RAZR M won't charge with car charger

[bxojr]

My daughter has a RAZR M, and for some reason it won't charge when plugged into a car charger. We've tried several different chargers, including one made by Motorola, plugged into two different cars. I have no trouble charging my Galaxy Nexus, but for some reason when she plugs her RAZR M into the same charger, it either does nothing (not even recognizing that it's plugged in at all) or might charge intermittently, as if the power is coming and going.

It charges fine when plugged into the standard AC charger in the house; the problem happens only with car chargers.

Is this a common thing? Is the RAZR M picky about charger voltage? If so, can anyone recommend a car charger that is known to work with this phone? Or do we possibly have a bad phone that needs to go back to Verizon?

 

[Pete7874]

Have you tried charging the Razr M in a different car to see what happens?

FYI, mine charges fine using some no-name third party charger in my car. This charger has a DC output of 5.0 - 5.5 Volt. The Motorola AC charger has an output of 5.1 Volt.

 

[toddbecker#CB]

Does the phone need a charge? I have found that mine doesn't seem to trickle charge to top it off, instead it allows the charge to drop and then charges. I have only noticed this in the car.

Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Android Central Forums

 

[bxojr]

Yes, we've tried with three different chargers in two different cars. And two different power outlets in one of the cars.

And it's not an issue of the battery being full. I explained to my daughter that the phone will not charge if it's close to 100%, but she said it does the same thing even if it's at 50%.

It's starting to sound to me like we need to go back to Verizon while the warranty is still fresh. They'll probably try to sell me another charger, but at this point I guess I need to find out whether the phone is defective. I just don't understand the nature of the problem ... if the voltage is the same, how can the phone even tell it's plugged into a car and not an AC outlet? Something is weird...

 

[Pete7874]

Sounds like something is not right with the phone. I would certainly try to exchange it.

Does the phone charge when you plug it into a USB port on a PC?

 

[bxojr]

Does the phone charge when you plug it into a USB port on a PC?

Good question; I'm not sure my daughter has tried that. I'll ask her. Could be a useful data point.

 

[Mike Derbyshire]

I saw the same thing with my Razr M. Except that I noticed it when I plugged the charger into the phone before I plugged the cord into the car's port. When I plugged the cord in first, then into the phone, it works just fine.
Maybe the phone thinks it's trying to charge the cars battery...? I know that it's a tough phone, but that's pushing the boundaries!

 

[bxojr]

Just an update, in case someone else has this problem.

We took my daughter's phone to the Verizon store, and I explained the problem. The guy took the phone into the back room and tested it with an official (Verizon-branded) car charger, and it worked fine. He even took me back there and showed me so I'd believe him.

So I bit the bullet and bought their charger. And guess what? It works fine. I can only guess that the RAZR M is extremely picky about chargers -- and, furthermore, there really is a difference between the cheap ones and the expensive ones. I'm also wondering whether the Motorola charger I bought for $5 is actually a Motorola, or some cheap Chinese knockoff...

 

[Pete7874]

Did you check the output voltage listed on your $5 charger? Is it in the same range as OEM charger?

How much was the charger you bought from Verizon store?

 

[bxojr]

Did you check the output voltage listed on your $5 charger? Is it in the same range as OEM charger?

How much was the charger you bought from Verizon store?

I don't have the means to test the voltage. My suspicion, though, is that it's not that the voltage is out of range; rather, I think it's just uneven. The Verizon guy, who seemed pretty knowledgeable, told me that that's pretty common with the cheap ones, and some phones will (as a protective measure) cut out the charging circuit if the voltage has too many spikes.

They sold me a dual charger (that is, it's a charger with an extra USB port, so it can charge two devices at once). It was about $20, after my corporate discount, so about $25 at full price. So, even though it cost me four times what I paid for my cheap "Motorola" charger, I don't really think it was too outrageous: it works, so it's clearly higher quality, and the extra USB port is a nice bonus.

Doesn't mean I won't keep using a cheap charger with my Galaxy Nexus, though.

 

[Pete7874]

I don't have the means to test the voltage.

I meant for you just to read what is actually written on the charger itself. They list the output voltage, alas in a very tiny font usually.

They sold me a dual charger (that is, it's a charger with an extra USB port, so it can charge two devices at once). It was about $20, after my corporate discount, so about $25 at full price. So, even though it cost me four times what I paid for my cheap "Motorola" charger, I don't really think it was too outrageous: it works, so it's clearly higher quality, and the extra USB port is a nice bonus.

That's the one I have, too, although I bought mine at Target. It served me well with my old D2G and now with Razr M.

 

[bxojr]

I meant for you just to read what is actually written on the charger itself.

Sorry, I misread your question. It claims 4.75 - 5.25 volts at 950 mA. I don't know how that compares to the Verizon dual charger; I couldn't find any voltage printed on the unit itself, and we no longer have the packaging.

 

[Daniel Kian Mc Kiernan]

I'm sorry to come so late to the party, but I want to note that the actual problem may be in the cable. Some micro-USB cables are actually 5-pin cables, and some are 4-pin cables (however many pins they seem to have, only 4 are working). Some of the cheap cables are 5-pin cables; some of the premium cables are 4-pin cables. The fifth pin is a device-identification line, and some devices require that.