Inspiron 1526 battery not charging while plugged in....

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SOLUTION !!?

I discovered that one of my adapter internal wires broke  (of the 3 foot cable). I fixed the wire with solder carefully. (I'm an E. Engineer)

When I plugged it in, the laptop told me that the "adapter could not be recognized and that the battery will not be charging" even though the laptop works fine otherwise; but at the CPU's clock is always stuck at minimum !!!!?? :-(

i.e. the only problem is that the battery is not charging and the CPU's clock is stuck at minimum !!!!   :-(

My friend gave me his old 90W adapter from a different Dell model and it worked perfectly !!!

My guess is that Dell adapters are way too sensistive/conservative in their adapter design.  In other words, if the adapter EVER detects a minor change, like over or under voltage, it prevents the battery from charging (via software communications.)

Also, I found this FABULOUS perfect software that saved my life !!!!!!

RightMark CPU Clock Utility (RMClock),  RMClock Utility 2.35

Of all the clock controlling and monitoring softwares this one works FLAWLESSLY; even on a DELL  !!!!!

And it's FREE.

I don't know about speeding up Bootup speed but it does everything else.  I believe it does.

I can even set it up to reduce battery consumption by gradually throttling the clock and CPU voltages instead of the old fast -slow Windows default.

A MUST have utility.

Hope this helps.

Inspiron 1521/Vista/AMD

(UPDATE 1):

I just found a short (between super small signaling wire and +supply) in my older adapter. (They have 3 output wires of which one is super small).  This caused 3 things:

- CPU clock stuck at minimum.

- laptop telling me that the adapter is a wrong one .

- battery not charging nor discharging. (plugged in)

UPDATED the following (UPDATE 2):

I actually did cut the super small wire; I took one for the fans :emotion-1:

If that same super small wire breaks open then that will cause 3 things:

- full CPU clock range available.

- laptop telling me that the adapter is a wrong one .

- battery not charging nor discharging. (plugged in)

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Ok, so the three year warranty pays off. I explained the problem and was given the following steps by tech support, a variation of something i've seen all over the forums.

turn off the comp when it will not charge. Unplug AND remove the battery. Press and hold the computer's power button for 15 seconds to discharge some capacitors which will reset a few sensors to Binary Boolean False (0 instead of 1). Reinsert battery, start up. Once your desktop has loaded insert the power adapter. For me it took ~12 seconds to recognize the adapter. Before this test i flashed BIOS to A17 (Insp 1525). After both of these tests when it took ~12 seconds to begin charging, it was decided right then to replace both the adapter AND the Mother Board (and a broken 'Shift' key). Right Shift key aside, I find it suprising that no other assement was needed before the choice to REPLACE THE MOTHER BOARD was taken. I guess they know what they're talking about but it seems drastic.

I guess all i can say is for pete's sake, buy the three year warranty. In just under two years i've had a major software issue (they helped me restore to factory image via online support {GRRRR Vista}), an accident that ruined my screen (a cop pulled out a chair and the ethernet cord that was wrapped around the leg), and a hardware Defect. Both of the first two were inside the first 8 months of owning it, but this won't be the first time i'll need it outside the first year. Just buy it and the accident protection if you are half as clumsy as me.

Here is the truth about this situation.

The "The AC adapter type cannot be determined." messages are caused by one or more of the following problems:

1. The AC adapter is not a Dell adapter, or not a good aftermarket adapter (there are aftermarket adapters that do work properly, but you need to get them from reputable manufacturers who know what they are doing/building)
2. The AC adapter/laptop is not properly grounded/plugged in (rare)
3. The AC adapter is damaged in some way (damaged wire, frayed cord, internal problem, etc) which causes the ID signal from the adapter to the laptop to not be sent (or not be sent properly)
4. The MOTHERBOARD is damaged (or more specifically, the chip on the motherboard that communicates with the AC adapter to "test" it's authenticity).
5. (some of these have chips in the battery supposedly?) The chip in the battery is bad, and you need a new battery.

I had posted more originally about recourse for various models - but that is not allowed here due to the nature of the recourse. All I can suggest is search google... maybe start with the Inspiron 5150 as part of the search, and figure it out from there.

I would NOT suggest trying one of the hacks/fixes out there unless you really know what you are doing. You may turn a partially working laptop into a totally non-working one.

Best of luck,

Robert

How can I do this if my battery is dead? I had to buy a new power cord because other one went dead and battery died in the mean time. any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks John

hi, my neice had the same prob with her 1525.tried new batt.,new cord ect...it then just died. she asked me to look at it (i fix comps for a hobby).i took the cover off and founf the  "capacitor,chip,or whatever it is" on the mainboard right behind where you plug in the power cord,was melted and fried. if i can find out what the part is i may be able to put a new one in,however the board may be also fried. seems like it may be a faulty part by all the probs with this model.i am mad because she has little money and spent it on this for school.

i have a inspiron 1535 not too old at all, i was looking at youtube trying to fix my sons ps3, when i typed in there about this problem, my computer first started get that "plugged in but not charging" and then it started to go off , for no reason at all, then it would only stay on when the plug was at just the right angle, then it wouldn't go on at all. youtube does show a fix, having to do with the dc plug, it means taking the whole laptop apart, something i am wary of, but at this point the video from youtube on one laptop while i fix the blasted dc plug or at least resolder it, will be done asap, it seems like the plug also has a 3rd connection that determines what type of adapter you are using.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoT9XVn5Y2s

1 or 2 hours it says

i will be using an egg carton to keep all the screws well labeled on the computer, then i'll see about fixing the ps3 at another youtube video,

If your 1526 laptop  works fine while plugged in but stops working while unplugged it's likely that either your 1526 laptop battery is bad or your laptop is not charging the battery properly. Below are steps that can be taken to help identify the cause of this issue.

Make sure the computer has been charging from the power plug for at least two hours before attempting to unplug it.

In some situations the battery can become loose. Removing it and then put it back into the laptop.

If the problem still exsit, i suggest you buy a new one and this link may help you.

http://www.udtek.com/dell_Laptop-Battery_csf_1_2a_41.html

Thank you thank you thank you!  I was having all of the above problems (time & date not staying, problems starting computer, wattage message at start up, not charging when plugged in, etc.) and tried replacing the power cord and battery to no avail.  I was about to throw it out the window when I started surfing around and found this board.  Replacing the coin cell battery worked perfectly.  It now runs very well, although it is a little slow to start up, not sure why but I will deal with it.  Word to the wise though, I would not try this unless you are a computer professional, My brother, a professional computer geek, did this repair and it required lots of unscrewing and unplugging cables.  I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why they would put a battery so deep in the guts.  I was biting my nails the whole time, but it worked out great.  Thanks again.

Do yourself a favor!   Take your laptop and drop it off at a Dell office building with lots of traffic and place a nice big lemon on it. 

Then go online and buy a MAC.   I did this several years back when I bought a Dell laptop for my daughter and it failed just after the 1 warranty was up.  I bought a second one  for her and it also failed (Motherboard) after a few months while home for the summer.    I demanded my money back from BEST BUY  who looked at me like I came from another planet.   I ordered a MAC online and she finished college, total 3 years and has been working for a few years and she still loves her MAC.  As a matter of fact her office gave her what?  A Dell.  She leaves it in her drawer at work and uses her MAC.   Like she says her MAC is almost 5 years old and its still faster than her office Dell.  The MAC keyboard is a dream while the Dell is flimsy and feels like your typing on a loose keyboard.  MAC's are certainly pricier but a Lexus is also more expensive than a Buick Lacrosse buy you can be driving a Lexus 10 years down the road with 250,000 miles while your Buick Lacrosse will be long dead and buried.

Three part purchases later, I'm done with this junker 1526.  Quite a task to replace the elusive coin cell battery.  Dell, you've put out some good models.  But put this on your hall of shame board.

i have dell inspiron m301z and i had the same problem: plugged in, not charging. i solve this issue this way:

- from device manager i removed all  possible items in battery group

- i turned off my laptop

- i unplugged AC adapter from my laptop and from power plug

- i started my laptop without AC adapter plugged in

- when system started then i turned my laptop off again

- i left it for about 15 minutes off

- then i took my battery from my laptop for a minute

- i put the battery back, plugged AC adapter into power plug and laptop

- i started the laptop

- when system started my battery status was: plugged in, charging

i don't know if this help to somebody but i just wanted to let you know how i solved this problem

My Blue Inspiron 1526 had the same problem.  I bought a new battery to no avail.  I tried three different Dell branded AC adapters to no avail.  Scoured the net and found one cause that made sense - a bad power board.  Bought a new power board off eBay for under $6 shipped (p/n 48.4W006.021).  Took apart the laptop (not easy or intuitive btw - attempt at your own risk, although there's some videos and other documentation on the net that helps), replaced the power board, and Viola!  Now I can charge both the new and old battery using any of the three AC adapters.  I'd only suggest this fix to mechanically-inclined types.  If you're still under warranty (unlikely?), I'd guess that this voids your warranty too. Good luck!

i solved it on my wifes computer....

disconnect the AC

shutdown the laptop

remove the battey

connect the ac to laptop

startup

go to device manager - under battery, unistall ACPI Comlient Control Method Battey.

shutdown

disconnect the ac

instert battery

connect the ac

startup,  and when it did, it was charging the battery....

Thankyou !!!  I just tried this utilizing my 65watts original power pack and my battery is charging.

Replacing the power board on my XPS M1530 solved my problem.  I recommend this.