AC Cord/Battery Problem

On my M15x, the AC adapter seems to be falling out, and even when the plug is all the way in, the computer is not being charged. (The battery icon shows "plugged in, not charging") When the cord falls out, the computer immediatley shuts down. I have heard that this is a common problem for the laptop, but since my warranty is expired, what do I do/where do I send it to get it fixed?

 

Dude this is quite a common issue. Apparently it's caused by a fine wire inside the AC cable that causes the machine to register it as Dell charger and not a fake. Easily damaged and it will cause the battery to stay dry. I had this problem for a while and it still happens on an almost daily basis. Solutions are to either get a new AC adapter or sometimes you can solve it by gently playing with the jack (the one that goes into the computer) or bending the wire around a bit within 8 inches of the jack. I always do the latter and once you get the hang of it you can do it pretty easily.

^^

But yeah, if you don't wanna cheap out like me just buy a new brick.

 

@skywalker, its very possible you just found an old issue that is FIXABLE !!
With your laptop up and running, all apps closed for safety sake...
lean the laptop into your chest, keeping the screen open so it doesn't go into sleep mode
snap the battery out, count to 5 and snap the battery back in.

That's all it takes. There is a contacts issue with some batteries.
There is another post, in this AW M15x forum, about a 90 degree adapter, that many members have added to their a/c adapter. It eliminated adapter plug drop out for many members.. -h-

 

Thanks for the tip, I got the charger working by moving the jack around. Another question though. Does your battery hold a charge? My computer just dies as soon as it's unplugged.

 

My battery does still hold a charge, although it's hopelessly short-lived. I get about an hour battery life at most. It's been like that since I got the system though. I never run it on battery. Does your battery not hold a charge at all? And which battery have you got? 6-cell or 9-cell?

 

Haven't been able to answer since now my computer barely turns on... I've got a nine-cell, and my battery dies as soon as I get unpplugged so it can't even hold a one second charge.

 

I'd say your charger's daffy ducked.

Get a new one.

 

Well, my computer is finally having the same problem again. Though, I don't think I should be surprised since I'm not using a Dell charger anymore. It's not worth it to me to pay ~100/180.00 for a replacement charger, I'm getting a new laptop soon, the question remains what to do with this one, though...

 

You can get quite cheap original Dell chargers on ebay.