Windows 7 Dell New Inspiron 1545 "Plugged In, Not Charging" & Error

There is a little slide release allow the battery to be removed.

You may have a defective charger. There is a third signal wire that tells the laptop what charger you have. If this wire gets damaged or the charger circuity gets fried, it will no longer charge. Have Dell replace the charger. If this doesn't help, the DC socket on the laptop may be damaged. Dell should repair this under warranty. The 1545 has a separate charger board, so the entire system board does not need to be replaced. It is difficult to repair the socket if the connections are bad.

Removing the battery and reputting it in didn't fix it.

The adapter appears to be in perfect condition as well; I kept it out of harm's way since I received the laptop, knowing how vital it is for a laptop.

I should contact Dell and demand a new adapter?

Ever since this problem occured, it takes forever for my laptop to go past the "Dell" screen. About a month ago, I had to reformat my computer (after 1.5 months of use!) because it errored and froze on the "Dell" screen. It was ridiculous, and now I'm experiencing the same thing; if I try restarting my computer, it takes about 15min to get past the screen.

I knew I should've not gotten Dell lol they have a bad rep' in Canada.

I got an Internet connection issue so I restarted my computer, and now it charges again.

What's the cause of this? It's either a sensitive piece of hardware or something to do with the software.

Any guesses?

I hear you man! I just got a new Studio 1555 and my ac adapter is doing the same thing! I tried to plug the ac adapter from an inspiron 1720 in and everything works just fine. The WEIRD thing is... I plugged the new adapter from my 1555 into the 1720 and it works fine too! So I figured maybe it was my mind playing tricks on my. I plugged the new adapter back into the new 1555 and guess what... "Plugged In, Not Charging"!!! I would expect this kind of thing from HP or IBM, but Dude It's A DELL!!!  

etwolf13:

I think you may have upset a witch sometime!

Interesting problem!

I think it must be something with the battery in your 1555. What are the batteries (six or nine cell) in each machine and what wattage are the chargers. The charging circuity is in the battery, and the 1555 battery may be mis-programmed to think it needs a higher capacity charger. At one time, Dell were shipping higher wattage chargers with six cell batteries; there is really no reason they should have done this, except possibly because of a problem like yours. Please do not blame Dell. They do not make the batteries or chargers. The manufacturers of these items make for ALL laptop sellers.

I think you are right! The charger that came with the 1555 is a 65w and the battery is a 9cell. But the battery in the 1720 is a 9cell too, with a 90w charger. The 65w charger works fine (and charges) with the 9cell in the 1720? Go figure! I ordered a 90w charger for the 1555. Hope that works. If it doesn't... I guess I will have to find a witch doctor to counter act the bad juju!!!

You should get the 90 watter free, as they made a mistake.

I should! I am too lazy to deal with the scripted tech support session. At the end, they are gonna want to send someone out to change the motherboard and other assorted parts before they decide to do the smart thing and just replace the adapter or the battery! I wonder who writes the scripts for some of these tech support people. I had a dead adapter once. The LED light on the adapter didn't even come on! I called tech support and they told me they wanted me to do some updates, and then send someone out to change my mobo. I had to fight to talk to a manager just to do the only thing that makes common sense... Replace the dead adapter! I don't fault them. I know it's their jobs to follow the scripts, and I try my hardest to be nice to them. I wonder if execs at computer companies have ever watched the flash video of Foamy The Squirrel: Tech Support!?!

I'm having a similar issue with mine and I've had it for almost a year now. Do you know if having dell replace the motherboard or adapter will cost me any money?

If your system is under warranty it will not cost you a dime! Dell will pay for shipping, or (depending on your warranty) have a tech come to your location to replace or repair. It's just a major hastle, to give up your system, for them to replace the motherboard and just try things till it's fixed. I didn't have the time to waste and just bought a 90w charger. I haven't had any problem since! If you have the time I would go through the Dell's warranty service and have it all done for free. One piece of advice though. If you send your system to Dell, or any shop for that matter, be sure to backup your hard drive just in case. I have heard horror stories about lost data. Good Luck! :emotion-2:

I've had a faulty battery since the day I bought my Dell 1545 from Best Buy running Vista (it doesnt get any worse than that).  I fought with best buy and dell since i was under both warranties, but both blamed the other and said they should replace it.  I didnt have time to fight while my computer, my business was getting worse and worse. Finally Dell told me it would cost $385 and up to 10 days UNDER WARRANTY to come pick up my laptop, have it delivered to their technicians, get an assessment and have it fixed and back.

I told them to forget it.  I took it to the local shop, the one with the highest reviews on google and they fixed and replaced everything  in one day for $200.

Needless to say I canceled my warranties with both companies and demanded a refund.  I got a partial .

The adapter issue just started recently as well when i tried to install 7, my computer says its plugged in not charging.  I already restarted andn did everything i could think of.I guess buying a 90 is what i'll have to do.  so far this computer has cost me over $1000 and i've had it for 1 year and 1 week.  Most of it had alot to do with Vista though.  Im thinking...Mac.

i not sure about the rest as i am facing this problem as well. but for the battery, you can remove it by pushing that little push thingy with a lock drawn over it, it's located right above the battery. push, hold and you can pull out the battery.

if you want to contact Dell, i suggest you do it quick because their service is beyond horrid. While your laptop is still brand-new get the problems fixed while you can

I fixed mine first by buying a new battery (didn't fix) but as soon as I bought a new adapter, plugged it in, and restarted the PC - presto plugged-in, CHARGING!

I believe its the model Dell made the Studio 1555. 3 days after I received mine the Mcafee wouldn't work on it and the internet of course kept interrupting me while I tried to surf. So after called Dell support for 3 weeks and replacing my entire pc including the motherboard Mcafee finally would work and I could use my pc again. 3 months later it happened again, it was totally annoying and I wanted my pc replaced because I didnt even have all the free programs I was offered at purchase because everything was replaced and reprogrammed except the free programs not reentered! Now the battery won't charge!!!! Its plugged in and the battery is not charging so I call Dell they tell me it sounds like the motherboard. And of course now there is no warranty left. So basically the motherboard has to be replaced every 10 months???? Never again!  Dell its time to taste some Apple!

wow, you had it worse. ever since my incident with the charger and the battery, i've decided that im never using dell again. and i've been telling my friend to stay away from dell.

im going to get a new lenovo soon :):emotion-1: