iPhone 5c Charger Indicator, but not charging after repair

[stevieb]

I've got this 5c that had a bad charger port. After replacing it, I noticed that the lightening idicator showed up like it was charging, but the percentage never changed. I was using an apple plug that is known to be good as it charges other phones. I thought I had done something wrong, so took apart and checked everything. All good. I read where sometimes a small component can be damaged next to the battery port. I used a microscope and I could not see any damage to the FL11 cap. I took the battery out of my wifes phone to test, and same thing. Said it was charging but percentage never changed. Now, I can't even get it to come on. Low battery warning. When I unplug it, the small plug symbol pops up at the bottom and disappears when I plug it in. Any ideas on this one???

 

[Tech Savvy]

Was that the same issue before? Or before it wouldn't show the charge symbol at all?

Also, although likely, there doesn't necessarily need to be visual signs of damage on board. I would get a toothbrush and some alcohol, and brush the charging circuit lightly with a toothbrush. Id replace the charging port with another just in case it's bad. They are cheap and only takes 5 min, and if that doesn't work, the U2 IC might be damaged :/

 

[Andrew Orth]

Hi Steveb, sorry for the late response, I Just saw this post. The problem you describe is actually pretty common in the iPhone 5c anc 5s. It is sometimes reffered to as a "gas gauge error" because the phone can no longer reliably measure the charge on the battery. It is caused by the U2 charging ic failing. The most common cause of this damage is customers charging their iphones with non-Apple chargers, especially car chargers. Cheap aftermarket chargers tend to much more vulnerable to voltage spikes that can kill the U2. A bad U2 chip may also present as though its charging up just fine but lose charge extremely charge rapidly after being unplugged (fake charging). The phone may also boot itself down out of nowhere fairly frequently. The good news is that with a little practice and patience, the U2 can be replaced by a good solderer. I realize its probably way too late to help you fix your phone at this point, but I thought you might still be interested in the answer

 

[stevieb]

Solution:
finally determined it was a faulty replacement part. Got another charging port and installed and all is working fine.

 

[Andrew Orth]

Ha, well that makes sense also! I guess I jumped the gun on that one