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Dell Inspiron 5570 battery and ac adapter issues but different
Inspiron 5570
I've been trying to figure out how to fix this for weeks and can't seem to come up with an answer. Here's some back info on it, I will try to name everything I've done so far.
I picked this laptop in trade for some other stuff because my older Dell finally gave up on me, and its barely more than a paperweight at this point thanks to Dells unfortunate battery system. After thousands of users having issues and many actually boycotting Dell entirely, I still haven't found an actual fix from Dell. Seems every user with more than the most basic of this issue stops getting replies. But this forum has saved me in the past usually thanks to users, so hopefully it can again. Thanks in advance.
Bought a Dell Inspiron 5570 (8gb ram( came with 16), a 1tb HDD,(missing SSD), and an 8th gen i5), knowing that the original user at one point had a battery issue, and even replaced the battery but didn't have the time or experience to go further. Unfortunately he never even got the laptop to see the OEM Battery replacement. And at some point he lost the charger so I got it with an hp charger that I didn't waste any time on. I dropped approx $100 on a new ac adapter which fixed nothing. Still not recognizing charger. Not seeing battery connected. At this point I started searching for fixes and tried all of them. Forcing the BIOS update using sudo cmd since you can't update the BIOS normally without a connected battery/ tried setting BIOS back to original settings/ uninstalling and redownloading drivers and updates for each/ disconnecting battery and power supply and holding power button for 30 seconds and connecting the ac adapt restarting and then shutting down and connecting battery (which I also tried with connecting both at the same time and also the battery first)/ tired connecting the ac adapter to the laptop before connecting to the wall/ I've even tried both a reset and fresh install of windows and repeated most of these, and still no fix. I have on a few occasions completely at random, gotten the computer to see the battery, but most of the times it disappeared when I ran a troubleshooter or POST, and every time it would say "0% plugged in" but wouldn't say if charging or not and battery life didn't show any change. but the occurrence that made it through POST managed to check health of the battery which showed 68% if I remember correctly, and that one still showed the "0% Plugged in" on the taskbar. During a few of these the charger has popped up and the computer actually identified it, but even though a couple of those times were with the battery visible it still would not charge. Made sure to try charging in BIOS menu while the comp could see the battery and charger but didn't see any results. So far it seems like connection for either are both random and unreliable. I've checked all board connects and connectors at all ends and everything seems good. No corrosion, no broken solder points, everything seated nicely, etc. Both the battery and ac adapter are read by the board completely random sometimes one, sometimes both, but neither ever make it past the computer being restarted. The battery isn't brand new, but it did confirm as not just healthy but a legit Dell battery during post but it's nowhere near it's normal end of life. The charger is a 90w instead of the 45w it comes with but is exact on voltage and is even confirmed for this laptop on Dell's site, I don't think the dc jack on the board is at fault, because it's not loose, and without any coaxing or angling it does occasionally see the ac adapter. And I can't seem to find any issues with software using any of the troubleshooters I've tried so far. So now I'm at a loss. What do I do? The throttling is so bad due to not recognizing the charger that just clicking around the home screen is laggy. Definitely can't run basic games or stream Netflix/YouTube/or other video sites at the throttle rate. (I have no disabled speed step from bios, and went through advanced power settings and set them all to avoid any of the performance cuts that I can, but it's still not anywhere near it's potential. The overclock potential is over 3 megahertz and I'm barely hitting 1 on a good day. Is there any way I can fix these issues editing the registry? Or anyway to bypass the battery chip without soldering on the board? Soldering with my carpal tunnel as bad as it is, makes me feel like I have palsy, and the points on the main board are so small that it's a route I'd like to avoid. I feel like there has to be a fix that doesn't involve replacing the whole main board, especially with how common this error is, and I would prefer not to have to purchase any more parts for this since it seems from a lot of users that even replacement parts are only temporary fixes that will still have the same errors show again a few weeks to months later. I appreciate any help I can get. Thank you!!!
P. S. I know that just about any other idea to attempt this fix is going to put the computer at risk of becoming a either a brick or a fireball. This is my personal computer, and its not much more than a brick now. If it fails it fails. Open to custom BIOS fixes, registry fixes, hardware fixes, etc. If it doesn't get fixed I will need to replace it anyways because without mobility I can't use it for work, and all of the throttling issues make it so slow that my wife's $100 Lenovo Celeron n4020 outperforms it right now.
-thanks
ejn63
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22.8K Posts
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December 24th, 2022 03:00
The DC jack is indeed the next suspect.
https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=27226
Csell7912
9 Posts
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December 24th, 2022 04:00
Tbh it's making it really hard to be a Dell fan. The causes for this between are so broad between posts. Some that are completely unexplained, some hardware, some firmware, some driver issues, but every single one because of the stupid proprietary battery system setup. And at every turn the answer is to buy part after part until it works or you basically completely replaced the computer, which really means you fixed nothing. Between the battery, which from Dell while they sold them was around 120, and the $25 DC jack (price ranges depending on seller) and the charger that ordered through Dell most still cost over $100, I'd block $245 on parts specifically for this computer and not usable on another (charger is a waste if I decide to not waste my time on Dell) and with how long returns could take thanks to not having a decent electronics store I'd be out for over a month potentially. I have stuck to purchasing Dell computers because of the way that every previous one I've owned has been supported by the manufacturer. Tons of support pages, non hidden BIOS, and a lot more user freedom to control. But this has to be the device with the least support from Dell I've ever seen. If I can get battery issue resolved, yours is guaranteed my first step to confirming the charger issue. Just can't justify more money to fix a secondary issue. Sorry for the rant. Any chance you've heard anything of why dells don't like to accept anything but their original charger? Ive read tons of these where the computer worked for a few days/weeks with the new one and then wouldn't accept it either even with it being the OEM replacement directly from dells site
Csell7912
9 Posts
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December 24th, 2022 04:00
Even if that fixes reading the ac adapter, which likes to read more often than the battery, could that fix the battery not being seen sometimes and being seen others? As originally stated not sure how much more money I can dump into this thing, being that the issues are so random. Especially since from what I'm finding, a faulty battery/ battery connection/ driver/ bios issue could easily cause the error even with good charger and DC jack. There are so many of these posts that have ended with people spending enough to replace one part after another that they should have just purchased another computer. The charger alone will buy a base level computer at today's prices, add in the cost of the battery the DC charging jack and I could have paid for a PC with a 12th gen processor that outputs higher on benchmarks than the one I'm trying fix. Especially with the prices I've found lol. I want to fix this, but looking less at the hardware side of things because of the testing that I've already done. Working connections are random, I've tried holding the cord at 100 different angles, and it doesn't seem to prefer any specific way, same with the battery. Which isn't even showing at the accurate percentage.
confuseduser43
591 Posts
0
December 24th, 2022 04:00
Hello,
The battery and it's charger must be original dell parts you can't charge a dell battery with an HP charger or vice versa i agree the DC input jack is probably faulty see here .
The trader probably knew the laptop had problems and gave you a cat in a bag .Also note the inspiron line are consumer systems not meant to be used for work related stuff.
ejn63
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22.8K Posts
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December 24th, 2022 05:00
Dell notebooks have a charge circuit that includes a chip on the mainboard and in the power adapter -- unless the loop detects the adapter, the battery will not charge. Dell is not alone in this; Apple notebooks do the same. In fact, Apple systems can suffer irreparable and extensive damage if a non-OEM adapter is used.
Csell7912
9 Posts
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December 24th, 2022 05:00
As stated in the original post, the battery replacement is a genuine Dell battery, and I replaced the charger with a Dell charger. And again, this does nothing to fix the primary issue which is the battery itself. Still have the issue of random recognizing a battery is connected and then that the moment I'm out of POST the percentage doesn't read accurately. The ac adapter likes to read semi regularly, but has been unrecognizable due to battery error on dozens of threads. (Which is confusing to me as to how that makes sense since they are on opposite ends of the board and the ac adapter is not read through the battery but before it) And even though I'm sure it will be used mostly for random daily use at home, the Inspiron works plenty fine for basic work stuff (when used for work, it's used to download and print work orders and signature printout sheets so I'm not worries about security risk) I feel that the "not meant to be used for work" is more meant that it isn't intended for work from home, running secure sites and programs and enterprise solutions. A large portion of computers aren't meant to be used for work but they'd have to be stupid if they really expected nobody to every print something for work, scroll to their hr website, send a few emails etc.
ejn63
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22.8K Posts
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December 24th, 2022 06:00
Sorry for answering your question:
"Any chance you've heard anything of why dells don't like to accept anything but their original charger?"
Enjoy the holidays -- if you really want to solve the issue, please consider putting aside the vitriol and the agenda. The solution will come a bit quicker if you follow the advice: Replace the DC jack.
You're only processing "what you've heard" where it aligns with your agenda -- not with the required solution to the problem.
Csell7912
9 Posts
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December 24th, 2022 06:00
Did you even read my post? I know that part. It's how the battery is detected. (And I've actually heard that in some newer computers there is way more info and control being passed between the two) but in this model it's a very small bit of info that I've already found how to go around if absolutely necessary, but I don't want to go that route. Knowing this still doesn't help my issue.
Csell7912
9 Posts
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December 24th, 2022 07:00
Sorry was half asleep as I typed that, did not mean to come across so negatively. Just worried that I'm dumping more money into something that's not going to work out, when money is pretty tight at the moment. If it wasn't I'd just purchase a new one and enjoy the Dell warranty lol. Will a less expensive jack be ok? Obviously one meant for this laptop. There's one online for like $5-$7. That is marked as specifically for this and I think a couple other models of Dell laptops. Any tips on the battery issue? Some stuff shows the charge issue linked to the battery, but I haven't found anything of the battery not recognized because of the charger but I guess it wouldn't be too far of a stretch for the battery to be unrecognized as disabled. The only thing that made me question that was the time both were recognized at the same time but the battery still didn't charge any. Sorry again for my irritability, it was late/ early here and this issue has been hitting a nerve. Dell support is not quite what it used to be. Especially if you're out of warranty. Thanks for the tips, and merry Christmas Eve!/happy holidays to those who celebrate differently than I do!
confuseduser43
591 Posts
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December 24th, 2022 08:00
Hello,
While it is true an inspiron system will work fine todo basic work related stuff you have no leg to stand on when things go the wrong way as you can't complain about that .
All brands do it Lenovo , HP , Asus , MSI , Acer and all the other i didn't mention the ac adapter needs to be the brand original some of them even void your warranty if they know you used another one. and this is why
Csell7912
9 Posts
0
December 24th, 2022 08:00
For the work stuff I get that I can't expect them to cover issues in those areas, and I'll make sure and keep those areas limited. Unfortunately I can't change the use of a different charger by the previous user. I bought a brand new Dell slim 90watt charger with the 5570 in the compatibility list.
Csell7912
9 Posts
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December 24th, 2022 10:00
I'll try that as soon as I get home, I'd seen the ePSA thing before but forgotten it. Does it forces the laptop to run a test at the beginning like some of the options available do then it'll fail unless I can get the battery to connect. Might take a few tries.
confuseduser43
591 Posts
0
December 24th, 2022 10:00
Hello,
Another thing you can try is with the laptop powered off hold down fn and press the power button this will get you to ePSA and run all the diagnostic tests to see if it tells you anything more.
Csell7912
9 Posts
0
December 29th, 2022 16:00
Update: Waiting on shipping still, but I pulled apart the DC jack just to see if the solder point for the communication wire had broken off, and when I pulled the shield off the actual jack broke into two pieces. Luckily everything stayed connected to the main, and the other was just a chunk of plastic that wasn't covering a contact. Repaired (temp until the new one gets here) and used a pic to make sure the contacts weren't over compressed, and no change. Obviously it could be failing internally so I won't know for sure until I replace. I was reading something about a potentially bad mosfet on the board, but I've only worked with mosfets in Vapes, running a little bit lower voltage. Any tips to what I should be looking for? And does anyone know if Dell ever did a specific bios update that helped charging and batt issues? BIOS updates are a pain having to do a sudo command so it used the charger instead of the battery but maybe I missed the easy fix early on?