Problems with Dell Charger and Charging

Hey guys,

I've had my XPS for over a year so it's out of warrenty, and sadly the charger has a fault. The black coating on on the main wire near the charging block has cut so I can see some silver wires.

Now this I thought wouldn't be a problem unless something comes into contact but the laptop's charging has been affect I think. The battery appears to charge and stay charged but if I unexpected pull the cord out it will shut down meaning I must hibernate before unplugging the laptop. Also the charging light blinks once blue and 2 or 3 times red in a constant cycle.

Is there any mention of why the light would do this, or if a new charger is needed? Thanks in advance.

 

Any ideas? It's an XPS 1530!

 

Could possibly be a failing power supply or battery. I'm guessing that the silver wires (looks like a braid/mesh right?) could be the insulation layer.

Either way, I would contact Dell Support and ask them what the light blinking pattern indicates. There should be no reason why they can't answer that free of charge. If the rep says they have to transfer you to Dell On Call, explain you are more than willing to purchase a new PSU or battery but you won't pay a fee for them to tell you what the light blinks mean. If they wont do it, try the Customer Sales line and ask the rep to conference in Tech Support since you aren't sure which is bad. They want the sale, so they should be willing to do this.

If you have to replace either one, I suggest OEM only as you will run into issues with aftermarket. Just my opinion.

 

Thank you for your response, will give them a call tomorrow.