Dead Dell Laptop

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jwax
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Dead Dell Laptop

Post by jwax »

Well, not entirely dead, but battery will not charge.
Dell Inspiron 8500 laptop, many years old, but reliable until now.
Works on AC, but battery does not charge, all of a sudden. Tried an old, but still OK battery and same result- doesn't charge.
Also, on power up, get the message, "AC Power Adapter type cannot be determined. Strike F1 to continue"
Very common problem with Dell laptops it seems, with the most suggested fix being to replace the DC input connector on the motherboard. BUT, the machine works on AC when I plug in the AC adapter to it, so how could the connector be responsible for the battery not charging?
Has anybody seen this, and can recommend a fix?
WA2RBA
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Janitor Tzap
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Re: Dead Dell Laptop

Post by Janitor Tzap »

Here's some info from the Dell Forums.
Posted by piaggio on 24 Dec 2004 11:58 wrote:Yesterday I got the 'AC power adapter type cannot be determined' message on my inspiron 8500. (So adapter is working as power supply but battery charging is disabled.) Before yesterday I had no problems at all and power cable and connectors is 100% undamaged.

I decided to break open the power brick. (Yes, really break, because there are no screws)

And yes .. as many people suspected the small pin of the connector is the DATA line and is connected to a Dallas DS 2501 1-wire memory chip in the power brick. The 2501 is 512 bit EPROM with also an unique identification code. Measurement by oscilloscope made it clear that this chip is indeed DEAD, the 'high' voltage on the DATA line was about 0.6 V while it should be at least 2.2 V.

When disconnecting the data line from the memory chip and measuring the signal level on the DATA line when plugging in the connector in the laptop the signal level is back to a perfect 3.3 V and the laptop is clearly sending request signals, so the laptop should be o.k.

Of course this minor defect can't easily be repaired, because when buying a new DS-2501 as a replacement, first it should be programmed with the right data, so you need programming software/hardware and of course a power brick with a still intact DS-2501 to copy the data from!

Guess I have to buy a new power brick .....

(... or call Dell service and get the advice to replace the mainboard ??? ridiculous!)
Hope my little research made it more clear for everyone ....

... and shame on Dell!

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Externet
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Re: Dead Dell Laptop

Post by Externet »

Hi John.
If the power plug is like this one : (magnify)

----> http://www.pchub.com/uph/laptop/46-7787 ... aptop.html

The positive is barrel innards; the negative is barrel outside. The center pin is to handshake the laptop and the power supply for charging.
If the center pin lost solder joint inside the laptop or the jack has poor contact to the pin, the laptop does not enable charging.

Sadly means opening the laptop and confirming a good path for that center pin. Or jiggling it with waiting delay as it may not respond to enable charge instantly.

Miguel
- Abolish the deciBel ! -
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jwax
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Re: Dead Dell Laptop

Post by jwax »

Good info! Thanks! Next comes connector replacement!
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Externet
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Re: Dead Dell Laptop

Post by Externet »

Next is diagnostics. It may be the power supply center pin circuitry. Remember Murphy never sleeps. Try another supply/another laptop.
- Abolish the deciBel ! -
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