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barg27 0 Newbie Poster

I have an Acer Travelmate C300 tablet PC that is about 5 years old. I've had a couple different batteries for it and in December of last year, the A/C adapter on it went bad. I believe it would go off and on with the power supply. So, as hard as I tried to buy an original A/C adapter, the only choice I could find was a "compatible" one.

Around February, I noticed right-clicks occurring on the screen when I had the unit plugged in and the battery was charging. From research, it indicated that there could be an electromagnetic issue that's tricking the screen into thinking I'm right-clicking with the pen. Eventually, when the battery is nearly a full charge, this behavior stops.

The other oddity is that the battery keeps a pretty good charge lasting a couple hours. However, it's very slow to recharge. In fact, the battery indicator often shows the battery meter animating for a little while, and then it shows a low battery for quite a while, making me believe it's not properly and constantly recharging the battery.

I've tried replacing the replacement A/C adapter and both adapters behave the same way.

So, the problem is likely with:

1) the battery... perhaps it's emitting the extra charges causing the screen to act up (though I'm pretty sure I've had it "right-clicking" when I had the battery out)

2) The A/C adapter which seems the most likely, but it's happened with two separate replacement adapters.

3) Perhaps the old Tablet's motherboard has been damaged at some point in the process.

Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas on what I might do?

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Dani AI

Generated

Quick take for : intermittent pen “right‑click” events that correlate with mains charging most often come from either noisy DC/grounding at the adapter/DC jack, or from the tablet’s charging/regulator circuitry coupling that noise into the digitizer. A weak or high‑impedance battery and worn motherboard components (electrolytics, solder joints) are the other likely suspects. Prioritize isolation tests before swapping parts.

Try this prioritized diagnostic checklist (safe, reversible tests):

  • Run the tablet on battery only (fully charged). Note whether false clicks occur.
  • Run the tablet from AC with the battery removed. If the clicks appear only on AC, the adapter/ground or input stage is implicated.
  • Test the adapter on a different outlet or building circuit. Avoid using ungrounded adapters for long-term use — only for brief tests.
  • If possible, try a known‑good OEM adapter. If unavailable, measure the adapter DC output with a multimeter (DC voltage at the tip) for steadiness; large drops or voltage out of spec indicate a bad adapter.
  • Temporarily disable/reinstall the tablet pen/digitizer driver and check for calibration options that reduce false presses.

Inspect the hardware next (power off and unplug before opening): check the DC jack for looseness, reseat the digitizer ribbon/connector, and look for bulging/leaking electrolytic capacitors around the power/charging area. Bad caps or cracked solder joints commonly cause slow charging and noisy rails. An oscilloscope check of the adapter output will reveal excessive ripple if available.

If tests point to the adapter, replace it with a correct‑spec OEM part. If the motherboard power circuitry is noisy or caps are bad, weigh repair cost versus replacing the unit; board‑level fixes are effective but may not be economical for an older tablet. For safety and diagnosis beyond the above, consider a local repair shop that can measure ripple and inspect the board.

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