SPS1 charging system

I have a more basic version from Home Depot. From day 1, the charge indicator never worked correctly. Have had it several years now and probably by this time, the battery is just getting weak and needs to be replaced. I found that charging by the cigarette lighter doesn't work too well. Charging by the AC adaptor overnight is the best and I do it every 4 months. Once and a while, I test it by connecting to an old starter motor. If it spins at decent speed, the charge is OK. The cigarette lighter plug connection is also good to use when you need to change the car battery and don't want to loose all your radio presets. It backfeeds the system and keeps all battery powered systems powered when the main battery is disconnected.
NEVER run the engine without the main battery connected! Good way to burn out all your electronics.

A car charger can be found here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Car-Charger-Adapter-Logik-LPD850/dp/B005IZ9W74

An ac adapter can be found here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Logik-LPD850-12V-Portable-DVD-Mains-Charger-AC-Adapter-/370334046484

The users manual says it takes NiMH 3100mAh which can be found here:
http://www.amazon.com/Xit-XT4AABT-Rechargeable-Batteries-3100mAH/dp/B00D19N8J2

Problem description:The battery charges only when the laptop turned off. The battery charge LED lights up as normal and the battery gets charged to 100% while the laptop is off.
When the laptop is turned on, the battery charge LED goes off even if the adapter is still plugged in.
Possible cause:1. AC power adapter failure.
2. Battery failure.
3. Broken/loose power jack.
4. Motherboard failure.
Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:1. This problem could be related to a faulty AC power adapter. It's possible that the AC adapter doesn't provide enough power when plugged into the laptop. To find out if this is your problem, you'll have to test the laptop with another working adapter.Replace the adapter if needed.
http://www.chargerbuy.com/replacement-acer-aspire-9400-ac-adapter-19v-3-42a.html

2. There is a slight chance that you have bad battery. Test the laptop with a know good battery and replace the faulty one if needed.

3. The battery charge problem could be related to the power jack. Maybe the jack is broken or not making good contact with the motherboard. It is necessary to remove the motherboard and take a closer look at the power jack. Resolder or replace the jack if needed.

4. If the power jack is in a good working shape and new power adapter with battery do not fix the problem, most likely you have a faulty motherboard. Replace the motherboard if needed.

Normally, one of 3 causes.  

1. Dead Battery
2. Bad connection of battery interface on Motherboard.
3. The AC Adapter sensing pin (In the center of the plug) is damaged (If the system cannot sense the AC adapter, the charging circuit is disabled.)

Troubleshooting:

1. Try a different AC adapter (Any Dell D-Series system adapter is interchangable)
   
2. If no difference, then next is replace the battery.  (The battery on a portable is a consumable item, and the battery life is generally 300 to 500 recharge/discharge cycles  around 18 months)
3. If no change with battery or AC adapter, then the failure is the charging circuit of the motherboard.

I found there are select 120v AC adapters that will work on Magellan GPS. When a working 120v or 12v adapter to mini USB adapter is plugged into the unit, the battery bars will be 'scrolling' and therefore charging.

When your adapter, or even USB cable from your computer, is plugged into the GPS unit, and the battery goes to FULL, it is NOT CHARGING. The battery bars must be SCROLLING for the unit to charge. In this case, get a different adapter until it works.

If you have the AC adapter plugged into the portable, it will run on AC power while recharging the battery. Once you remove the AC adapter, it will go onto battery power.

If once you remove the AC adapter the computer dies, with a battery installed, then your battery is weak/dead or there is a connection problem, and the battery is not charging. But, I doubt this is the case, since it thinks the battery is at 80%. The system does not know if the battery is holding a charge.

You power settings are only timers, which reduce power consumption when idle.

I found there are select 120v AC adapters that will work on Magellan GPS. When a working 120v or 12v adapter to mini USB adapter is plugged into the unit, the battery bars will be 'scrolling' and therefore charging.

When your adapter, or even USB cable from your computer, is plugged into the GPS unit, and the battery goes to FULL, it is NOT CHARGING. The battery bars must be SCROLLING for the unit to charge. In this case, get a different adapter until it works.

the 12 volt car adapter only puts 9v to the dvd player. It is poorly marked. It really only runs on 9v. If you plug 12v into it it will smoke... thats what mine did.

Simply hook the battery up to the player, plug in the adapter (house AC outlet, car adapter will not recharge batter), and turn the unit off.

The charging light should come on and when it goes out it's fully charged.