Power cord light turns off when plugged into laptop?short circuit?

So last night my laptop was running fine on battery power, but then it was running low, so I plugged in the power cord. Nothing happened. Since the adapter at the laptop end was falling apart and duct-taped anyways, I figured it was just conking out, but then I saw the indicator light on the power brick was off.

With some experimentation, I found that if I moved it to a different outlet, the light would come back on, but if I plugged it into my laptop, the light would die, and I would have to again move it to a different outlet (the same one as first would work fine) to get the indicator light back on. It works in other Dell laptops. Other adapters do the exact same thing.

So I'm guessing there's a problem with my laptop wiring that's causing a short or something. (Apologies for my shallow electrical knowledge.) But it was working last night on battery power. Until the battery died completely this morning, it would power up. So it's not an electrical problem that kills the laptop.

Anyone know what's going on?

TIA,
-pixelot

 

I sound like the power adaptor is toast, I have one the does the same, as soon as you plug it into the notebook the power light on the adaptor goes out, and it will not power or charge the notebook.

 

But the same thing happens with multiple adapters, and they work in other laptops. It can't just be the adapter, though I wish it was.

 

So I disassembled it, cleaned everything out, made sure there were no disconnected or loose modules or wires, and examined the adapter port for problems. Still boots for a second on the dead battery, but kills the light on any power brick if I plug it in.

Any ideas, or should I call Dell Business Support and see if they'll replace my motherboard? (I think it may still be under 3-year warranty.)

Thanks...

 

Some notebooks contain a small power board between the power socket and the main board. However, I can see no mention of this in the Vostro 1400 documentation.

I think it's time to call Dell. You should be able to check the warranty coverage by entering the service tag into the Dell support site.

John

 

Yeah, thanks. Like I said, I took it apart, and I didn't see anything like that. It was just the power port soldered right on the motherboard.

I'll look up the warranty right now and call Dell accordingly. Thanks again.

EDIT: Looks like I have 126 days left under warranty. Called Dell up, concisely outlined the situation, and an on-site technician with a new motherboard is in the works.

EDIT II: Dell technician replaced mobo and gave me a new adapter.