New batteries not charging

MNT Reform
1

I mentioned in my previous post that I replaced all the LiFePO4 cells in my Reform with new ones. I charged them all up to 3.6V with an external charger and ran them through one full discharge cycle in the Reform (took several hours) before it shut off with the cells around 2.5-2.7V. I put them back in the external charger, charged them back up to full, and put them back the machine. After running on batteries for a bit I plugged it in, but the batteries aren’t charging. When the AC adapter is connected, the battery status screen always shows the current draw as 0.000A, and mousing over the battery status icon in the swaybar shows “Not charging.”

This is a Reform v2 with the old non-protected battery boards with the latest system image, LPC firmware, and keyboard firmware (with some personal keyboard layout tweaks)

Shots of the OLED when running on battery:

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IMG_2462 Large1280×960 159 KB

IMG_2463 Large
IMG_2463 Large1280×960 159 KB

When plugged in:

IMG_2464 Large
IMG_2464 Large1280×960 156 KB

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IMG_2465 Large1280×960 157 KB

I haven’t poked at the LPC firmware yet to figure out why this might be the case, but I wonder if it has to do with the fact that two of the old cells fully discharged while the machine sat unused. Does the LPC has some stale state in NVRAM telling it that the cells are bad and not to charge them? Could it be a faulty component?

I’m happy to help diagnose and can dive into the firmware or post multimeter readings/scope traces, but does anyone have suggestions on where to start?

(Yes, I have a set of protected battery boards on order, but according to the shop they are several weeks out.)

2 Likes
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I have the protected battery boards, but my Reform also doesn’t seem to charge new batteries after upgrading to RK3588.

When the power brick is plugged in, the battery status screen also shows the current draw of 0.000A. I’ve tried soft and hard resetting LPC, but that doesn’t seem to help.

@txsector have you found any further info about this problem?

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Which DC adapter are you using to charge your Reform? Maybe your system somehow draws more power than the brick is able to deliver? I run my A311D Reform with motherboard 2.5 from a 100 W USB-C adapter because sometimes, the delayed-charging patch for the LPC would not work with the original adapter…

1 Like
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I have the original 24V=2.5A brick with barrel jack and RK3588 on the older 2.0 motherboard.

If the system draws more power than the brick can deliver, it should be still chargeable when the laptop is powered off?

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That would be one way to check, yes. Does it?

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No, it doesn’t either. Could you please share what kind of adapter are you using with the USB-C source to be able to charge A311d?

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I think if it doesn’t charge even when powered off it is very likely not your adapter but something else.

In any case, this is my current setup:

1 Like
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I’m having the same (or very similar issue). I had the unprotected battery boards in my reform, and lost 4 batteries after a power outage.

I ordered the protected battery boards, and 2000 mAh LiFePO4 batteries from Battery Space (LiFePO4 18650 Rechargeable Cell: 3.2V 2000 mAh (6.4Wh, 6A Rate)). I installed everything, and powered on the system. Everything looked OK. I then unplugged the reform and ran it for a couple of hours. It shut down, with about 2.6 V in each cell. But it won’t charge when plugged in.

I externally charged the cells, and they’re at 3.3V now, but 0.000A show on the display.

I have MREFPMOB20R02, and have tried with LPC firmware 20_R3
and git clone and compile the firmware with #define REFORM_MOTHERBOARD_REV REFORM_MBREV_20_R3. The CPU is the stock i.MX8MQ.

The charger is the 65W Mean Well that came with my reform.

I just installed reform-tools 1.35 and rebooted, but no change.

Do I need to reflash the keyboard as well?