Laptop won't charge

[steveadl]

Hi all. We've had a Dell Inspirion laptop at home for about a year or so now and are having issues with the charging.

It works fine otherwise, when we have it plugged in it runs off the power chord no probs, but doesn’t charge the battery – even says something on the bottom right task tray on the battery icon like “plugged in but not charging.”

It's happened for months now and to fix it, my fiancee just pulls the battery out, puts it straight back in and it then charges when the cord is in. However this trick now no longer works, so it still works fine when connected to power but it won't charge.

Is this a common problem? (hasn't happened with my Dell) Anyone know of a fix?

 

[Rolf Latham]

I had a similar problem with 2 x ASUS UF5s in our office

Turned out to be bodgy bios and drivers.

Rebuilt the machines with updated driver disks and they were apples.

ta
rolf

 

[Rob Williams]

I'd bet money on the battery being flaky. We use Dell here at work (now that HP own us, we'll be getting HP's soon) and had done for a number of years. Can't count the number of battery recall notices we have had. If they don't have a high failure rate, they catch on fire.
Just what you want in a laptop.
Most warranties won't cover the battery beyond a year as it's regarded, for warranty purposes, as a consumable.
When it comes to laptop batteries, in my experience, they either work or they don't. Not much middle ground. Sounds like you have been lucky to keep yours limping along using your workaround.

 

[RedPanda]

Hi all. We've had a Dell Inspirion laptop at home for about a year or so now and are having issues with the charging.

It works fine otherwise, when we have it plugged in it runs off the power chord no probs, but doesn’t charge the battery – even says something on the bottom right task tray on the battery icon like “plugged in but not charging.”

It's happened for months now and to fix it, my fiancee just pulls the battery out, puts it straight back in and it then charges when the cord is in. However this trick now no longer works, so it still works fine when connected to power but it won't charge.

Is this a common problem? (hasn't happened with my Dell) Anyone know of a fix?

How old is the battery? Batteries have a limited life too. If you have another similar battery, try plugging it in th laptop that is having issues and chek if there is any change in behaviour. If there is any difference, it is probably battery that has lived its life.

 

[Ausprop]

Ithink battery world can repack it for you

 

[steveadl]

Thanks for the quick response guys.

Yikes Rolf, ya lost me at 'rebuilt'! If it involves more than switching it on, I'm out of ideas!

So I take it the battery is probably stuffed then. Another stupid question guys, but which stores sell Dell batteries ie. Harvey Norman? Would the best thing be to just take the laptop in with us to make sure we get the correct replacement battery?

 

[Rob Williams]

Steve, Rolf may have a point, although I suspect a BIOS issue would have manifested differently. I'd contact Dell for advice on getting a new one.

 

[Aaron Sice]

dodgy batteries can stuff with the system even if they're plugged in while running mains power.

get a new one first - ebay have some from 99c.

 

[quoll]

Enjoy the phone call to DELL support, give yourself an hour.

I've had to phone them a few times, they are just as crappy as all the others, so don't get p*ssed off, just put up with the step 1, step2, step3 etc and they will sort it out and it's either warranty or you pay cash for a new one.

For the most part DELL support is pretty good, (compared with other support) the problem is support in general is sh*t.

Good luck
Cheers
Graeme

 

[steveadl]

Found this site Rob, which we could hopefully match up what existing battery model number says - or do you think it's too risky?

Also called Battery World like Ausprop suggested and he said he can order one in for us.

 

[Nathan]

Does the power work at all??

other problem which is very common is the power socet snaps off the board if you move the laptop around with cord plugged in.

That is bad if this happens will cost few hundred $$ to fix.

Take to local computer shop.

 

[the_captain]

I recently had this same issue on a Thinkpad T60p. Here is what I would recommend doing before you do any rebuilding.

Do you have, or know someone who has the same laptop. I'd try your battery in theirs first to eliminate it as a possibility. If you see the same behavior then you know your battery is dead. Or, buy a battery and see if it works.

If it is the laptop it could be a myriad of issues. On my Thinkpad, it turned out the be a pre-cursor to my motherboard burning out. Once you eliminate the battery quality as a possibility, I'd then go and get it checked out by a qualified Dell technician.

Best of luck and hopefully it's nothing too serious

 

[weg]

The guy who owns Laptop World on 36 Glynburn Rd Hectorville ph 83367444 may be able to do a quick check at the counter at no charge and tell you if it's the battery or another hardware problem.

He's very good honest and his prices are reasonable. I recently had a broken socket (on the laptop) fixed and a clean for $150.

 

[rodimus]

i was told by my friend who is an IT guy to remove your notebook battery when u are using external power.

The battery cannot take too long a charge

 

[geoffw]

Rebuilt the machines with updated driver disks and they were apples.

You can change PCs to apples just like that? Wow!

 

[WinstonWolfe]

Sometimes, the battery sits a little loose in its cavity. Try sticking a small piece of folded paper between battery and cavity to ensure the battery isn't loose. Also slowly move the battery around in its cavity while watching to see if the charging led light comes on.

Most Dell batteries have a row of led lights on the bottom, and a test button. Press the button and see if any of the lights come on.

If you have two of these notebooks, you could stick the battery in the other and see if it charges.

The problem is just as likely to be with the battery as the system board circuitry. This is why it is best to get a 3 yr warranty.

 

[Mike F]

I had the same issue with my dell Inspiron after about 18 months. As soon as I pulled the power cord out, the laptop would instantly lose power.

Replacement batteries from Dell are about $200 .

I bought a generic one from ebay for about $90. Now it works fine.