Thinkpad Battery Indicator Flashing

[imytch]

I have an IBM Thinkpad T41 which won't turn on. When the laptop is plugged into the charger, the battery indicator light flashes a few times, goes dark and repeats.

I have tried pressing the on button with the power cord plugged in and the laptop will not turn on. I have also tried it plugged in and having the battery removed to no avail. Is this a battery issue or another problem with the laptop?

I've always thought that you could use a laptop plugged in even if the battery is dead...

Please advise. Thank you for your assistance.

[PCdoc]

Does the led keep on flashing or does it flash number of times. Please count number of times it flashes before it goes off. Led flashing is normally like an error code.

[imytch]

Thanks for the reply. It flashes 3 times with the last flash ending rather abruptly. The first two flashes are solid, however the third one appears more like a half flash if that makes any sense.

[PCdoc]

Does it also give beeps along with LED flash?
Try with another charger. Sometimes the possibility is the charger is giving improper voltage because of which the battery did not charge. And due to same reason, the laptop does not power on.

[Calum]

Sounds like either the charger is dead or the jack where the charger connects to the laptop is damaged.
Does the jack seem loose?  Try another charger if you can to rule out one possibility.

[WhiteyB]

Calum is right, I would get a multimeter for cases like this and check the power adapter. Typically batteries with older laptops go bad so I would not waste your time with that. DC jacks also DO go bad even if it does not look damaged but in some cases can be fixed with only glue (I believe the T 45 the dc jack is soldered to the board if I recall). this still requires you to basically take almost the whole thing apart down to the board. there are a few other possibilities I can point out if you like.. check the power adapter first.

[imytch]

To add a little bit more information, the computer does not beep at all. All the shows up is the flashing LED. I have also tried charging the computer both with the cord plugged in directly into the laptop and with it plugged into the docking station.