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Inspiron 5150 Dead; "Power" & "Battery" lights just flicker
Specs (what I can remember):
Dell Inspiron 5150
Windows XP
100GB HD
2GB RAM
Story:
I bought this laptop online and it arrived and didn't identify the HD...purchased a new 100GB HD...still nothing...took it to a shop & they fixed it...they wouldn't tell me what they did...I'm thinking a CMOS Battery or something simple...but it worked fine for several months.
I noticed that the Battery Life was TERRIBLE and got worse almost on a daily basis...it got to the point that a FULLY charged battery only held 15 min of power. I also noticed that while the 5150 was connected to the charger, my sound would crackle, hiss, pop, etc, but as soon as the charger was removed and the unit was running on Battery Power, the sound was just fine. I just figured that the Battery was old and both the Battery Life & the Sound issue was caused by the battery (maybe whiskers or whatever) and possibly the charger. I bought a new Battery AND a new Charger.
I left the unit OFF for several days until the new battery arrived. I installed the battery & allowed it to charge OVERNIGHT before powering-up the 5150. In the morning, it would not power-on. I removed the battery, installed the old battery...NOTHING...removed the battery, and tried to power-on using only the charger...I tried ALL Battery/No Battery/Charger combinations possible and still nothing.
When I plug-in the charger, 2 of the 3 lights on the front flicker (the "Power" and the "Battery" lights) (I'm going to guess about 10 times per second). They flicker NON-STOP FOREVER, until the charger is removed, at least. The lights will flicker REGARDLESS of whether or not the battery is installed. Sometimes, when I plug-in the unit, those same lights will FLASH simultaneously several times and then the flickering begins.
The No-Load Voltage of the Charger is 19.6V. I don't know how to check the voltage of the battery as there are several "slots" where the pins are inserted.
I already know that the DEFAULT answer is going to be "The Motherboard is Bad"! What is Bad about it? Is this something that Dell is responsible for?
Thanks in advance,
Josh
Dell Inspiron 5150
Windows XP
100GB HD
2GB RAM
Story:
I bought this laptop online and it arrived and didn't identify the HD...purchased a new 100GB HD...still nothing...took it to a shop & they fixed it...they wouldn't tell me what they did...I'm thinking a CMOS Battery or something simple...but it worked fine for several months.
I noticed that the Battery Life was TERRIBLE and got worse almost on a daily basis...it got to the point that a FULLY charged battery only held 15 min of power. I also noticed that while the 5150 was connected to the charger, my sound would crackle, hiss, pop, etc, but as soon as the charger was removed and the unit was running on Battery Power, the sound was just fine. I just figured that the Battery was old and both the Battery Life & the Sound issue was caused by the battery (maybe whiskers or whatever) and possibly the charger. I bought a new Battery AND a new Charger.
I left the unit OFF for several days until the new battery arrived. I installed the battery & allowed it to charge OVERNIGHT before powering-up the 5150. In the morning, it would not power-on. I removed the battery, installed the old battery...NOTHING...removed the battery, and tried to power-on using only the charger...I tried ALL Battery/No Battery/Charger combinations possible and still nothing.
When I plug-in the charger, 2 of the 3 lights on the front flicker (the "Power" and the "Battery" lights) (I'm going to guess about 10 times per second). They flicker NON-STOP FOREVER, until the charger is removed, at least. The lights will flicker REGARDLESS of whether or not the battery is installed. Sometimes, when I plug-in the unit, those same lights will FLASH simultaneously several times and then the flickering begins.
The No-Load Voltage of the Charger is 19.6V. I don't know how to check the voltage of the battery as there are several "slots" where the pins are inserted.
I already know that the DEFAULT answer is going to be "The Motherboard is Bad"! What is Bad about it? Is this something that Dell is responsible for?
Thanks in advance,
Josh
ejn63
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87.5K Posts
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November 1st, 2007 23:00
While there was an extension of the warranty on these by one year, that ended on 9/30/2007, so if you have it repaired (and a mainboard will run you $400, which makes little sense on this model), it's your bill.
jshmehr
7 Posts
0
November 1st, 2007 23:00
My laptop has been broken since ~June...Just sitting around! I was NEVER notified by Dell that there was a Warranty Extension...I have been registered on this site since sometime in mid-2006 when I bought this Laptop.
kcam001
3 Posts
0
November 4th, 2007 19:00
Message Edited by kcam001 on 11-04-2007 03:46 PM
Message Edited by kcam001 on 11-04-2007 03:48 PM
jshmehr
7 Posts
0
November 4th, 2007 19:00
kcam001
3 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2007 14:00
jshmehr
7 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2007 16:00
Thanks,
Josh
msbikerdude
1 Message
0
April 1st, 2015 11:00
Just got one from Goodwill that's doing the same thing. Came with a 3.4 amp charger. Plugged a 4.6 amp charger in and flickering stopped. Now, on to the next problem...power light on but black screen.