC violates the USB specification. Many manufacturers have gotten around this by finding other ways to signal the presence of a "dumb" charger, telling the phone it can draw more than 100 mA.
In the case of Mini-USB devices like the Motos, Blackberries, and HTC devices, the Mini-USB connector has a fifth pin that is normally not connected. If the charger plug grounds this pin, it signals to the device that it is permitted to draw more than 100 mA without a PC connection.
If you get a charger that does not ground this pin, an HTC device will not charge rapidly, if at all. (Typically only charges slowly when screen is off). This is why you get two cables when you order a single MiniSync from BoxWave, for example. They give you one "Sync and charge from PC" cable (no pin grounded) and one "Charge only" cable (pin grounded for dumb chargers). (If the pin is grounded it interferes with data communications for most devices.)

I use a motorola charger, which is fine if you do not use GPS.
when I use the GPS after some time the battery is very hot and stops load, but if I put the cell in front of the AC, just cools again to load.
I think the problem is due to protection from overheating battery

Belkin Charger
I grabbed a Belkin charger for my KRAZR/RAZR phones and it seems to work just fine, even with GPS running. My official Moto one also works fine with the tilt in GPS mode.
I do notice, though, that no matter what I'm using to charge it with, with GPS it gets hot. Since Li-Ion batteries are supposed to stop charging at a certain temp, it's possible that the combination of a lower grade charger and the heat generated by using GPS/WiFi/Cell at the same time (or any combo of the three), might be the issue.

USB Charging So Slow Almost Not Worth It

Is anyone else having this problem?
Any work around to having it actually charge the battery up?

it uses electricity faster than its recharging its crap! ive never known any device do this. When im low on battery and have it connected to my computer i have to switch it to the mains for 30 mins. Its terrible, bad design fault

I have the same problem with my Toshiba G900 (WVGA too). Very slow on USB, but normal fast at standard charging or car charging. USB is very bad for this at all.

it really depends on what you're doing with the phone, its unlikely to charge when busy, its a lot faster at charging than my old advantage, im actually impressed!
have you made sure that you've not ticked turn off charging whilst connected to a computer?
charged in under 3hours whilst on connected to ubuntu yesterday.

don't u guys realized how many amperes that a USB socket and your PC (as well as the power supply) allowed compared to a wall socket?

usb chargin usually is never worth it.

I don't understand your disappointment, usb voltage/ampere are the same for all devices, even for my touch when used as modem doesn't supply enough power for charging seriously

Does it even charge at all via USB when the X1 is on idle? If it does, how long does it take from low to full?

I left my X1 idle on USB for 6 hours, it was nearly flat when I put it on and after 6 hours it was still 1 bar below full. Whereas my LG Viewty fully charged in about 2 hours. My Universal only takes about 3 hours
So in my case, comparing the three phones, you can see where my dissapointment originates from.

vinokirk said:
I left my X1 idle on USB for 6 hours, it was nearly flat when I put it on and after 6 hours it was still 1 bar below full. Whereas my LG Viewty fully charged in about 2 hours. My Universal only takes about 3 hours
So in my case, comparing the three phones, you can see where my dissapointment originates from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But remember the size of battery the x1 has maybe the 1500 comes into play.

BuddyLee said:
But remember the size of battery the x1 has maybe the 1500 comes into play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, of course. Xperia's battery is bigger. That's like complaining that your glass fills up faster than your pool. (may be exaggerating a bit )

BuddyLee said:
But remember the size of battery the x1 has maybe the 1500 comes into play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True tho, point taken.....dissapointment level aleviating.....slightly....

After my phone beeped saying the battery was low, I plugged it into my USB hub (which has a mains supply). An hour later I removed the cable and the phone beeped again.
At least with my P990 I was able to gain some charge, it seems like with the X1 it just stops the battery running down.

Try it after Softreset again. I had this problems with an old ROM on my G900 too. After some time it did not charge. Softreset fixed it.

also yall are forgettin that it's a different kinda battery in the x1 compared to other phones it's ising a li-po compared to a li-ion (which is in most other ppc phones) it charges slower via usb because it's tryin to keep from exploding any extra surge that the usb gets could cause your phone to explain
the li-po is more likely to explain given the way it's built
when you use the wall chargers and car chargers the connection are ment fron rapid rechargin of the device unlike the usb which is for data transfer mainly
when you think about the charge time just think about how long it actually takes for your phone to run out of battery life from what i heard it's close to like 1.5 to 2.5 days compared to normal ppc phones that last probably a day at the most with out recharge
hope this help

Keland44 said:
also yall are forgettin that it's a different kinda battery in the x1 compared to other phones it's ising a li-po compared to a li-ion (which is in most other ppc phones) it charges slower via usb because it's tryin to keep from exploding any extra surge that the usb gets could cause your phone to explain
the li-po is more likely to explain given the way it's built
when you use the wall chargers and car chargers the connection are ment fron rapid rechargin of the device unlike the usb which is for data transfer mainly
when you think about the charge time just think about how long it actually takes for your phone to run out of battery life from what i heard it's close to like 1.5 to 2.5 days compared to normal ppc phones that last probably a day at the most with out recharge
hope this help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Err... this is not true for TP. TP lasts about 2 days on average from normal daily usage and it doesn't have problem charging via USB. Given that the port used is USB 2.0 not 1.1 or below. Took about 2~3 hours from nearly flat to full charge if I remember correctly. I have to try again just to make sure. But definitely not taking 6 hours.
I would've thought that X1 shouldn't have any problem with charging since the battery is only like 150mA more than TP. Also, if it's charging faster from the AC adapter, the same result should be expected when charging from USB port. Doesn't matter the type of battery used. Unless if X1 somehow limits the charging current on purpose when PC USB port is detected. Even though USB 2.0 is actually capable of giving out 1.5A maximum. Try to soft reset it after charging for about 2~3 hours. See if the battery gets fully charged. Some TP users are experiencing this issue as well when the battery meter only updates to fully charged after doing soft reset. Experienced users might want to try and measure the current drawn when charging via USB 2.0 port.
Hope this helps.

On my xperia if i put it in sleep mode, it charges no problem using USB.

the advantage used to charge slower from a usb port, that is until someone found out that the standard ac charger had a short across two of the usb pins, and with a quick mod of a usb cable charged quickly from the usb on a computer
however my x1 charges the same from usb or mains, I use the same cable, but can't see what difference that makes.
there are three conditions that affect charging speeds, whether device is on or not, off charges much faster, whether screen is on or not, screen off charges faster, whether theres good radio signal, if like at home, reception is dodgy it can really draw a lot of juice.

Just for comparison sake, I did a test on my TP just to confirm. Charging via USB 2.0 while it was on idle with screen turned on, from 4% to 100% it took about 2.5 hours and its battery feels warm.

Ok lets clear out some things.
A standard PC USB socket can provide maximum 500mA (milli-Amperes) Current at 5 Volt. Ideally that means that a battery rated at 1500mAh (milli-Amperes-hour) can be charged around 3 hours (minimum). Now, subtract the current that the xperia needs while operating and you will get how many milli-Amperes are left for charging.
Of course in order to know how many current the xperia needs to operate you need to connect an ammeter in series, also keep in mind that current needs change depending on usage (wifi, 3g, bluetooth etc).
So in essence if you USB port is not very good and can't give fully 500mA and the xperia needs a great amount of current to be on, then the charging time can be quite long. A simple formula could be:
xperia_Battery_mAh / (USB_Current - xperia_Current)
Now the mains charger is rated at a greater value than the USBs 500mA. Actually I don't own yet an xperia (waiting patiently to arrive), so I don't know how much current the charger can give. Can someone see what is the rating of the charger?
From other devices I own (that can charge through USB) I've seen that their chargers are rated as high as 2 Amperes. Obviously these devices never draw so much current, it is just a failsafe or it was more cheap for them to bundle a charger like that. But they could draw 800mA of current which the USB port is unable to do so.
Keep in mind that while charging with USB might be longer, generally it can be safer for the battery (longer battery life and more charge/discharge cycles), although I am not so sure about this with excessive charging times in a USB port.

[Q] Making an external battery charger.

Hi there!
My brother just bought me a spare battery. Well it still needs to be charged after usuage. The thing is I have to swap the batteries everytime I used them both. The solution is to buy a cradle to charge it but these are kinda expensive.
My solution would be to build my own charging cradle. But I lack the knowledge of electricity skills to succesfully making such charger without blowing up my battery. Therefor I'm asking the community on XDA for help!
Well this is what I need:
- Battery has 3 connectors: + and - and on in the middle but i dont know what that is.
- I have a usb cable with 4 wires (black/red/green/white)
- I want to connect the usb connecter to my PC or AC adapter and the wires to my battery.
This way I can charge both my HD2 and the spare battery at the same time.
The question is, is this possible and if yes, can this be done just like that or do I need transistors or conductors (or whatever they may called). It needs to be safe, I dont wanna blow up my battery or my AC adapter nor my PC...

Do not even contemplate it.
It is clear that you do not know enough about batteries.
A quick google for desktop chargers came back with one for only £30

For 25quid i got a spare battery, desktop charger and 2 screen protectors from e-bay. Carnt go wrong at that price

I know that the AC adapter converts the input of electrical energy to my phone, I believe my phone does it to my battery too (thats where I'm not too sure).
All I need to know is if I can charge the battery safely when connecting the red wire to the + and the black wire to the - side of the battery... (The green and white wires are data)
I'm not to sure because the AC adapter has a different output than the PC USB output. Although the USB dilivers a tiny bit less voltage it delivers a significant less amount of Whats (or Amps) Basicly that means it just takes longer for the USB to charge as long as the voltage remains identical. (The USB delivers less voltage but the effect on damaging the battery is minimal because the difference is discardable)
My actuall question was: can I connect my battery directly to the AC adapter or do I need to convert the electical energy again (if my phone does a second convert after the AC adapter).

You can find chargers on eBay for less than 5usd. Buy one or you will fry your battery.

VerusAmos said:
I know that the AC adapter converts the input of electrical energy to my phone, I believe my phone does it to my battery too (thats where I'm not too sure).
All I need to know is if I can charge the battery safely when connecting the red wire to the + and the black wire to the - side of the battery... (The green and white wires are data)
I'm not to sure because the AC adapter has a different output than the PC USB output. Although the USB dilivers a tiny bit less voltage it delivers a significant less amount of Whats (or Amps) Basicly that means it just takes longer for the USB to charge as long as the voltage remains identical. (The USB delivers less voltage but the effect on damaging the battery is minimal because the difference is discardable)
My actuall question was: can I connect my battery directly to the AC adapter or do I need to convert the electical energy again (if my phone does a second convert after the AC adapter).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Watts not Whats
Simple answer: No you cannot connect your battery directly to the AC adaptor.
Detailed answer:
The USB port of a computer/AC adaptor provides approx 5V and a variety of currents depending on what the USB lead is plugged into.
This 5V goes to the phone.
Inside the phone is the battery charging circuit, this detects the level of charge in the battery, controls the voltage and current going to the battery to stop it releasing too much hydrogen which would cause the battery to swell and explode (look on youtube for lithium polymer battery fires).
If you think you can create a charging circuit (including selecting the right ICs and programming them) without burning yourself in a hydrogen/lithium fire, be my guest.

Incapable of making an external battery charger...
Here I am trying not to be a complete idiot and then I go and spell watts the wrong way...
But tnx for the replies, that was all I needed to hear... I guess I'll be swapping batteries after all untill I find a cheap external battery charger...
Cheers!!!

Amzer makes a very nice cradle with charging slot for your spare battery. I got mine for $28USD. I'm not going to provide the link to the outfit I bought mine from because they weren't the best of suppliers to buy from. But the Amzer cradle works very well. Downside is that you cannot use it if you have a case for your Leo that wraps around it, and is designed to stay on. Leo must be caseless to fit into the cradle. But even if you don't use the cradle as a cradle, it does have the ability to charge your spare battery.

USB charging in car?

Iam using the Dell Streak 7 as a sat nav system in the car. Ive tried to charge it up on the usb car adapter but it seems to loose its charge over time, making the D7 unusable for the purpose of a sat nav. Am i doing something wrong or is there a special usb car adapter for the job?
Thanks, David.

Does it say it's charging when plugged in?
Depending on how powerful your charger is it's likely that it's draining faster then the charger can provide. At best on my s5 it's just barely faster then the charger and the s7 needs more power then that.

Thanks for peply, yes it states it is plugged in. I came to the same conclusion. Wonder if there are any other chargers that have more juice.

diddy64 said:
Thanks for peply, yes it states it is plugged in. I came to the same conclusion. Wonder if there are any other chargers that have more juice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are several that will do the job. Just look for specs that include putting out 5.5 volts and 2 amps. Several of the chargers that are made for the iPad2 will work. And you may want to install a lighter adapter that you can wire directly to the battery that will allow up to 2 or 3 amps from each port

Most standard USB ports do not put out enough power to charge the DS7. The best bet is to use a inverter that plugs into your cigarette lighter and then plug the charger into that, not just the USB cable.
http://www.amazon.com/Power-Inverter-Charger-Portable-SmartPhones/dp/B00144KS6W

I use this setup:
Bestek Adapter
Trans4m lighter adapter
The Bestek I have wired to the battery so I have no fuse problems with lighter, and with that I can charge either my iPad2 or my Streak7, IF I need to charge both, then I plug the Transform adapter into the Bestek and can then charge BOTH devices, the Ipad2 AND the Streak7 and a couple of other things if need be

Thank you guys, this gives me alot of hope. Once again you all get my thanks.
Cheers,
David.

Yea, like they previously stated not all chargers are created equal.
Unless it states it's a tablet/ipad charger you cant assume it's doing 2+ amps. Most phone/lower end ones can only do 500mA/1A.
Realistically you'd prob need at least 2 amps to get a net gain while using gps/anything demanding. But I dont know if it would even try and draw above that if given the chance. [email protected] is what the bundled wall charger does and can accept up to 5.5v (as it's still within the +/-10% tolerence of the usb spec, but just barely)

My fully charged stock S7 WiFi running 514 draws only 45-70mA. Maybe starting fully charged would help?

wptski said:
My fully charged stock S7 WiFi running 514 draws only 45-70mA. Maybe starting fully charged would help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know anything about how it works, but I imagine tablets are wired to know when they are receiving the correct amount of input. For instance, if you connect your Streak 7 to a powered USB hub that only puts out 5 volts, it won't charge nor will it charge when connect via usb to the PC, it has to be receiving 5.5 volts and 2 amps before it will let itself receive charge. I have an iPad that is the same way and have noticed all the tablets I have had my hands on are the same, Galaxy Tabs, Transformers, Xoom... all those have to receive higher numbers to charge. So you have to have a cigarrette lighter adapter that puts that out, if it's for a cell phone it won't do anything for it

cdzo72 said:
I don't know anything about how it works, but I imagine tablets are wired to know when they are receiving the correct amount of input. For instance, if you connect your Streak 7 to a powered USB hub that only puts out 5 volts, it won't charge nor will it charge when connect via usb to the PC, it has to be receiving 5.5 volts and 2 amps before it will let itself receive charge. I have an iPad that is the same way and have noticed all the tablets I have had my hands on are the same, Galaxy Tabs, Transformers, Xoom... all those have to receive higher numbers to charge. So you have to have a cigarrette lighter adapter that puts that out, if it's for a cell phone it won't do anything for it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The voltage is constant but current isn't. It won't know how much current is available unless it asks for it. It's like a 2A fuse, you can draw up to 2A, no more.
Even with a fully charged battery it'll show charging at 98% for a short time and that's when I saw the higher 70mA but I'm not sure if it's in the CC or CV part of a Li-Ion charge cycle but I'd guess CV because it's less than 100mA.

My bad thinking measuring AC input current instead of DC current since this thread is about USB power.
Used a cheap ReTrak USB extension cord that loses connections to seperate the wire to measure DC current. My fully charged S7 showing 100% charge still draws 150mA after hours of being plugged in. Since Li-Ion cells normally don't use a constant trickle charge, I "assume" something draws on the battery all the time along with the indicator light and buttons.
Booting up it draws a little over 1A, fully charged while booted up, it draws around 600mA. While charging and powered up, it draws 914mA. Charging while off, it draws 1160mA. Far from 2A.

wptski said:
My bad thinking measuring AC input current instead of DC current since this thread is about USB power.
Used a cheap ReTrak USB extension cord that loses connections to seperate the wire to measure DC current. My fully charged S7 showing 100% charge still draws 150mA after hours of being plugged in. Since Li-Ion cells normally don't use a constant trickle charge, I "assume" something draws on the battery all the time along with the indicator light and buttons.
Booting up it draws a little over 1A, fully charged while booted up, it draws around 600mA. While charging and powered up, it draws 914mA. Charging while off, it draws 1160mA. Far from 2A.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand that, but you are missing the point, if the internal wiring of these tablets don't receive the 2A they want they WILL NOT even begin to charge. I tried literally dozens of chargers when I first got my S7, spent a couple hundred bucks actually, and none of the chargers not meant for larger devices won't work, and what those chargers all had in common, 2A output

The S7 can and will draw off low capacity ports, it just wont admit to charging unless it's at least 1A as it's just that.
I've had my S7 charge off a 500mA port on my pc at the rate of like 1%/hour while sleeping. As it's barely gaining even while idleing it's not really charging in the literal sense, but it's definitely charging in the technical sense.
Are your data lines shorted together? I believe most high draw devices wont attempt to pull 2A unless it detects that it's on a high draw charger (which I think do this to indicate it as such)

cdzo72 said:
I understand that, but you are missing the point, if the internal wiring of these tablets don't receive the 2A they want they WILL NOT even begin to charge. I tried literally dozens of chargers when I first got my S7, spent a couple hundred bucks actually, and none of the chargers not meant for larger devices won't work, and what those chargers all had in common, 2A output
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know why your various chargers didn't work but it doesn't seem to be because of current. It didn't charge at 2A or even close to that.
If what your saying correct, why was I able to charge at less than 2A then? Could this be a ROM issue? I only had Froyo for a few hours but I've read that it didn't support USB charging which came with HC but it only charges with the S7 OFF.
It's possible that the demand went higher and I just didn't see on my current clamp meter. I'll have to try a current clamp and a scope to see if I missed a peak level.
Also what we are refering to as the charger might not be a charger but only a power supply and the actual charging circuit is in the S7.
I did notice one odd thing though. The green LED lights up at around 90% battery level and it's still charging. I downloaded a battery app which read the same level.

wptski said:
I don't know why your various chargers didn't work but it doesn't seem to be because of current. It didn't charge at 2A or even close to that.
If what your saying correct, why was I able to charge at less than 2A then? Could this be a ROM issue? I only had Froyo for a few hours but I've read that it didn't support USB charging which came with HC but it only charges with the S7 OFF.
It's possible that the demand went higher and I just didn't see on my current clamp meter. I'll have to try a current clamp and a scope to see if I missed a peak level.
Also what we are refering to as the charger might not be a charger but only a power supply and the actual charging circuit is in the S7.
I did notice one odd thing though. The green LED lights up at around 90% battery level and it's still charging. I downloaded a battery app which read the same level.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You were able to charge because your charger was CAPABLE of outputting 2A at least... try charging with one that CAN'T put that out and you should find that the Streak will not charge, on ANY ROM has been my experience, custom or stock

cdzo72 said:
You were able to charge because your charger was CAPABLE of outputting 2A at least... try charging with one that CAN'T put that out and you should find that the Streak will not charge, on ANY ROM has been my experience, custom or stock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Capable is the magic word here. The wall wart isn't putting out 2A from what I've seen, unless it does for a split second at the start which I'm going to look into.
Most wall warts at whatever their rating is put out a higher voltage with no load and slightly higher than its marked voltage under a load. If it required [email protected] max., you used a [email protected], S7 needs more current, the voltage would decrease. What's been stated here might be that the voltage was being pulled down and that's why the S7 wouldn't charge, not "really" the 2A issue.
I have a battery pack/cell load testing device used on RC stuff that connects via USB port for its graphic software. There were issues with certain Dell laptops that had a low voltage at their USB ports.

Maybe starting fully charged would help?
I have the OEM T-Mobile car charger and I've found that if I have a full charge before plugging the Streak into the charger it maintains a full charge for as long as I'm driving/using it. Otherwise, with a less than full charge I've watched it slowly discharge even though it's plugged in and is charging.
FYI: I also have a top of the line car charger for an iPad2 that charges the iPad no matter what charge level I plug it in. This iPad charger has a USB port which I have plugged the Streak USB cord into and it also doesn't keep up with the Streak's discharge if the Streak isn't a full charge to begin with. Kind of strange because I would think the iPad would draw more than a Streak. (the iPad isn't plugged in at the same time the Streak is charging)

DCoop said:
Maybe starting fully charged would help?
I have the OEM T-Mobile car charger and I've found that if I have a full charge before plugging the Streak into the charger it maintains a full charge for as long as I'm driving/using it. Otherwise, with a less than full charge I've watched it slowly discharge even though it's plugged in and is charging.
FYI: I also have a top of the line car charger for an iPad2 that charges the iPad no matter what charge level I plug it in. This iPad charger has a USB port which I have plugged the Streak USB cord into and it also doesn't keep up with the Streak's discharge if the Streak isn't a full charge to begin with. Kind of strange because I would think the iPad would draw more than a Streak. (the iPad isn't plugged in at the same time the Streak is charging)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S7 must run some check before it tries to charge . Whatever it is the OEM supplied power supply passes the test.
What's the specs on your two power supplies?

Just remember if you dont have the same 2A for charging in the car. You cannot charge the streak while its TURNED ON. Same with USB charging, just turn the streak OFF, then charge. It will work. =)
Otherwise, Id get a DC to AC converter for the car, plug in your normal adapter.

Quick question about charging a mobile battery

Quick question. If you leave your phone plugged in and its fully charged and your using it, is the phone just leeching off the charger for power or is the charger pushing out small bursts of power to the battery. The context of my question is i'm starting to use webtop alot and I leave my phone on all day plugged in. Is continuing this behavior going to impact my battery or does the phone just leech directly off the charger without using the battery?

It's fine to leave it plugged in all the time. The phone has a "smart circuit" that use what is called trickle charge to just continually top off the battery as it drops below full charge. The phone is designed such that it doesn't receive power directly from the charger or USB cable, unless the +5v DC current is on pin 1 like a factory flash cable.
Bottom line is there is no damage or shortening of the life of the battery to leave it charging all the time while in the dock or any other means and Li Ion batteries no not have memory problems.

On a related note, is there any damage in using low-power chargers?
I have an external solar-powered battery charger that also supports USB-out, and I find that it doesn't put out enough power to really charge the battery, but it can keep the battery at its current charge level (whenever it is plugged in) for the equivalent of one charge (so the phone could theoretically last 2ish days).
I'm wondering whether this is constantly charging/discharging the battery (bad thing), or just providing enough power to run the phone (good thing).
I've also seen a similar behavior when charging over USB. If I'm using the phone a lot, sometimes a usb port doesn't supply enough juice to charge the phone.
I also saw this in some (rarer) cases with my OG Droid, but I didn't pay it much mind because I had 3 batteries for that thing and you could pick them up for a few dollars off of Amazon.com.

Thanks!
cellzealot said:
It's fine to leave it plugged in all the time. The phone has a "smart circuit" that use what is called trickle charge to just continually top off the battery as it drops below full charge. The phone is designed such that it doesn't receive power directly from the charger or USB cable, unless the +5v DC current is on pin 1 like a factory flash cable.
Bottom line is there is no damage or shortening of the life of the battery to leave it charging all the time while in the dock or any other means and Li Ion batteries no not have memory problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your response. I had a feeling it was something like this. Good old "smart circuit".

podspi said:
On a related note, is there any damage in using low-power chargers?
I have an external solar-powered battery charger that also supports USB-out, and I find that it doesn't put out enough power to really charge the battery, but it can keep the battery at its current charge level (whenever it is plugged in) for the equivalent of one charge (so the phone could theoretically last 2ish days).
I'm wondering whether this is constantly charging/discharging the battery (bad thing), or just providing enough power to run the phone (good thing).
I've also seen a similar behavior when charging over USB. If I'm using the phone a lot, sometimes a usb port doesn't supply enough juice to charge the phone.
I also saw this in some (rarer) cases with my OG Droid, but I didn't pay it much mind because I had 3 batteries for that thing and you could pick them up for a few dollars off of Amazon.com.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To my knowledge, there is no reason a low power charger should present any problem, but charging from the USB on a PC is limited to 350mA and will definitely not push enough current to charge the phone while it is under heavy use like Mobile Hotspot tethering with LTE or even 3g.
The standard wall charger is 850mA and even that can sometimes only keep up or charge very slowly under heavy load.

USB spec is [email protected] not 350mA. But yes, a dedicated charger probably will charge faster. Some may go as high as 1A output...
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk