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Charger problem



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 14th 08, 05:21 PM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
J
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Posts: 3
Default Charger problem


The powerpack/charger for my Inspiron laptop is giving me problems and I
wondered if anyone knows anything about these? When it's plugged into the
laptop the charger doesn't always turn on, the small led somtimes doesn't
iluminate and there's been the odd 'bleeping' sound coming from it. We got
the laptop last xmas.

J



  #2  
Old November 14th 08, 06:50 PM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
Christopher Muto
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Posts: 2,222
Default Charger problem

if it is less than a year old then call dell for troubleshooting and/or
replacement. almost all of their laptops have at least a 1 year warranty (a
handful were just 90 day). support.dell.com is a good place to start, and
you can use telephone, online chat, or email. online chat is probably the
most efficient, but if it is a lattitude then i would call on the phone.

"J" wrote in message
...

The powerpack/charger for my Inspiron laptop is giving me problems and I
wondered if anyone knows anything about these? When it's plugged into the
laptop the charger doesn't always turn on, the small led somtimes doesn't
iluminate and there's been the odd 'bleeping' sound coming from it. We got
the laptop last xmas.

J





  #3  
Old November 14th 08, 06:57 PM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
William R. Walsh[_2_]
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Posts: 931
Default Charger problem

Hi!

The powerpack/charger for my Inspiron laptop is giving
me problems and I wondered if anyone knows anything
about these?


When it's plugged into the laptop the charger doesn't
always turn on, the small led sometimes doesn't
illuminate and there's been the odd 'bleeping' sound
coming from it. We got the laptop last xmas.


Does this only happen when the laptop is plugged in? If so, does it
still happen when you remove the battery with the system plugged in to
the adapter?

The noise you are hearing is the protection circuit in the power
adapter shutting down in the presence of an excessive load or short
circuit. Only some of these circuits will "latch" and stay turned off
after a fault, so the unit ends up cycling.

A very common problem with these is a broken wire in the cable. There
are a couple of ways to find this:

1. Plug the power supply in, connect a voltage meter to the output,
and flex the cable. Watch the meter while you do this. Any major
movement of the needle or large swings in voltage indicate a break in
the cable.

2. Plug the power supply in and just wiggle the cable to see if you
can make it cycle.

3. Carefully inspect the cable for bulging, cuts, exposed wiring (what
you see is usually a braid poking out) or signs of stress.

4. Try the adapter with a known working computer.

If the fault only takes place when the adapter is plugged in to the
computer, and it passes these other checks, the computer is most
likely at fault and has an internal problem.

If you need to replace the adapter, a genuine Dell adapter or
something from a well-established brand name is your best bet. Cheap
or "no-name" generic replacements may not work properly with your
computer.

William
  #4  
Old November 14th 08, 07:16 PM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
Ben Myers[_2_]
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Posts: 1,607
Default Charger problem

J wrote:
The powerpack/charger for my Inspiron laptop is giving me problems and I
wondered if anyone knows anything about these? When it's plugged into the
laptop the charger doesn't always turn on, the small led somtimes doesn't
iluminate and there's been the odd 'bleeping' sound coming from it. We got
the laptop last xmas.

J



The computer industry has a poorly publicized horror story about the
weak attachment of the connectors for A/C adapters (chargers) to laptop
motherboards. They are all soldered to the motherboard without anything
else to hold them firmly in place. Solder is a soft metal and the
soldered connections to the motherboard eventually fracture, leaving
either a sporadic connection between adapter and motherboard or no
connection at all. In the latter situation, the battery never gets
recharged and eventually the laptop stops working.

It does not matter which brand of laptop it is, and whether the model of
laptop is "high-end" (usually due to marketing hype) or cheap. The
connectors are almost universally soldered on.

HP got nailed with a class-action lawsuit on this in recent memory, and
so did Dell. The Dell lawsuit was limited to Inspiron 5100 or 5150
laptops and was settled by extending the warranty period on this model
for one year.

My fear is that the power connector on your laptop is coming undone from
the motherboard, given the symptoms you describe... Ben Myers
 




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