Laptop Charging Issue

[rumeo]

Hey guys,

I have a dell inspiron 1526 and it recently would not take a charge from my charger. Thinking it was the charger I got a new one and tried that, still no charge. As soon as I plug in the charger, the green light on the charger turns off, turns right back on as soon as I unplug it. So I'm assuming it's my laptop. Where can I take my laptop to get this fixed? What's the procedure to get this fixed? I'm hoping this is a cheap job.

TIA

[nonlinear]

does the laptop power up with the cord, and the battery is just not charging (then u need a new battery)? or are you not getting power at all?

[benyl]

How old is the battery?

[rumeo]

battery is as old as the laptop (less then a yr old)

battery is completely dead so it wont even turn on. im not getting any power at all.

[topmade]

If it's under a year call dell support to see if it's covered by warranty.

[rumeo]

I got it as a gift, and i dont have the gift receipt (no its not stolen haha)...so I dunno how helpful dell is going to be.

[topmade]

I don't know about dell, but with HP you don't need a receipt, they just look up the serial number and will know if it's still under warranty or not. I would give them a call and check, you have nothing to lose because getting this repaired locally could range from $100 to a few hundred bucks.

[nismodrifter]

Dell will ask for your service tag (on the bottom of the laptop). They should be able to help you out.

[rumeo]

well my laptop is out of warranty, they said its my battery. now does it matter if i buy oem or is ebay aftermarket just as good?

[rumeo]

Bump...a new 6 cell is $159.99 and a 9 cell is $179.99. These prices are pretty high, is it better to go oem or aftermarket?

[rumeo]

bump i figure im just gonna get the dell battery...i took out the battery and plugged in the charger to see if it would work...no go. what does that mean?

[D'z Nutz]

The way I see it, it's okay to go with aftermarket batteries if it's a significant saving. Batteries are almost always outsourced to other companies and just rebranded with the manufacturer's logo. Just be sure to do a bit of research to see if there's any recommended aftermarket battery.

However if your laptop isn't running when plugged in even with the battery, that's a bit suspect. I'm not sure about Dells, but any laptop I've tried works when plugged in with the battery taken out. Maybe someone with a Dell can confirm...

[rumeo]

Thanks, I'll google em up aftermarket batteries and see if its safe for dell. Previous to this issue my laptop would power on with the battery out but plugged in.

[D'z Nutz]

If that's the case, I'm thinking that's likely your issue and not the battery because power isn't getting to your laptop (and thus not charging your battery). My sister had the same problem after she dropped her laptop. She had to send out her laptop to get repaired, but after that, all was good. I'd find out where she got it fixed, but since she lives in Vancouver, it's probably irrelevant.

[rumeo]

My laptop is out of warranty, are there any places that will diagnose your computer for free?