Interpreting the battery status lights and behavior...

Question

Hi.  I'm looking for a document [if one exists] or someone who knows how to interpret the battery status lights -- how many?  what color? flashing or not? -- etc.  I have found some brief descriptions addressing specific issues but nothing comprehensive.  When the status button is pressed on my batteries I get one flashing green LED.  I believe one LED means approx. 20% charge -- mine is actually at 0% -- but what does the flashing behavior mean? I'm using an oldie but goodie Inspiron 8200 but the same battery is used in any of the following models: Compatible Models Dell Inspiron 2500 Dell Inspiron 3700 Dell Inspiron 3800 Dell Inspiron 4000 Dell Inspiron 4100 Dell Inspiron 4150 Dell Inspiron 8000 Dell Inspiron 8100 Dell Inspiron 8200 Dell Latitude C500 Dell Latitude C510 Dell Latitude C540 Dell Latitude C600 Dell Latitude C610 Dell Latitude C640 Dell Latitude C800 Dell Latitude C810 Dell Latitude C840 Dell Latitude CP Dell Latitude CPi Dell Latitude Cpjba Dell Latitude Cpjt Dell Latitude Cpjtt Dell Latitude CPm Dell Latitude CPt Dell Latitude CPx Dell Latitude PP01 Dell Latitude PP01L Dell Latitude PP01X Dell Latitude PPL Dell Latitude PPX Dell Precision M40 Dell Precision M50 Dell SmartStep 100n Thanks in advance for your help. Howard Redmond, WA

Howard_Woodard · Accepted Answer

Well, while I never found the 'How to read/State Matrix' for the battery, one of the battery manufacturer's technical staff did tell me that blinking, no matter the color, yellow or green, means the battery is bad and must be replaced. Blinking is bad...

Howard_Woodard · Accepted Answer

Well, I didn't find my 'How to ready/State Matrix' document but I did get an answer from one of the battery makers' technical staff.  They said that a blinking LED, no matter the color, yellow or green, means the battery is bad. Blinking is bad...

Howard_Woodard · Accepted Answer

Well, I didn't get my 'How to read' document/matrix but one of the battery providers did say if the LEDs blink, no matter the color, yellow or green, the battery is bad. Blinking is not good...

Mary G · Answer

Have you looked up your manual? The lights are specific to the model, not the battery. Since this model is old, you might try removing it and using the adapter alone. It's really not worth the $100+ expense of buying a new battery.

Howard_Woodard · Answer

Thanks for the response Mary.

Yes, I looked at the manual and the Dell Support Battery FAQ before posting. In fact, I have spent a couple of hours following google search result threads. Only one mention of the lights blinking at that's when 1-3-5 are blinking which means a permanently defective battery. Btw, the lights on the battery itself are specific to the battery itself.

This isn't a cost issue to me. I'm gonna use it for some automotive diagnostic software that requires XP. I just happened to have this one laying around -- it was purchased when it was new for my son to use in college.

I want to find out why it isn't charging either of what was supposed to be two new batteries purchased off of eBay with a new AC adapter/Charger while showing within BIOS and Windows that it is charging.

Still looking...

Howard_Woodard · Answer

Sorry for the multiple duplicate posts. I kept getting a "Resource not found" error when I would click on "Post" and then I wouldn't see my response.

Probably has something to do with the posts having to be approved.

Again, sorry for spamming...

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