Battery Not Charging

chris01 · 12-20-2008, 12:11 PM

I have a Dell Inpiron 9300.

Today i noticed the battery wont charge. I have had the power supply plugged in all day to keep the computer going. The charging light wont come on at all.

Is there any way i can test/fix the battery? My old one packed in about a year ago and i bought this one new.

**TriggerFinger** · 12-20-2008, 01:37 PM

Try cleaning the terminals on the laptop side. Also check for any messages in BIOS settings regarding battery and ac adapter (ex. ac adapter not recognized).

chris01 · 12-20-2008, 02:29 PM

I rebooted and got that exact message.

'The AC power adapter type cannot be determined, this will prevent optimal system performance'
F3 - If you dont want message again
F1 - Continue
F2 - Run setup utility

I push F2 but didnt want to mess around with stuff i dunno about so i just booted back up.

Oh and the fans have been going full blast since i started back up 5 mins ago.

**TriggerFinger** · 12-20-2008, 04:55 PM

Hmmm another one of DELL's familiar errors. Is your adapter a 65W? If yes, you may need to get a 90W (check with DELL support website... lots of similar experiences). I am not so sure if DELL has a BIOS fix for this already but you may want to check on that too.

You can also check on the battery. If your battery is pretty old then it could be that it does not charge anymore. I have read in some forums that it may also be the cause of the message that you got.

chris01 · 12-20-2008, 05:30 PM

Well i have another dell laptop in the house so i decided to try and plug the power supply from that one into this one (yeah i should have thought of that earlier). Seems it is my power supply cause the battery charged right up on the other one.

Fixed that problem and came into a whole new one.... the fans on my laptop wont stop going at full speed!

I have checked the temps, it was at 38 before, now back down at 35 but the fans still continue to go.

When i shut the computer off and on its fine but as soon as it hits 38 the fans come back on again, so im thinking its not just a problem with my power cable. :(

**TriggerFinger** · 12-20-2008, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris01

Well i have another dell laptop in the house so i decided to try and plug the power supply from that one into this one (yeah i should have thought of that earlier). Seems it is my power supply cause the battery charged right up on the other one.

Fixed that problem and came into a whole new one.... the fans on my laptop wont stop going at full speed!

I have checked the temps, it was at 38 before, now back down at 35 but the fans still continue to go.

When i shut the computer off and on its fine but as soon as it hits 38 the fans come back on again, so im thinking its not just a problem with my power cable. :( -- IMHO you do not have a problem with the fans.. at least not yet. The mere fact that it turns ON and turns OFF at certain temperatures, means it is working as designed. Start to worry if it does not turn on at all or if it does not stop at all. I suggest (if you have not done so) to clean the vents and heatsink areas. Remove ALL and ANY obstruction (i.e. dust, pet hair, fur balls, etc..)

chris01 · 12-20-2008, 06:08 PM

Thanks alot ill try doing that tomorrow.
I find it a little strange that it all seemed to happen all at once, its now an hour later since i last rebooted and the fans have not calmed down once.
I blew in the vents but ill open it up and give it a proper cleaning out. :)

**TriggerFinger** · 12-20-2008, 07:35 PM

I noticed from this http://support.dell.com/support/edoc....htm#wp1000001 that the fan has a vent directly below or should I say on the underside of the laptop. I suggest you elevate that end (the LCD end or back end or whatever you call that area) by at least a quarter of an inch to ensure air flow. Observe if it improves something.

chris01 · 12-21-2008, 12:22 PM

I do elevate that end quite alot as it has vents on either side too. Usually when the fan used to come on full blast like that, i would lift the back end and after a minute or so the fans would go back down to its normal speed.

I unscrewed some areas underneath earlier and cleared as much dust as i could, unfortunately i cant seem to get to the fans easily without dismantling alot more parts so ill have to leave that for now.

Hopefully the problem is sorted now. The computer has been on for a few hours and the fans havent come on too much.

12-20-2008, 12:11 PM	#1 (permalink)
chris01 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Scotland Posts: 33 OS: XP	Battery Not Charging I have a Dell Inpiron 9300. Today i noticed the battery wont charge. I have had the power supply plugged in all day to keep the computer going. The charging light wont come on at all. Is there any way i can test/fix the battery? My old one packed in about a year ago and i bought this one new.

12-20-2008, 01:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,853 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Battery Not Charging Try cleaning the terminals on the laptop side. Also check for any messages in BIOS settings regarding battery and ac adapter (ex. ac adapter not recognized). __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

12-20-2008, 02:29 PM	#3 (permalink)
chris01 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Scotland Posts: 33 OS: XP	Re: Battery Not Charging I rebooted and got that exact message. 'The AC power adapter type cannot be determined, this will prevent optimal system performance' F3 - If you dont want message again F1 - Continue F2 - Run setup utility I push F2 but didnt want to mess around with stuff i dunno about so i just booted back up. Oh and the fans have been going full blast since i started back up 5 mins ago.

12-20-2008, 04:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,853 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Battery Not Charging Hmmm another one of DELL's familiar errors. Is your adapter a 65W? If yes, you may need to get a 90W (check with DELL support website... lots of similar experiences). I am not so sure if DELL has a BIOS fix for this already but you may want to check on that too. You can also check on the battery. If your battery is pretty old then it could be that it does not charge anymore. I have read in some forums that it may also be the cause of the message that you got. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE Last edited by TriggerFinger; 12-20-2008 at 04:59 PM.

12-20-2008, 05:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
chris01 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Scotland Posts: 33 OS: XP	Re: Battery Not Charging Well i have another dell laptop in the house so i decided to try and plug the power supply from that one into this one (yeah i should have thought of that earlier). Seems it is my power supply cause the battery charged right up on the other one. Fixed that problem and came into a whole new one.... the fans on my laptop wont stop going at full speed! I have checked the temps, it was at 38 before, now back down at 35 but the fans still continue to go. When i shut the computer off and on its fine but as soon as it hits 38 the fans come back on again, so im thinking its not just a problem with my power cable. :(

12-20-2008, 06:08 PM	#7 (permalink)
chris01 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Scotland Posts: 33 OS: XP	Re: Battery Not Charging Thanks alot ill try doing that tomorrow. I find it a little strange that it all seemed to happen all at once, its now an hour later since i last rebooted and the fans have not calmed down once. I blew in the vents but ill open it up and give it a proper cleaning out. :)

12-20-2008, 07:35 PM	#8 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,853 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Battery Not Charging I noticed from this http://support.dell.com/support/edoc....htm#wp1000001 that the fan has a vent directly below or should I say on the underside of the laptop. I suggest you elevate that end (the LCD end or back end or whatever you call that area) by at least a quarter of an inch to ensure air flow. Observe if it improves something. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

12-21-2008, 12:22 PM	#9 (permalink)
chris01 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Scotland Posts: 33 OS: XP	Re: Battery Not Charging I do elevate that end quite alot as it has vents on either side too. Usually when the fan used to come on full blast like that, i would lift the back end and after a minute or so the fans would go back down to its normal speed. I unscrewed some areas underneath earlier and cleared as much dust as i could, unfortunately i cant seem to get to the fans easily without dismantling alot more parts so ill have to leave that for now. Hopefully the problem is sorted now. The computer has been on for a few hours and the fans havent come on too much.