Dell Inspiron 1150 just blinks at me

C

cmshowers

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Aug 25, 2006
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I have been working on a friend's laptop over several power issues. The first was that the AC brick died. Fortunately, his wife had a "compatible" brick. His brick that died was a 90W and his wife's was a 65W but it claimed it was charging and worked for some time. Eventually, the laptop stopped charging and wouldn't come on at all. I determined that the power jack on the motherboard was broken off and got a replacement then desoldered/resoldered the jack. I can't be sure I did the job perfectly but I think I did. Now the laptop won't power on. When I press the power button, the battery charging LED blinks orange 4 times (I think 4 times, it's pretty fast) and then green once. It does this pattern roughly four times. Sometimes it doesn't finish the fourth repetition, sometimes it gets through part of a fifth repetition, and sometimes it stops exactly after four reps. Here are the ideas I have:

1) The battery can't charge from completely discharged with the meager 65W power brick.
2) The battery was damaged in this mess and needs to be replaced.
3) I wrecked the motherboard/power circuitry by taking the laptop apart and reassembling it.

What do you guys think? Are any of these likely? Is there anywhere I can find out what that blink code means? Thanks for your time.

Chris Showers
 
cmshowers said:
I have been working on a friend's laptop over several power issues. The first was that the AC brick died. Fortunately, his wife had a "compatible" brick. His brick that died was a 90W and his wife's was a 65W but it claimed it was charging and worked for some time. Eventually, the laptop stopped charging and wouldn't come on at all. I determined that the power jack on the motherboard was broken off and got a replacement then desoldered/resoldered the jack. I can't be sure I did the job perfectly but I think I did. Now the laptop won't power on.When I press the power button, the battery charging LED blinks orange 4 times (I think 4 times, it's pretty fast) and then green once. It does this pattern roughly four times. Sometimes it doesn't finish the fourth repetition, sometimes it gets through part of a fifth repetition, and sometimes it stops exactly after four reps. Here are the ideas I have:

1) The battery can't charge from completely discharged with the meager 65W power brick.
2) The battery was damaged in this mess and needs to be replaced.
3) I wrecked the motherboard/power circuitry by taking the laptop apart and reassembling it.

What do you guys think? Are any of these likely? Is there anywhere I can find out what that blink code means? Thanks for your time.

Chris Showers
Click to expand...
...does anything really need to be said, other than i think you owe your friend a laptop
 
I know I didn't specifically state this before, but the laptop didn't work when I got it and is out of warranty. Now it at least makes some indication that the AC power is plugged in. It just won't charge the battery back up. I know it is getting AC power because the LEDs blink and they stop blinking if I pull the power out of it while it is in the process of blinking the error code. This is an improvement over the state it was in when I received it. Also, the AC jack breaking off of the motherboard is a fairly common problem in these Dells.

Maybe I wasn't clear before but I really don't see why I'd owe him a new laptop just because I failed to fix the machine...

I know the power system in these laptops is very complicated (for instance, I know the power brick talks with the laptop to confirm it is a genuine Dell brick and sometimes charging the laptop is problematic when there is damage to the AC jack because of this) and as such I thought I could get some suggestions in this forum as to things to check.
 
Ok the obvious answer is to maybe buy another power brick that is actually meant for that laptop maybe?
 
It won't do anything when plugged into wall power with the battery removed. I believe this is normal behavior for this laptop, however. Can anyone confirm this?
 
My Dell laptop (E1405) powers on without a battery. When I'm using it as a DeskNote, I remove the battery for extended periods of time.
 
Appleseed said:
Ok the obvious answer is to maybe buy another power brick that is actually meant for that laptop maybe?
Click to expand...
Funny how the answer is so obvious when you end your statement with a question mark. :rolleyes:
 
Under closer examination, when the laptop is plugged in with the battery removed, the power and charge lights blink green at the same time once about every five seconds. Holding down the power button stops them from flashing but does nothing else. This behavior resumes when I let go of the power button.
 
What are the model numbers on both chargers? At my school, we have (something)-10 and (something)-12. All the laptops have, on their bottom ID sticker, a notice saying that it works with both -- check, this one might have it.
 
just a thought...start by getting the correct PS...try ebay. Then if its still not working good try replacing the battery...again try ebay. If it still doesnt work then help your friend find a new lappy
 
That's what it's looking like I have to do. I was hoping I could diagnose the problem given the LED indicators. I think I'll be able to acquire the correct power brick from a local surplus. I suspect it's more likely the battery is at fault. I hate spending so much money to maybe not fix anything!
 
you can always turn around and sell the stuff back on ebay, therefore only taking a minor hit if it does not seem to solve your laptop problem.
 
Ah, good point, Cody. I was a little leery of buying a battery on eBay as you can't always trust the quality there but then I got to thinking, can you really trust the quality of a battery sold by Dell?
 
benplaut said:
What are the model numbers on both chargers? At my school, we have (something)-10 and (something)-12. All the laptops have, on their bottom ID sticker, a notice saying that it works with both -- check, this one might have it.
Click to expand...
IIRC, PA-10s provide more current/amperage to power both the Port Replicator and the laptop. PA-12s provide only enough current for the laptop.

I might have those switched around, but that's definitely the difference.

As for the laptop...it really should be able to powerup without a battery. My old P3 era Dell C400 will powerup without a battery, and so does my ancient PMMX Presario.

I suggest you use a DMM to see if you've shorted the AC power jack or something. You'd be surprised to see how many perfectly good electronic devices are discarded because there is a 1mm short between VCC/VDD/VSS/V+ and Ground.
 
IIRC, PA-10s provide more current/amperage to power both the Port Replicator and the laptop. PA-12s provide only enough current for the laptop.

I might have those switched around, but that's definitely the difference.
Click to expand...

PA-10s are 90W and PA-12s are 65W. I do believe you are correct in that the PA-10 works for the port replicator and the PA-12 is for the stand alone laptop on modern notebooks. The old power hungry P4 laptops simply shipped with a single PA-10.

I suggest you use a DMM to see if you've shorted the AC power jack or something. You'd be surprised to see how many perfectly good electronic devices are discarded because there is a 1mm short between VCC/VDD/VSS/V+ and Ground.
Click to expand...

1mm, huh? I did check it out with the meter when I finished and that's why I had the nerve to say "I can't be sure I did the job perfectly but I think I did" in my original post.
 
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