Dell XPS 15 not charging but is plugged in

Remove the battery and power up using the power adapter only.

Only recently I identified what exactly was the problem here. Seems this is a common issue among Dell chargers. But the occurrence is due to the users' mishandling of the adapter cable rather than the adapter itself. 

If you take a close look at your adapter cable(the one from the adapter to the charging socket of the laptop), you will find a cylindrical shaped thingy. the segment of cable after that should always be straight. After long period of use in the bent state, one of the wires(red/green inside) tends to break in its connection. So you could peel off end charging pin's plastic outer cover and solder the broken wire to solve the problem. 

But the problem will re-occur after that weak soldering breaks off. So it is advisable for you to go in for a new adapter kit altogether. And yeah, it has nothing to do with BIOS settings or Motherboard issues.

Regards

Hi, I've had my dell xps L502X for 1yr 6 months, I'm using a 9 cell lithium ion battery, and I recently started having a similar problem.

My adapter works fine, but my battery won't fully charge, it reaches 68% capacity and stops making progress. The battery meter icon says "68% available (plugged in charging)" but makes no progress even an hour afterwards. I am reluctant to leave the battery charging much longer than that, I don't want to damage it. I've tried some trouble shooting like checking the adapter and updating the BIOS but nothing has worked. If anyone can offer a possible solution I'd be happy to hear it.

I don't however want to hear "buy a new $120 battery" just 6 months after my warranty has expired...

Thanks

Terry,

If your still monitoring this thread, I've had the same issue. When the computer was under warranty I sent it back and the charger was replaced; some thing else was done too, but I can't find the paper work. Anyway, the issue has started again. When I plug my charger in it says " Charger type cannot be determined. Your system will operate slower and your battery will not not charge, please connect a dell 130 or higher charger" or something to that effect. Do I just need to replace the charger?

Hey Guys,

i replaced the power supply and it worked straight away.

get a genuine one though.. i got mine for about $40 aus dollars.

I got hold of Dell support at their callcentre. They did a diagnostic test and confirmed that the power supply unit was faulty. Because it was still under warrenty, they sent me one at no charge in 2 days. Very good. I went to a computer hardware store before this and they tried a generic power supply which gave the same error message as before so I think you need genuine parts as Simon mentioned above

Hi Jackie, I also have same problem. I checked the process as you said. My LED on the AC adapter is on. It doesn't flicker or turn off when connected to my XPS L502X. But some times i noticed the battery is charged. This is not working for last one month. My battery is also dead. I recently changed my battery. It is not form dell. But anyways it not being charged. I lost my warranty couple of months ago. can you please suggest me what i need to do? It is only 15 months old and I already many other issues with this laptop. Now I am completely frustrated. Thanks in Advance, krishanu

If you know someone with the same unit, try their AC adapter and see if any charging takes place.    If not buy a new adapter from Dell.   These units have a special circuit to detect if a genuine Dell adapter is being used, so a third party adapter will not work properly.

Hi Jackie,

I also have same problem. I checked the process as you said. My LED on the AC adapter is on. It doesn't flicker or turn off when connected to my XPS L502X. But some times i noticed the battery is charged. This is not working for last one month. My battery is also dead. I recently changed my battery. It is not form dell. But anyways it not being charged. I lost my warranty couple of months ago. can you please suggest me what i need to do? It is only 15 months old and I already many other issues with this laptop. Now I am completely frustrated.

Thanks in Advance,

krishanu

Hello;

I have the same problem. Every once in a while (about 2-3 weeks) the system goes by itself to battery mode while the AC plugged in until it reaches %75 available (plugged in  Charging) however it stayed on %75 available but it is working on AC instead. The motherboard, AC adapter and Battery been changed 2 times yet it continue to exists 

Dell XPS 14 (L421x) 

Please provide me with you private e-mail to further elaborate on the problem 

Hi Jackie,

Re: Loose AC plug on Dell Laptop -- XPS L702X -- Product Key CQKGF-HTFBX-4H3M6-RJPPX-VBPWF

<ADMIN NOTE: Service code removed as per privacy policy>

We have tried everything.  The ring at the entrance to the hole for the AC adaptor appears loose.  The female connector recedes into the laptop and the male end on the power cord does not appear to create enough friction to create a tight connection.  But overall the cord just keeps falling out.

The machine just came off warrantly, but I am wondering if you could recommend a service repair place, Dell or other, where I could bring the computer in for repair.

Thanks,

Tom J. Fitzpatrick

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

<ADMIN NOTE: Contact information removed as per privacy policy>

Hi Tom,

You may check by connecting a known good Ac adapter. If the system works fine, replace the Ac adapter.  If the issue persists even with the known good Ac adapter, you may get the system serviced. Since the system is not under warranty, you may contact the Out of warranty department for assistance and the contact # is 1-800-847-4096.

Let me know if you need any further assistance.

I had the same exact problem. Dell canceled my warranty after changing two times: motherboards,  AC Adapter and battery, all were changed twice, yet the problem persist. Dell canceled my warranty, they have came to final conclusion it is too costly for them to deal with it. I decided to live with the problem until the system die. It will give me a valid reason to get rid of Dell defective ill made machines and their mistreatment of US based customer. I wrote Dell VP a letter he assigned it to a person in India to work out a solution. Most diffidently, he does not FIT in customer relation, nor he has the ability to deal with  problems 

Hi Terry I am having the same problem as Jackieee416, I am also using Dell XPS, bought less than 1 year ago. Please help! Thanks!

Hello;

I  have discovered one solution; drain the battery completely by working on your machine unplugged, once you receive auto warning “you need to find other power” then recharge it.  Please turn your machine off before you plug and unplugged the power cord.  I was very hesitant to start doing it. So far it is working