I'm trying to diagnose a problem with my Inspiron 5150.  Tech support is not answering (tried twice).  I'm not sure I trust their information anyway, given my recent experiences with Dell's outsourced tech support.

 

Briefly, the situation:

1) battery not charging with AC plugged in

2) error on reboot - AC power adaptor type cannot be determined

3) battery discharges

4) mission critical computer inoperable

5) power on w/ AC attached and w/ battery installed:

    battery light slowly blinks yellow ... system otherwise dead

6) power on w/ AC attached but w/o battery installed:

    power light slowly blinks green, battery light slowly blinks green/yellow (it

    looks as if both lights may be blinking together) ... system otherwise dead

7) other observations:

    a) no obvious damage to AC connector on motherboard (although it doesn't

         feel as snug as it used to) nor to the AC adaptor (including the wire in the

         connector)

    b) brick is stone cold but the green power light is on

    c) problem not related to the electical outlet

 

The computer is about 18 months old and out of warrantly (naturally).  Everything has been smooth up to this point except that I had a similar error message with the original battery some months ago and retired it to a bottom drawer (it is discharged, so plugging it in doesn't give me any additional information).

 

I haven't been able to find anyone that I know that has a 5150, so I haven't been able to swap batteries and AC adaptors to localize the problem.  So ... all I have to go on is the behavior of the system without the battery installed.  If it should boot, then I'm guessing a motherboard problem.  If it shouldn't, then it's probably battery or AC adaptor related.

 

I need to get this resolved before I order replacement parts.  Thanks in advance for any replies.