xps1530 motherboard replacement - how unusual to have the NEW board fail in 15 minutes?

I've happily lived with my hot XPS1530 for 2+ years.  I use it for development, little gaming, so I've not had any issues with the NVidea chip situation.  The other day I had Dell replace my keyboard, and the support person OFFERED (surprised me) to replace the motherboard as well - apparently having 3 year next day service had me covered.  Sooo, out comes the tech, swaps out the keyboard and motherboard, tweeks a few settings and the unit boots.  Cool.

Ominously he says - hey, you have an old battery, this isn't covered by warranty.  Knowing this, and also knowing I am almost always on adapter power, having 30 minutes of life just isn't an issue.  So I didn't worry about it.  However, it appears the new motherboard did not see the battery at all.  So, 10 minutes *after* the tech left ;), I pulled the adapter to see how the battery played.  Poof - instant off.  Hmmm, not good.  So, question 1 - the battery, even if weak, should still be seen by the new/newer/refurbed motherboard, right?

Still not too worried, I plugged the adapter in, hit the power button.  The keyboard lights cycle, and I can hear the fan in very low speed mode, but all is dark.  Calling Dell back up, they said looks like I need yet another motherboard.  Anyone else had a motherboard fail that fast?

Thanks,

cg