Blinking Charge Light??

[edelmak]

Can anyone help me with the following?

The yellow light on the top of my 3835 blinks when the unit is in the cradle syncing. However, when I remove the unit, the light continues to blink. The only way to turn the light off is to reset the unit. This just only recently started to happen.

Any ideas??

[stevemw]

Try charging once with the power cord plugged directly into the iPAQ. I found that applying power this way sometimes cleared things up on the 3870.

[edelmak]

You may be on to something.

When I charge/sync with the cradle, the light continues to blink after I remove the unit. When I charge/sync with a USB cable only (no cradle), I do not have this problem. Although the blinking light stops after I perform a soft reset, it is annoying!

I wish I could figure out the root cause.

[kpdastreeth]

If you continue to have this problem, try unscrewing the back of your Ipaq and disconnect / reconnect the battery. I found this solves many problems but you will lose any information on the Ipaq so backup everything before you try it. Just pushing the reset button doesn't always help.
kb

[edelmak]

Wow! I do not think that I am up to performing open iPAQ surgery.

I can not help but think that there is some simple software fix available.

[kpdastreeth]

There may be a software fix, but maybe not. I've experienced several problems with the Ipaqs that were fixed simply by disconnecting the battery for a short second or two. If you notice I posted a problem "help disconnect my ipaq". This was one of them. My Ipaq kept looking for a connection, this stopped any software that I was running causing an error.

You will probably have to get the correct size star-shaped screwdriver at a local hardware store. Keep in mind that the recharge circuit may be broken and this may not help. But it may force your Ipaq out of the charging program it is running. You'll just have to try for yourself.

[CH2S]

Originally posted by kpdastreeth
If you continue to have this problem, try unscrewing the back of your Ipaq and disconnect / reconnect the battery. I found this solves many problems but you will lose any information on the Ipaq so backup everything before you try it. Just pushing the reset button doesn't always help.
kb

Did you ever think of reading the manual? You would know that the properway to do this os press button 1 and 4 WHILE pressing the reset button, this will completly reset the the factory default deleting all your files and settings. You DO NOT need to open your iPaq to do this.

[kpdastreeth]

Did you ever think of reading the manual? You would know that the properway to do this os press button 1 and 4 WHILE pressing the reset button, this will completly reset the the factory default deleting all your files and settings. You DO NOT need to open your iPaq to do this.

Did YOU ever think I thought of this? The point I make is that when the reset procedure DOESN'T work (which it didn't for the problem I had with my Ipaq), there is a SIMPLE hardware procedure that can. If removing 4 screws and unplugging one plug is too complex for you to do DON'T DO IT. But keep in mind that people often unplug their computers, upgrade their CPU's, memory and hard drives.

[stevemw]

Don't wish to beat a dead horse but the iPAQ is not like other computers, though it may run a similar OS. It might be appropriate to open a desktop or laptop to add memeory, upgrade CPU's, etc., but the iPAQ was never intended to be opened up or modified in this way by the end user.

[CH2S]

Originally posted by kpdastreeth
Did YOU ever think I thought of this? The point I make is that when the reset procedure DOESN'T work (which it didn't for the problem I had with my Ipaq), there is a SIMPLE hardware procedure that can. If removing 4 screws and unplugging one plug is too complex for you to do DON'T DO IT. But keep in mind that people often unplug their computers, upgrade their CPU's, memory and hard drives.

There are 2 different resets. A soft reset and a hard reset. A hard reste is the same as diconnecting the battery but is the proper way of doing it without opening the iPaq.

[edelmak]

Uh......I did not intend to start a shouting match - but back to my original question, has anyone experienced this blinking light problem? If so, short of opening up the iPAQ, does anyone know of a simple fix?

Notwithstanding, I do appreciate everyone's input!

Thanks!

[elliott9]

i have the same problem with my 3870, but i just soft reset it and its all good, just a bit annoying:)

[CH2S]

Originally posted by edelmak
Uh......I did not intend to start a shouting match - but back to my original question, has anyone experienced this blinking light problem? If so, short of opening up the iPAQ, does anyone know of a simple fix?

Notwithstanding, I do appreciate everyone's input!

Thanks!

The ones that opened their ipaq simply don't know what they are doing, if you use the proper way to hard reset as I described earlier (which does the same as those who opened the ipaq and disconnected the battery) it will fix the problem.

[kpdastreeth]

I always recommend trying the easiest things first. You can try a software reset as describe above by other people. You can look at other websites to see if there's a simple fix, but as a last resort unplug the battery. If the problem continues, I do recommend getting it serviced. There are several different possibilities that can cause the blinking light. What does the "Battery power remaining" indicate?
kh

[CH2S]

Originally posted by kpdastreeth
I always recommend trying the easiest things first. You can try a software reset as describe above by other people. You can look at other websites to see if there's a simple fix, but as a last resort unplug the battery. If the problem continues, I do recommend getting it serviced. There are several different possibilities that can cause the blinking light. What does the "Battery power remaining" indicate?
kh

Look I don;t knpow where you got that idea of physically unplugging the battery by openeing the ipaq, but holding down cbutton 1, 4 and reset at the same time will disconnect the battery without having to open the ipaq, then simply press reset again to reconnect the battery all without having to open your ipaq, just like the manual says. And this does EXACTLY the same as physically disconnecting the battery.

[kpdastreeth]

I purchased my Ipaq 3835 used. When I
first turned it on, it was stuck in some sort of routine
THAT THE RESET PROCEDURE YOU DESCRIBED WOULD NOT BREAK it free (yes, I tried several times). I could have sent it out for repair or I could have searched the internet for a solution. Maybe something
is out on the web that I could have used, or maybe not, who knows.
Or, I could spend 15 minutes, unplug the battery, and put
it back put it back together. Guess what, IT WORKED and the
problem never resurfaced (and that was more than a year
ago). There are eight contacts on the battery plug that
likely drives support circuitry. There is one contact on
the rest button – IT DOESN'T COMPLETELY DISCONNECT THE BATTERY. Some support circuitry remains connected. There is a difference. Your method is more closely related to doing a software rest. My method is more closely related to a power reset. The time and date will not reset to the default using your method on my Ipaq (try it on yours and let me know).

There could be several reasons for a blinking light on
an Ipaq. Here are few I can think of:

1) Type II error from the detector.

2) Bad charger or charging circuitry.

3) Poor connections on the battery plug.

4) Poor battery performance.

5) Static charge problems.

This is why I asked about "Battery power remaining:"
to help get more information. I sure you could think
of few causes yourself.

From my point of view, I really don't know
exactly what the blinking light is measuring or how
it is controlled, it's feedback from the detector, or
even how the detection is done. Perhaps you can tell
me. If you note, MY FIRST RECOMMENDATION was to do
the reset as you describe. But, it sound like this
isn't working. So, the owner needs to look into other
possibilities. My suggestion comes in as a last resort.

kh

[leeep]

please reference my post on brighthand (http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=561393#post561393) and we'll all see if we can't sort out a solution to this problem or at least get HP to do something about it!

-e