Inspiron 14z Battery Plugged In but not Charging

Hi nessar12 ,

Welcome to the Community.

i would like to inform you that this issue can be resolved by downloading the latest BIOS. In case that doesn't solve the issue there might be a problem with the motherboard. Please download and flash the latest BIOS.

http://tinyurl.com/cas8sy3

Please respond in case you need any further assistance or clarification.

Glad to help!

Abhishek Banerjee

Social Outreach Professional

I have the same problem with my Inspiron N411z.  Laptop is only 4.5 months old -- and when I plug in the adapter, the battery status light blinks red, and the battery does not charge.  This is an intermittent problem, but is happening with increasing frequency.

Since it is still under warranty-- I call Dell Support, they suggested updating the BIOS but my BIOS was up-to-date.

Any other ideas on what might be wrong ?

Hi,

If the issue is occuring even after the BIOS update it might be an issue with the AC adapter or the system board where the adapter connects. I would advise you to try another adapter to see if it is charging the battery. Also, check in the BIOS screen if the AC adapter is being recognised.
Please follow the steps below to check the AC adapter in BIOS.

1. Restart the system and tap F2 key on the Dell logo.
2. On the system setup screen under the Main tab, look for AC adapter type, it should be listed as 65W.
3. If this is not listed, you can try loading the BIOS to defaults and check again.
4. Press F9 key to load defaults and press F10 to save and exit.
5. Once this is done, please check whether the AC adapter type is listed.

 If it is still not listed, then the system is not recognising the AC adapter and certain components need to be replaced.I am adding you as a friend; please accept my friend request and send me a personal message with the system Service Tag so that I can check the system warranty details and help you accordingly.

I would also like you to check the battery health, to make sure the battery is working properly. To check the battery health please follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Click on the battery icon on the bottom right side
2. Click on the option 'battery health meter'
3. Click on Battery Health tab on the top. You will get a message "Your battery is performing normally". If you get any other message, the battery might need a replacement too.
   
   Please reply for any further questions.

Hi,

Not sure if this is too late for everyone, but thought I'd thrown in my 2 cents.

I just encountered this same issue, went through all of the posts here, but still had the same issue. At one point I did switch adapters and it seemed to fix the problem for a couple of days, but then returned.

Applying the KISS principle, I shutdown my laptop, removed the battery, put the battery back in, then plugged it back in. Voila! No more blinking red light and my laptop is charging again.

Hope this helps for future seekers.

Steve

We've been seeing this occur (fairly frequently) on the Latitude E6520 & E6530 laptops. It has never occured on our E6500 & E6510 laptops.

The current fix has been to:

1.           Shut the computer off.

2.           Remove the battery from the laptop.

3.           Wait about 10 seconds.

4.           Put the battery back into the laptop.

Not ideal, as the problem will come up again for a repeat of the above.

We are applying the latest BIOS (firmware) on (currently installed  - E6520A13 & E6530A06, will install E6520A15 & E6530A07). It may take a while to confirm whether it fixes the issue or not, as it is an intermittent issue.

The "update your BIOS version was proposed a few months back and did not correct the issue. I'm not holding my breath for these new versions either. There is no mention that this problem is addressed in the latest BIOS versions.

Hi S Surya,

I understand your concern. 

You may follow some of the troubleshooting steps below that might help:

1. Drain out the residual power.

You may drain out the residual power by following steps below: 

• Power off your computer.
• Please remove the AC adaptor and battery of your computer.
• Press and hold the power button of your computer for 10-15 seconds to drain out the residual power.
• Release the power button.
• Insert the battery in and connect the AC adaptor.
• Then try powering on the computer. If the issue persists, proceed to next step.

2. Check the Battery health meter is the battery charging is disabled by following the steps below:

• Click on Windows logo on desktop --> Type 'Power options' in search bar above that.
• Click on Power Options --> Check for the 'Battery Health Meter' among the different options on the left side of window.
• Check for battery health and check if the battery charging is disabled.

• Restart your computer to check if the issue is fixed.  
• If the issue persists, proceed to next step.

3. Load BIOS defaults by following steps below:

• Restart your computer and tap F2 at Dell logo.
• At the system BIOS screen, press F9 to load defaults and F10 to save and exit.
• Restart your computer and check if the issue persists. 

Try charging the battery with the notebook turned off  and see if it helps. You may also try swapping with a known good battery (If available). If known good battery works, you may charge the battery and try to update the system BIOS.

Note: Make sure the ac adapter is connected and the battery is charged 10% or above to update the BIOS. Also, disconnect all the external peripherals before updating the BIOS. All the programs should be closed and documents saved. 

Link to download system BIOS: http://dell.to/WozEth

Please share the findings. 

Just wanted to follow-up regarding the guidance offered by DELL-ChinMay.  I received similar guidance from Dell Phone Support -- I tried all these steps and it did nothing to alter the battery fail-to-charge problem.  Since my laptop is still under warranty, a technician was sent to my home to replace both the battery and the mother board in fall 2012, neither of these changes fixed the problem.  Separately, my hard drive failed in January 2013.  I received a new hard drive (and installed it myself) -- and strangely, the battery problem seems to have resolved.

Regardless -- much as I love the portability and functionality of the 14z, the performance is abysmal.  My laptop goes out of warranty this month, and I worry that I will be stuck paying for whatever frailty next reveals itself. 

lisa

Hey guys - I have a similar problem. I have the Dell Inspiron 14z (N411Z) .My laptop battery charges till its 85% then it just stops. The lights still on but charging doesn't happen whatsoever. If i take the battery health meter it shows as charging. But if i unplug the charger and plug it back in it will show "plugged in not charging". I already tried removing battery putting it back in, updating BIOS and also switching adapters. I believe there is something more serious. Recently I also had a problem where laptop would not shut down at all, but now thats been remedied automatically. Any helpful responses on this will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Karthik

dell_abhishek_b : The download link below is for Version A05 of the bios while the previous versions listed are A03/A04 and A06.

The executable says that I already have a later version of the bios ????

Please suggest.

-Sanjeev

Hi sir
I find number of problems in my laptop Inspiron N411z bought in Nov 12.

1. Frequent blinking in red  of battery light indicator.

2. Many a times, just of slight move or lift of the laptop while on battery, laptop goes dead. Require a start

3. Start up take like ages.

4. Cam hardly work in dark.

5. DVD ROM take ages to eject/open.

Your help in this regard is highly appreciable
Regards 

Well my battery meter then from 85 moved down to a low 60 and finally it died - Bios and all *** can be disregarded- its purely the battery running out, getting new battery solved it ...

I have the same problem, with the message "plugged in, not charging". I have the latest version of BIOS, and the charger that came with the product. Still, I often get a message at startup that my laptop does not recognize my charger and that this may cause problems. Dell made both the laptop and the charger, and bundled them together...So, what gives?

Get a new battery - its the battery thats gone. Order a new battery from dell.com

Just after one year from the date of purchase, and 2 months after the warranty expiration date, the battery is not working.  It's the same problem as many people described in here (red blinking light, battery is not charging), and I followed all the recommended steps as described in this community forum, but nothing seems to work.  I'm very disappointed that the battery failed to work, just after 14 months from the date of purchase.  I have no idea what to do next.  The cost of the new battery is huge -  over $120. I have no problem buying a new battery but after at least 2-3 years of life span, not one year. :(((