A/C Adapter, Battery, and CPU.... why?

@EJN63: Just had to get that last word in there, eh? lol Thanks for flaming me m8. Threads over, thanks for coming.. and coming... and coming...

This thing got way out of control. You can purchase GENUINE Dell adapter from many third parties for 1/3 to 1/2 of Dells price, and they will work; first hand experience. The non-Dell third party units do not send the laptop an ID signal that the computer needs before doing any charging. This signal is actually an industry standard that only Dell uses. Yes, they do it to protect the laptop from junk chargers and to get more sales.

I disagree that this thing has gotten out of control. The only thing out of control is the OP's obstinate refusal to buy a Dell AC charger. Then he is angry at us for pointing out the obvious AGAIN after he reposts his original question???  As if reposting a question would change result in a different answer?

The situation with the Dell AC charger is not unique. I have a Motorola cell phone. Unknowingly I bought a 3rd party car charger for it. The phone refuses to charge with the non-Motorola car charger.

Someone hacked my Dell account?? hahaha.. desperation of the lowest degree. Thanks for reposting for me, but like I said earlier, thread's over, go home.  Thought I made that pretty clear.

Any mods around that can close the thread please?

All this flaming aside, one comment.

Volts is Volts and Amps is Amps, and any supply with the proper voltage and enough current will do the job. It is possible to modulate a signal on the supply line, but it would incur cost, and serve absolutely no purpose other to require a specific device. Would Dell do such a thing to its loyal, although somewhat impolite (as seen on this thread) customers?

The answer is that there is a logic circuit in between the battery and adapter - you cannot use a non-Dell adapter to charge the battery, though one WILL generally power the system unless something else is wrong (such as a faulty jack or power circuit on the mainboard).

I'll inject a different, but related question here. I, too, have this problem with my e1505, on the second adapter (PA-12). Should I go with a PA-10, and/or is there any Dell adapter that works with this laptop and will last beyond a year or two? I'm pretty sure a failed ID chip is the problem in my current adapter. It's gotten progressively worse. As of today, it just powers the computer, but won't charge my battery. For the past several months, it has charged the battery intermittently. Thanks.

The PA-10 will be fine.

The ID chip can be fried by an EMP because the cable is not shielded. Possibly even a power surge will kill it.

The single biggest killer is rough handling of the adapter - more specifically, the power cable.  Out of thousands of these I've worked with, very few have inexplicably failed - people wrap the cord too tightly around the adapter, bury the adapter under a pile of insulation, or are too rough with the DC cable side. 

Ewoelfert,

Laptop batteries have microchips embedded in their charging circuitry.  These microchips communicate with the laptop's motherboard BIOS.  If the AC adapter doesn't provide the ID signal mentionned by KirkD, then the microchip will not communicate with the motherboard circuitry.  Also, as previously mentionned, the motherboard's power connector can become damaged.  This can prevent necessary connections from functionning or communicating correctly.  I am sitting here watching an XPS M140 run diagnostics.  Its battery had become fully discharged and would not recharge due to a thrid-party AC adapter.  I replaced it with a genuine Dell replacement purchased from an online laptop parts supplier at a very reasonable price.  It now shows a 100% full charge. 

A good analogy would be a "universal" remote control.  If you do not program the remote for your specific TV, VCR or DVD player, then it may turn those devices on and off but not allow you to use all the functions available with the original manufacturer's remote.

Simply put: Laptops are very sophisticated and complex devices.  When repairing them, we only use exact replacement parts.  Experience has taught us that using "compatible" parts can be both expensive and dangerous.  Some of the laptop battery fires and explosions you've probably heard about or seen on the nightly news were caused by the use of "compatible" power supplies.

By the way, "we" are not Dell employees.  We are independent techncians who share our knowledge and experience with Dell products with both Dell employees and users of Dell products through this Community Forum.

Tony

Below is my reply to a similar problem:  It might help.

Gone are the days of simple laptops.  Dell laptops require Dell battery chargers and are designed to recognize them.  If the power adapter port on you laptop is damaged (by inadvertently pulling or jerking, etc), it may fail to identify the battery charger and refuse to charge the battery.  This happened to me.  Fortunatly, my 1737 has a daughter card which holds the charging port and related electronics.  I only had to replace it rather than replacing the whole mother board.  $15 vs $300.  Hope yours is made the same way!

And WHEN will computer makers design an external power supply port that is ROBUST!???  or do the just love the repair income...

Bob..,

The only ROBUST power supply connector I've ever seen was the one used on a Macbook model.  It used an RCA plug.  As you know, the RCA plug is an antiquated but reliable connector.  Usually the wires pull loose or break before you damage either the male or female connector.   Another pet peeve of mine is why there is no standard DC plug for electronic devices, and why bridge rectifiers are not used on DC inputs.  With a bridge rectifier the polarity of the tip and ring of the connector is not important so even an AC power supply of the correct voltage and amperage could be used.  The ONLY device I've ever seen with such a power supply circuit design was a Heathkit 2-meter handheld radio kit sold back in the 70s.

Tony

@meiser:  This program looks hopeful! But I'm stuck on getting to force settings. Can you explain more about how you got your speed back?