Help Can the touchpad kill my charger?!

[esteo]

Ok, I know that is a dramatic stretch, but I don't know what else to believe.
So, the backstory:

I have had my HP Touchpad for almost a year now, and I had booted CM9 about...2 weeks after I got it? Which is sometime in December. Ever since, I have been updating it, and I am currently using a nightly, though I don't remember which it is (I haven't updated for a while).
Anyway, about 6 months after I got my Touchpad, the usb cable that came with it broke. I learned to deal with the loss because I heard that many other people had the same problem, and so I used the cable of my phone with the ac adapter that came with my touchpad, no biggie.
But then...that cable broke about a month ago...
My dad bought a touchpad shortly after my own, so I started using his cable with my adapter to charge my touchpad, and I learned to cope.
But then I bought a (cheap!) usb cable so that I wouldn't have to borrow his...and that's where the problem starts.
Recently (in the past week) I've noticed that my touchpad wasn't charging...like ever.
Then I started noticing that EVERYTHING my touchpad touched...DIED!

The AC Adapter that came with my touchpad: Stopped working...with anything
My usb cable I bought: stopped working (I can deal with this)
My DAD'S ac adapter: stopped working (what?!)
My Dad's usb cable: completely and utterly useless! (This I don't understand)
My dad's usb cable is my biggest problem. It was working perfectly with his touchpad, but then I plugged it into my touchpad and it didn't work, so I plugged it back into his touchpad...and it's not working.

I'm completely baffled, what is going on?!
So my real question, is my touchpad the culprit? Is there something I'm missing? Is there any hope for all the newly broken cords and adapters? (Most importantly my dad's...because he doesn't know it's broken yet)

**Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to include everything**

Thank you for any and all help!

 

[colchiro]

Can the touchpad kill my charger?!

Unlikely. The top of the HP charger rotates for removal, I assume for use with European chargers? Make sure the top is screwed on tight. While you're at it, try a different outlet.

Touchstone chargers don't use usb cables... the only requirement is that you have your TP centered on it to charge. You might want to check that out.

If you boot into webOS, does it charge there?

Did I kill off my cables?!

Probably.

Cables, esp. thin, cheap cables, do not like to flex and bend. I keep my TP charger by my TV chair and use it anytime I'm updating a table or phone and need a charge, several times a week, and it's still going strong after more than a year. If you bend the cable under your TP (tight 180

 

[esteo]

Interesting...maybe I did kill my cables D:

I know about the rotating head, I've been removing and putting it back on to see if I could reset it with no luck.
I've looked into the touchstone a couple times, but I don't really find it to be a necessity I need at this moment...

Well, after posting this last night, I was able to charge my tablet enough for it to boot into webos. So now it is working (I think it is because I changed outlets) though it is MUCH slower at charging than it has ever been. I think both adapters (My own and my dad's) are working, but his cable is still broken it seems. And though I have bent my own, I have never bent his cable, and he rarely uses it to the point that he would bend it too. Is there any other way I can check if there is hope for it?

And thank you so much colchiro!

 

[colchiro]

Here's an Android app that will tell you how much your charger/cable combo is putting out: Goo.im Downloads - Browsing apps

Bear in mind the charging rate will reduce as the battery charge approaches 100%. Maybe you can figure out which cables are good and which are not with that app. I believe the app shows a charge rate in milliamps so the max charge will be up to 2000 ma., if you have a good cable.

Bear in mind that there should be 4 wires in your USB cable and for it to charge the fastest, all 4 wires need to be intact. It's possible that one or two of them are broken, giving you only 50% of the charge rate.

Also, your TP charger is a 2 amp charger. If you try to charge with a different charger, it'll probably have to be a tablet charger to output 2 amps or any thing close. (My smart phone is only 1 amp, dumb phones may be less. A computer USB port is usually 1/2 amp.)

I just checked my charge rate with two different 2 amp chargers and the cables for both. I used the HP Touchpad charger and the 2 amp charger for my Google Galaxy Nexus 7 tablet.


Here's my results, using Sullin's Hp charge test app:

TP charger + TP cable = max 2 amps.
TP charger + N7 cable = max 2 amps.
N7 charger + TP cable = max .9 amps.
N7 charger + N7 cable = max .9 amps.

So in my limited test, not all 2 amp chargers are equal.

My TP is at 90%, but b/c charging is limited as the battery nears full charge, so I'm only charging at 1.3 amps.

 

[esteo]

Ahhh, I'll go try the app right now! Thank you!
I didn't know that it would still react differently with other 2 amp chargers...
Thank you for running that test! I will keep this posted!

 

[Deleted User]

Ahhh, I'll go try the app right now! Thank you!
I didn't know that it would still react differently with other 2 amp chargers...
Thank you for running that test! I will keep this posted!

FYI, HP made the charging of a TouchPad and it's charger a proprietary thing. After market or third party chargers rated at 2 amps will not charge at two amps as shown in Colchiro's test.

Another app you can try is Battery Monitor Widget. It will show you the actual charging rates as they happen. Be sure to set the battery capacity in settings/calibration to 6300 milliamps so the app correctly calculates your battery statistics. The history tab will show you a lot of good info as your are using the TP(discharging) and when charging the battery.

Also, just for the record, I actually had the cap part go bad on mine. Luckily, it was still under warranty and HP replaced it.