laptop doesn't recognize power adapter

[craigap]

I have a Dell Inspiron 5150 w/XP Home SP2, and everytime I turn it on the computer never recognizes that the power adapter is plugged into. (i.e. it thinks its running on the battery.) I have to unplug the adapter and then plug it back in for it to work. I tried restoring to a point where I knew it was working properly, but it didn't work. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Craig

[GaryRouth]

I came across several issues with the Inspiron 1150 and 5150 models while researching a repair for my neice's 1150. It seems Dell has had three hardware issues that stand out with those models. 1) A wire inside the AC adapter's plug works free of it's connection intermittently 2) the laptop connector for the adapter has a soldered connection that breaks 3) pressure applied to an area just to one side of the touch pad can put pressure on a tiny circuit board & cause either shutdown or rebooting.

If you are under warranty - have Dell look at it right away (the first thing they'd want to try is replacing the adapter). It gets to be quite an expensive repair once the computer isn't under warranty (especially if a motherboard replacement is involved). The sort of problem you are experiencing is normally a hardware problem.

There are do-it-yourself repairs for some issues such as yours, but only worth considering if you are out-of-warranty (and handy with tools). They involve redoing soldering points, and in the touchpad-area issue - modifying a plastic part that has been proven to be badly placed & causes the undo pressure on a circuit board. When the do-it-yourself repairs work, they cost nothing but your time and a little solder. If they don't work, things are either just as bad as before, or worse (if more damage is done accidentally during the repair [by scratching or searing the motherboard, for example]). If you are out-of-warranty & want to see links to those repairs, let me know & I'll see if I can find them (I think I still have them on one of my other computers).

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[GaryRouth]

Ok - here's some more information. I've since learned that the system in question is beyond warranty, & I imagine that many other forum visitors may have similiar systems with similiar issues [a Google search or a visit to the Dell forums will yield a lot of reading material]-- so I'm going to put some links in here to threads that contain repair ideas and alternatives.

*** Note - if under warranty - let Dell handle it! *** Trying any repairs yourself will void the warranty, if you still have one in effect. And it makes no economic sense to have anyone but Dell do the repair while under warranty.

When out-of-warranty:

Generally, the first thing to try is to see if an exact-match known-good adapter fixes the problem. If one can be borrowed: that's obviously the best, since notebook parts are too expensive to be swapped out indefinitely just to discover the problem's source (unless you happen to be a notebook repair shop).

The next thing to try, for adapter troubles, is to check the points on the motherboard where the AC adapter's connector is soldered. Re-soldering these points can sometimes be done successfully. There are repair shops that will attempt this work for between $100 to $200.

I've also included links to a separate power-related problem with this series of notebooks, that relates to the system losing power or rebooting when pressure is applied to a certain area of the shell - this one involves modifying a plastic part that is supposed to guard an IC from pressure, but ends up making the problem worse instead (the solution is to trim the plastic, and to resolder any points that need it).

Note that on many of these links, much of the good info is a few pages into the thread!

Best of luck
. . . Gary
________________________
Here are the links:

Dell AC-adapter connector on motherboard soldering points
http://delltalk.us.dell.com/supportf...id=2720#M38334

http://delltalk.us.dell.com/supportf...d=2801#M204466

http://delltalk.us.dell.com/supportf...id=2981#M34889

another adapter thread that mentions adding glue to stabilize the power connector (which has to be done extremely carefully! Or the motherboard is history) http://delltalk.us.dell.com/supportf...cending&page=1

Dell 5150 & 1150 - Fix for power cutoff when shell is pressed in certain place
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/cont...pic/43678/?o=0

Dell Service Guide 1100/1150/5150 – motherboard removal/reassembly http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...rb.htm#1084976