Dell Latitude E4310 Battery Light Blinking Amber

Question

The battery light on my Dell Latitude E4310 began blinking, today, seemingly out of nowhere. As far as I can tell, it's blinking Amber 3 or 4 times before going to blue. Moreover, when I check my taskbar indicators, it's reading "No battery detected."

I operate almost exclusively with it plugged in, so I've never really had a problem starting it or anything. I had a slight accident years ago when the cord was stepped on and very slightly bent where the adapted plugs into the computer. But after having ordered another adapted, this never bothered me again. Maybe about two weeks ago the laptop had a short fall. But other than that, I'm not sure what could be happening.

Anyone have any idea of what's going on? While I can operate it without the battery, the issue is whenever there is a bit of weakness in the adapted outlet, the entire computer shuts down in whatever I'm in the middle of doing. In the past, a slight disconnect from moving the computer plugged in would be picked up by the battery. So this is definitely an issue I envision becoming a problem if I don't solve it.

I should note that I've removed the battery, let all residual power out of the system, and then restarted the computer. I've monkeyed around with the power adapter and switched it out to an older one to see if anything changed. It's just weird it's not recognizing that a battery is present when it's attached unless it's just totally gone bad all at once.

ejn63 · Answer

The 'short fall' could have damaged either the DC plug or jack -- those should be replaced. As for the rest, the battery also needs to be replaced. Only you can decide what to spend on repairing the system, but  bear in mind it has very little value, so replacing the adapter, jack and battery could wind up costing more than the system is worth.

InspironInspire · Answer

Okay, so I removed the battery and the cover where the adapter plugs into the computer. I thought I'd be able to take the entire housing off after seeing some chips through some cut-outs in the housing, but couldn't figure out how. Blew into it a bit.

Anyway, restarted the system, ad now the battery indicator is no longer blinking. It appears to be recognizing a battery is now present, but what the taskbar battery icon is saying is that the battery is "0% available (plugged in, not charging)." So, is this more likely something wrong with the chips inside the jack housing or is it that the actual battery is just dead?

Yeah, I do want to buy a new laptop. I tend to use things until the product is no longer useable. What's the cheapest Dell that is most comparable to the Latitude E4310?

ejn63 · Answer

In order for the system to charge the battery, it must recognize the AC adapter -- go into setup (F2 at powerup). If the adapter shows unknown, the battery will not charge.

If you're asking for a new system equivalent to what yours was, that would be the Latitude 5430 or 5440 (NO E before the 5).

InspironInspire · Answer

Again, where it was't recognizing a battery being attached, at all, when I first posted this, I then detailed after doing some limited investigation and prodding that it's now recogizing there's a battery attached. But what it is saying, now, is that it's not charging. Device manager shows the battery and adapter working properly, drivers updated, etc.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion for a new system.

Latitude

Dell Latitude E4310 Battery Light Blinking Amber

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