$15 if you can fix my "plugged in, not charging" issue...

[Dew itt right]

I've been reading thread post after thread post at a dozen or so websites of people with this problem. I haven't seen it hear so I'm hoping [H]'s users are so smart it's not even an issue here!

Basically, if you check the battery status it say "plugged in, not charging". My battery has been at 58% for about a week. If I unplug the adapter it will run off the battery but the battery will not charge when plugged back in. when POST-ing it gives an error about an unrecognized adapter. I've read post from probably over 100 people with very different laptops (Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc...) with the EXACT same issue. Here's what I've got:

1) It can't be the adapter because I've replaced it with a new one and it still doesn't charge.

2) It can't be the battery because even if I boot with the adapter plugged in and the battery taken out, it stll gives the unrecognized adapter error when POST-ing.

3) It can't be the motherboard because this is an extremely universal problem that hundreds of people are having with all different laptops. I've only found 1 person with my friends model (Inspiron 1525).

4) The only thing all of the laptops have in common is they're all Vista machines. But it can't be Vista because the battery should still charge when the laptop is powered down and plugged in but it doesn't. Plus I found two guys that did fresh XP installs and still had the same problem.

5) The only posted fixes involve stupid rituals like unplugging and plugging in the adapter 100 times, sticking the battery in the freezer for 10 minutes, repeatedly removing and replacing the battery multiple times, or power dumping the laptop. Sadly enough I'm desperate enough to have tried all of these to no avail.

6) The BIOS has been flashed to the current revision.

7) Dell support said they wanted $350 to replace the motherboard (my friend refused) and sent it back with a broken screen hinge and missing backpanel screws! I did find one person (out of a hundred mind you) who fixed it by replacing the motherboard but that still doesn't address comment #3.

Any help would be GREATLY appriciated...

 

[aaronearles]

I know there are issues with the Dell Quickset software, that will sometimes cause the computer to act as you have described, I'm not sure of the exact resolution or situation, but I think it required windows to be reinstalled, and then quickset installed first. I would google around a little first though, because I'm not sure of the particulars. Goodluck!

Oh, what model is this?

 

[Dew itt right]

As noted in #3, it's a Dell Inspiron 1525. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look that up...

 

[Nanan]

I ran into this problem when I tried to use the charger for my sisters 14.5" Inspiron laptop in my 17" XPS laptop, same plug but the power ratings are different, hers is rated at 70w and mine is 120w.
It had me scratching my head for a few days as the power blocks looked identical in every way other then the sticker, hers said for Inspiron XXXX model and mine said for XPS XXXX.

 

[Dew itt right]

That's what the POST error is saying but the adapter is the original one she's used since she bought the laptop. Plus the new charger is not being recognized either...

 

[kmS]

Well technically it still could be the adapter. With the post error even after you changed it you've still got a bad one. My roommate had the exact same problem and would get the POST error and it wouldn't charge. I plugged in my Inspiron adapter with the same power ratings as his XPS and it charged fine. He sent it back to Dell and they replaced his adapter and it works fine. Don't be so hasty to judge that your second power adapter isn't defective too, it seems like Dell has been having a lot of trouble with cheaping out on these things.

 

[Dew itt right]

Thanks for the heads up. I put an add out on Craigslist to see if anybody locally owns an Inspiron 1525 that would allow me to try my new adapter on their 1525 to see if it gives them an error as well. We'll see how that goes...

 

[spacetrader]

try taking out the battery, plug the ac adapter into the laptop but not the wall. hit the power button on the laptop (as to try and turn it on, it wont of course, but this will quickly drain any residual electricity in the ac adapter). now plug the battery back in and then the ac adapter to the wall and power up. its what i used to have to do with my 1501.

honestly i think its shit power/charging circuits in these laptops that is causing this. i think its why i eventually had to scrap my laptop with its screen brightness problems.

 

[LOCO LAPTOP]

That's what the POST error is saying but the adapter is the original one she's used since she bought the laptop. Plus the new charger is not being recognized either...

I had a problem like that but I needed to buy a DELL charger. Or it just wont charge with any different brand.

 

[jwhazel]

3) It can't be the motherboard because this is an extremely universal problem that hundreds of people are having with all different laptops. I've only found 1 person with my friends model (Inspiron 1525).

7) Dell support said they wanted $350 to replace the motherboard

I know that you don't believe this, but thats your answer right there, bad motherboard. It's an extrememly common problem on the 1525 and 1526's. The ac adapter is good and will power the system without the battery in it. The battery is good because it will charge in a different system. Plugging a different ac adapter and/or battery in will result in the exact same issue, guraranteed. It's not software (i.e. Quickset) because the issue is easily reproduced in the BIOS, way before any software takes over. The motherboard is the culprit here. I've replaced about 50 of these for this exact same reason. I've seen the so called "rituals" of updating the bios during a full moon while putting the battery in a freezer, etc.... These have all been temporary fixes.

The odd thing is why is Dell wanting to charge you for this, is it no longer under warranty?

 

[Dew itt right]

The friend I'm fixing it for said it's still under warranty but Dell said it's not covered for that and they wanted 8 weeks and $350 to fix it. Then (as noted above) they returned it to her all busted up and said that's how they had received it! They ignored her after that until she filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. After that Dell said they would send a technician out but that was over a month ago and she hasn't heard anything back from them.

 

[jwhazel]

The friend I'm fixing it for said it's still under warranty but Dell said it's not covered for that

This unit will have a one year warranty (minimum). If it's under that year warranty, they will most certainly have to cover it. The only exceptions are 1.) your friend bought this computer through someone besides Dell. Dell resellers have to provide there own "warranty" 2.) theres something wrong that would have voided the warranty i.e. liquid was spilled somewhere in it or they somehow have empirical proof that it was taken apart by someone not authorized to.

I would prod to get concise info why this isn't covered. This is a defect and all the ones I have replaced were certainly under warranty.

I just re-read your post title. I'll actually pay you $15 if this isn't somehow a motherboard issue.

Edit: upon further thought, something isn't right here.

1.)Theres no reason this shouldn't be under warranty
2.)Theres no reason the dell tech should have even needed to open this thing up. Surely he, and everyone at that center, are aware of this problem: http://en.community.dell.com/Search/SearchResults.aspx?q=1525+charging
3.)I can't see how it would possibly take 8 weeks to repair. Dell may not care much about the quality of their systems, but they seriously do put a lot of stock into there repairs. Warranty parts are shipped to any service center overnight. Non-warranty parts shouldn't take more than a few days depending on the vendor. It only takes 10 minutes to replace a board on one of these.

I would definately call Dell again and see whats up.

 

[hophead]

Has the DC input jack for the mobo come loose? I believe it is a common problem. If the jack is loose and only some of the pins are making contact with the mobo, then it could power the laptop without charging it.

I fixed a couple with solder and crazy glue.

 

[Canon]

I had this happen on an HP laptop, motherboard replacement resolved the issue. As other posters have said, I wouldn't discount this possibility.

It sounds like there is something else other than the charging issue going on with Dell though. If the unit was damaged in transport, Dell should have reported it and then I presume you would have gone through the courier for some $ to pay for the damage vs. them just sending the laptop back to you.

 

[Dew itt right]

Thanks guys. I tore it apart this morning to get the info off the motherboard. Again, this is a friend's laptop so I told her what a new board would cost and she said she'd just live with it for now.

I checked the Jack while I had it apart and it was rock solid. No loose connections there at all. Just for good measure I melted the solder points and let them set before reinstalling.

After putting it back together and booting it up it actually started charging!! Then after the welcome screen I realized I left the keypad unplugged!! <grrrrrrr!!>

So I took it apart again, hooked up the keypad, put it back together again, booted, and of course it's not charging again. (just my luck)

I did get an email from a local laptop technician who said he's seen probably 100 Dell's coming in with the same problem and they've all been the power jacks. But my friend said she's fine dealing with this for now and she's done hassling Dell so I guess it's out of my hands now...

 

[jwhazel]

So I took it apart again, hooked up the keypad, put it back together again, booted, and of course it's not charging again.

This will happen. When I first started working on these, against the better advice of several other dell techs, I dove in trying to find a better/easier solution than replacing the board. Replaced pieces on the board, upgraded/downgraded the bios, messed with various power supplies, etc... Everytime I would find some way to fix it temporarly only to have it break again in a couple of reboots. I believe that the issue is related to a faulty logic circuit somewhere on the main board (not the dc jack sub-board) that kicks the unit into a protection mode and keeps the adapter from charging the battery. It's definately not part of the bios because I've tried physically swapping from known good boards with no luck (works for a few reboots then breaks again).

I question whether the tech you spoke too really recognized this problem or if he was just pulling from the "it's not charging with a new adapter, so it must be a dc jack" logic. As you said, the dc jack was solid and even touching it up with solder did nothing. I'm sure several other people here can attest to the fact that dell jacks rarely go bad.

Tell your friend to cut her losses, sell the thing, and get a new laptop. The 1525/26 pretty much represents the worst offering Dell (and nearly any other mfg) has made to date.

 

[spacetrader]

qft.

and i originally bought my 1501 because i figured it should be a good, solid basic laptop regardless of how hideous it looks. in reality they work about as shitty as they look.