3 Posts
0
67655
Laptop charger LED light turns off when plugged in
Hi guys! So about 2 and a half months ago, I had a little mishap with my laptop charger. Dunno why I didn't come here first, but it's never too late! Anyway, I had just finished using my laptop for the night, and was plugging it in to charge. I noticed it was a bit difficult to insert. I was skeptical. After that, I looked at the charging port. Nope, nothing out of the ordinary. Then I checked the charger itself. Didn't see anything there either. I triedplugging it in again, but with more force. It eventually went in, but it made a loud ZAP sound. I panicked and frantically pulled the charger out. My first thought was "Oh my God you idiot you killed it" and I smelled the end of the charger. Eugh. Smelled burn-y. Then I smelled the laptop port. Same smell. I was really worried. I also noticed that the charger LED had turned off. When I plug it into the wall, it turns on, but when I plug it into the computer it turns off. By the way, for the previous few months I had been having issues with the "Plugged in, not charging" message popping up a lot. At that point, the battery for the laptop was a bit above 10%. The laptop booted up fine, even after the zap. I've been wondering if the charger was the problem, or if the issue is internal. I'd love it if you guys helped me decide if the computer is dead or if I just need to get a replacement charger. I have over half a terabyte of stuff on there that I really don't wanna lose. Thanks in advance!
P.S., Laptop model is Dell Inspiron 15 3567
idiot7221
3 Posts
2
January 8th, 2022 08:00
Quick update for you guys, I did solve the problem. After waiting around for a while, I finally brought the laptop to my local Best Buy to get the Geek Squad to repair it. Turns out, the motherboard was fried. Cost like $300 to get it fixed. Not entirely sure what caused the problem in the first place, be it the charger or the jack. Hope you all find this update useful, and good luck with your issues.
Shoutouts to @ejn63 for being right
P.S., Not everyone's problem is the same. You might have had the same things happen as I did, however, note that yours can be different and this is not a cover-all solution.
Dell-Brad L
Community Manager
Community Manager
•
2.3K Posts
0
August 4th, 2023 22:00
Helpful Video:
(edited)
ejn63
10 Elder
10 Elder
•
23.3K Posts
1
August 17th, 2020 03:00
If the LED on the adapter turns off on plugging in the DC cable, there's a short in the system. Try another adapter first - if it does not solve the problem, replace the DC jack:
https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=25193
And if that doesn't solve it, the power circuit is the issue - replace the mainboard.
Most often it's the adapter or jack -- however given your description, in this situation you'll likely find a fried power circuit and need a replacement mainboard.
idiot7221
3 Posts
0
August 17th, 2020 11:00
Now I don't wanna go all out just yet. I don't have a steady source of income so I can't blow my money on anything that might fix it. If you could explain to me exactly why it was difficult to insert in the first place, that'd be great. I'd be most comfortable with just replacing the charger instead of opening up the laptop to check for any damage. My warranty expired last August and I purchased the laptop the previous August. I've only ever needed maintenance on it once when my hard drive failed last May.
ejn63
10 Elder
10 Elder
•
23.3K Posts
1
September 22nd, 2020 17:00
Difficulty in inserting the DC plug suggests that either the plug is damaged (which should be visible) or that the jack is damaged (harder to see, but more likely).
Most computer repair shops will have Dell adapters on hand and will likely let you try one to rule out the adapter (or pinpoint the problem to that) without charge.
Kflash08
3 Apprentice
3 Apprentice
•
552 Posts
1
September 22nd, 2020 17:00
Is the center pin of the plug bent, touching the inner side of the barrel connector? Perhaps that's what sparked and produced the burnt smell. I had that happened to a Compaq/HP laptop to where it shorted out the senor circuity inside the power adapter that tells the computer if a suitable wattage power adapter is being used. Without it, the computer will refuse to recharge the battery and will operate at reduced performance because it doesn't know if a suitable wattage adapter is being used. Chances are that the power adapter will need to be replaced and that no damage was done to the computer.
Mike_LA
2 Posts
1
December 11th, 2021 12:00
What fixed this for me was futzing around with the rubbery part of the AC plug (where it bends past the hard plastic part that plugs in).
More details: I was getting the "AC ... wattage ... F1 etc" message on reboot, so I noticed that the charging light was not on. When I pulled out the AC plug and plugged it back in, I noticed the charging light would go on for like 2-3 seconds then turn off. After futzing with the rubbery part of the AC plug, I got it so the charging light would stay on.
Note that the charging light going on at all indicated to me the problem was not in the AC jack, and the AC adapter brick light (the green one) was on, which I assumed meant the problem was not in the AC adapter per se.
maxwang10
1 Message
0
January 7th, 2022 13:00
I am wondering have resolved your problem yet? Cause I have the exact same issue. I tried to replaced the dc-in port and re-assembled all cables on the MB, the problem is still there.
Dell G3 3579
Survival62
1 Message
1
October 7th, 2022 07:00
Hi All,
seems I have a similar problem here.
I have here an Inspiron 7779 (P30E001). It seems that my Dell wasn't shut down over night and the next day I wasn't able to turn it on. After checking if all connections are in place, I figured out the exact behavior described in the initial post here. The charger LED turns off if I plug the connector into the charging port.
I opened the Dell and disconnect the DC Jack from the motherboard. (of course after disconnecting the battery first).
If I now connect the charger to the loose charging jack the LED at the charger stay on. If I check the voltage at the white connector of the chaging jack, 19.65 VDC is shown at my voltage meter. After assembling all back, the same result. LED at the charger turns off.
This indicated me that the motherboard seems to be broken.
Different to others here in the thread, nothing smells bad inside.
Would you agree or do you have another Idea?
Reason to ask is to avoid ordering parts which later are useless if the Mainboard was the faulty part.
BR
Christian
(sorry for typos and bad spelling! English is not my native language)
WisdomofcrowdS
1 Message
0
January 16th, 2023 04:00
Thank you so much