| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| wellington womble |
Laptop 'plugged in but not charging'Started out as an intermittent thing, now seems to be permanent. Anyone have any ideas why it might not be charging and if I can fix it. Means I can't watch 'Life' in the bath
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| RichardW |
If you take the bat out & then plug in the charger & turn the lappy on does it come on?
If it does its not the charger. If it does not it is the charger. Is it a Dell? Is the plus a loose fit in the lappy? Whats the cable like? Do you have a multi meter? if so check the plug for the correct voltage. |
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| Frewen Feltmaker |
Hello - just got in 
Mine was the DC input which Chrispystix had to solder back in ! |
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| wellington womble |
The cable and plug seem to be fine, and it is a Dell (XPS M1530) I'll just go and back up, and then take the battery and see what happens. Thanks for the suggestions. |
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| RichardW |
Some Dells have a special circuit to "prove" thats its a "real" Dell charger. Could be that bits failed. But I think they then reduce the CPU speed not stop charging. | ||||
| Hairyloon |
It is a fairly common fault. It is usually the plug or the socket.
If you're lucky it's the plug. |
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| lettucewoman |
I have a similar problem except that my laptop says the battery is charged...and then when you use it unplugged it lasts about 10 minutues before it closes itself down!!
Ive had problems with previous laptops having to have the bit where the cable plugs in either re done or a new cable bought cos the connection has loosened but never this wierd "the battery is fully charged when it patently isnt" scenario! Its really annoying cos you have to unplug the laptop to get it to the printer and invariably the battery goes before I get to print everythin! 
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| Hairyloon |
That sounds like a dud battery. |
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| RichardW |
Sure does. | ||||
| Treacodactyl |
Sometimes the batteries can just become loose and just need removing and putting back in. Worth a go. | ||||
| wellington womble |
Ah, that makes sense. It may have had a bump or two recently....... | ||||
| wellington womble |
It still starts up fine with the battery out. I've taken it out and put it back, and it seems to fit fine (well, it's not obviously wobbly) so that would suggest it's either a dud battery or an issue with the charging software, no? I'd better phone up Dell (at least they do good support) | ||||
| RichardW |
How old is it? | ||||
| vegplot |
Sounds like the battery has reached the end of it's life. |
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| wellington womble |
18 months or so. Not ancient, but out of warranty. Apparently it's a common issue with laptops and Vista (I told him I didn't want Vista ) I'll see what Dell say, probably on Thursday.
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| JohnB |
I thought I had a problem with my Acer once. There are two catches to undo when removing the battery. One is spring loaded, and one isn't. The one that isn't sprung is a lock that you have to slide over. I didn't slide the lock over when fitting the battery, and the terminals didn't make a proper connection. It's worth checking if yours is the same. | ||||
| vegplot |
battery life will depend on the number of charge/discharge cycles and the way it's charged normally, the OS doesn't interfere with this process. See what Dell says as 18 months is a bit short. I had to replace my Dell battery after about 4 years. |
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| Hairyloon |
If you are bloody minded enough, it might be worth an argument. |
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| RichardW |
In the uk we get even more than the 2 year EU rights. We get an open ended time that is relative to the price paid & "normal" expectations of how long it should last. This is with the retailer not the maker. BUT the battery is a consumable so is expected to need replacement just like tyres & service parts on a car. |
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| Emyr |
The Sale of Goods Act (as amended) is your friend. Products have to last a reasonable amount of time. Reasonable depends on the type of device and its intended usage.
An iPod which fails just outside a two year warranty, for example, would be ripe for a Sale of Goods Act refund. |
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| Hairyloon |
It is a rechargeable battery, and as such should (as our learned friend points out) last a reasonable amount of time. |
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| Treacodactyl |
Strictly speaking under the SoGA after six months you the customer has to prove the item was faulty. With something so cheap I would hope that if you confirm you've looked after the battery ok and roughly know how many discharge/charge cycles it's been through you could persuade Dell to give you a new one.
However, a google suggests the life is shorter than I'd expect. I found this on a few sites selling Dell batteries so it might be easiest to buy a new battery. If you google your exact battery you might find different information and, as you say, worth checking with Dell.
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| RichardW |
But bat life is all down to the user & how they treat it. Much like a tyre. It would be quite hard to prove you had followed the makers instructions on looking after the bat. As has been said its up to you to prove it was faulty at point of purchase not that it developed a fault in use. If lots of others are having the same problem then your case is stronger. |
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| vegplot |
I think if it's a failed battery then there isn't much hope of getting one replaced free of charge, unless Dell wish to demonstrate excellence in customer service. It could be argued batteries are wear and tear items and as Richard says a lot depends on how they are used. | ||||
| lettucewoman |
my laptop is just a year old and I have tried to use the battery as you are supposed to...butthe laptop stays on the charger more often than on the battery.
I'll try taking the battery out.... |
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| wellington womble |
I seem to have fixed it. I uninstalled and reinstalled some of the drivers for the charging software (I think, anyway. I followed some instructions I found on the Dell support forum, fully backed up and prepared to do a hard reset and ring Dell if it went 'orribly wrong!) It didn't change anything immediately, even after a restart, but this morning it is fully charged.
I really do think it's a software issue - there are masses of hits if you google 'plugged in, not charging' related to all kinds of makes of laptops and vista. I will now go and read about how you are supposed to look after your battery....... |
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| RichardW |
I think you are on about the software going out of sync with the hard ware. The hard ware should still function as normal (unless you unplug it when it says its full but its not). |