XPS m1530---Plugged In Not Charging

It's always interesting to see people who've had an issue claim that it's "very common" based on, at most, a few dozen - or even a few hundred - complaints of the same issue.  Considering that Dell has probably shipped upward of or over a million of these systems, which have been on the market for quite a while, even a few thousand failures - say 5,000 out of a million, is a failure rate of under half a percent, which by any statistical standards is pretty good.   ALL electromechanical devices fail -- more with time and use - and notebooks are well known to fail at a rate of about 1 in 5 in the first three years with a major component breaking down, so the "very common" argument doesn't hold water other that to construct a wall of commiseration with other owners.

The problem COULD be the adapter, or it COULD be the mainboard - either of which Dell will fix under warranty.  This model IS known to have the faulty nVidia chip in it - whether they've been fixed or not is open to question, so if you plan to keep the system for a while, I would strongly suggest you extend the warranty, or understand that if you don't , ONLY the video chip is covered by an extension, and ONLY for 12 additional months.  If you're willing to take a $400-500 risk that the board or screen won't fail, then you don't need the extended warranty.  If you're not, you do.

Look ejn63 I don't need to here a bunch of smart alec comments. If you have something to say that can help me then please do. If you don't then please shut up. I do not care about failure rates or how many systems Dell has shipped. What I do care about is that I spent $2,500 on a computer that has been nothing but a headache. This is the second major problem I have had with this thing. When I spend that much money on something I absolutely expect it to work. I am sure that any reasonble person would agree with my expectations and probably expect the same. I have been dealing with this for a while now and the more I look into it the more it seems to me that yes this is a common problem. I am not a computer whiz but I do run a retail business and I can tell you for a fact that if I had received as many complaints about one of my products as Dell has about this I would be fixing it. It would seem to me that waiting for half of the laptops that they have produced to fail is stupid. Which is what I guess you would do because that is exactly what it sounds like from your post. From the way you took offense to my post you are a Dell employee of some kind and you are doing just that. However, judging from the number of posts you have here I don't see how you could  work any place. You are way to busy cruising this forum writing arrogant  and useless remarks.

It is your comments that are rude, and your attitude that is poor.  My comments are simply that your allegations are baseless - your view is colored by the fact that your system failed.  If your system is under warranty, Dell will repair it. If you made the poor decision not to cover it with a 3-year warranty, then you will be paying for the repair or replacement;  it's as simple as that.

Posting baseless comments and making broad generalizations based on a single system history is not fair, not reasonable, and I will challenge those when I see them.

I would agree with ejn that you should contact Dell regarding a warranty repair.  By the way I have never known ejn to make "arrogant and useless" remarks.

The problem is universal and very frustrating when we end up with no visible solution.  EJN and JEC are definitely Dell's employees or have interests in Dell. Here what we need is a SOLUTION and not market research data.

EJN we will appreciate if you can provide a solution rather than presenting marketing data. To me I have changed the Adapter and battery as well, but no solution in sight. I tried updating and rolling back all the versions of BIOS available on the Dell's website.

Please let us know how to troubleshoot this issue? Even if we go by your data representation I believe that Dell have a reason to list the issue in a nice troubleshooting article so that it can people like us with little or no hardware knowledge.

If the system is under warranty, call Dell.

If it is not, the least expensive order in which to proceeed:

Does the battery show signs of failure (Flashing LED on the battery)?  If so, replace it.  If not:

Replace the AC adapter with a new Dell unit  (NOT a  third party adapter, which may not charge the battery).

If the new adapter doesn't solve the problem and the battery has been replaced or shows no sign of failure, there are two possibilities:

The power jack has detached from the mainboard - usually from careless handling.  It may be the board underneath isn't damaged, in which case a competent soldering shop can replace just the jack.  The cost will run $150 or so to have the job done right.

If the board underneath is damaged, or the jack is OK, then there's a failure in the charge circuit on the mainboard.  Generally, this is not repairable.  Replace the mainboard.

For the record, I've seen four systems in the last week with charge/power problems:  One Dell, two HPs, and a Toshiba.  They ALL have the problem at times.

If you want to avoid the problem in the future, buy an Apple Macbook - the power plug is held in by a magnet, not friction.  Then again, Apple has had problem with power connectors overheating and melting - so it's not entirely a trouble-free guarantee.

Unfortunately the warranty expired on 20th May. This problem has occurred to me earlier too, but it worked that time by updating the BIOS.  Regarding your recommendations on how to proceed:

- Battery does not show any sign of failure as LED is not flashing for battery
- I tested with my brothers adapter ( He also own Xps M1530)
- Power jack detaching does not seems to be a possibility, as it well detecting the power cord connected or not (the display brightness goes down when the power cord is removed, as it happens normally)
If as a last chance, I have to get my motherboard replaced, then it will be nightmare. I have been using IBM from past 10 years and it worked so well, and I have no complaints. But dono how I got obsessed this time by DELL XPS, it has been never smooth.
 
I have no complaints to Dell neither I have praises for any other brand. What I need is my machine working with peace of mind. The kind of problem am facing is very frustrating as I don't see a solution that will work for sure. It is all hit and try method. In various posts here, Windows Vista is also being blamed for the issue, but I fail to understand the why it is showing Unrecognized Device in BIOS where Dell have all the control?

I am in Toronto and let me know if there is way to get this working normally ASAP.

If the warranty expired just a month ago, it should be possible to extend it - and given the video problems with the nVidia chips, if you plan to keep it, that's what I would do - call Dell and purchase a 2-year warranty extension - it will cost less than a single mainboard replacement.

Have you found a solution for this yet?  My battery just stopped charging at 5% last week and unfortunately they told me that the Battery's warranty has just run out about a month ago and is only for one year since it's a consumable product.  Although my system still has 3 more years left on it's warranty it's been difficult to get Dell to send me a new AC adapter. 

I would rather not purchase another battery for it if possible, so if you have found a solution please let me know.

Thanks.

Tell them you've already tried another battery.

The mains battery charger connection appears to be a regular problem with the M1530. I checked Google to see if there was a issue with this model, and there seems to have been a number of cases where the battery does not charge after a period , indicating 'Plugged-in, not charging'. Since I got the M1530, the mains connector lead has always felt 'slack' in the socket.  I had a number of experiences where the battery did not charge.  I plugged and unplugged the connector till it eventually started charging.  Last week it refused to charge.  As instructed by Dell Tech support, I re-flashed the A12 BIOS.  It started charging and reached 100% charge.  I unplugged the connector, ran down the battery, reconnected, and was back to square one.  Needless to say the warranty has run out!  I have, apologetically, been informed that it will need a new motherboard and power . adaptor.  If I give my details, they will get an engineer to give me an estimate and arrange to call and carry out the necessary repairs.  This computer is only 18 mths old and was not a basic level laptop.   I feel that, if this socket is a regular issuee, Dell should consider free upgrades for any components which have proved to make the computer 'unfit for purpose'  within an acceptable lifespan for such a device.

The mains battery charger connection appears to be a regular problem with the M1530. I checked Google to see if there was a issue with this model, and there seems to have been a number of cases where the battery does not charge after a period , indicating 'Plugged-in, not charging'. Since I got the M1530, the mains connector lead has always felt 'slack' in the socket.  I had a number of experiences where the battery did not charge.  I plugged and unplugged the connector till it eventually started charging.  Last week it refused to charge.  As instructed by Dell Tech support, I re-flashed the A12 BIOS.  It started charging and reached 100% charge.  I unplugged the connector, ran down the battery, reconnected, and was back to square one.  Needless to say the warranty has run out!  I have, apologetically, been informed that it will need a new motherboard and power . adaptor.  If I give my details, they will get an engineer to give me an estimate and arrange to call and carry out the necessary repairs.  This computer is only 18 mths old and was not a basic level laptop.   I feel that, if this socket is a regular issuee, Dell should consider free upgrades for any components which have proved to make the comuter 'unfit for purpose'  within an acceptable lifespan for such a device.

Forget about Dell free upgrades!!! They are arrogant in nature when asking for this support and won't left any chance to mint the money on something they are responsible for. My  M1530 was also an high end I spent more than $2300 on that and is just 13 months old ( The first time problem occured in first 30 days of purchase) Then it was graphic card. Then it was touchpad that stopped working more than once in the past and then started working again on it's own or upgrading the BIOS. I upgraded the warranty for $400+

With all the things mentioned above, looks like I am wierd user who does not know how to operate a Laptop or is not taking care for it, but I have kept it in almost brand new condition. I am building custom PC and writing software (I am Microsoft Cerified Solutions Developer and Small Business Specailist)

Only one suggestion is there forget about Dell. I have resolved NOT TO BUY Dell anymore in my lifetime. That's how you can live with peaceful mind.

All the best!!

ps regards to the comment its only a small precentage,  dell sell millions of units , if thats the case the why dont you replace them and stop the bad press?