attery not charging: is it DC power jack or motherboard fault?

Hi everyone. I would like to ask you guys for some support. When I boot my Inspiron 15R-5537, I get this message:

"The AC adapter wattage and type cannot be determined. The battery may not charge. The system will adjust the performance to match the power available. Please connect a Dell 65W AC adapter or greater for the best system performance."

The AC adapter (it is a 90-watt AC adapter) does not charge the battery and the laptop keeps in low-power mode, it is, the CPU (core i5-4200U) clock gets stuck at 780 MHz, while it can go up to 2,3 GHz in Turbo Boost mode. When I say it doesn't charge the battery, I mean it starts charging for a while, and then the power LED turns off and the battery icon says it's connected, but not charging. I've already bought a new 90-watt charger directly from Dell and it didn't fix the issue. When I use the battery alone, the CPU can get to 2,3 GHz just fine, meaning it isn't the battery either.

So I'm left with two options: it's either the DC jack or the motherboard. From what I've read, this DC jack has a hole in the centre which receives the pin in the AC adapter connector, and this pin tells the laptop which is the wattage the power adapter can supply, which is 90 W for this laptop model.

Do you think replacing this jack can solve this issue, or is most likely a hardware issue with the motherboard?

This is the part I'm talking about:



I disassembled my laptop and removed this cable from the motherboard. I inspected the power connector on the motherboard and it's perfect, like new. No oxidation, no damaged tracks on the PCB, and the battery pins also are brand new. I believe this cable has a faulty pin (even though it looks in perfect condition), which is responsible for identifying how much power the AC adapter can supply.

Has anyone faced a similar issue? I'd like to know if someone has ever encountered this issue and if replacing this part solved it, or if it requires a motherboard replacement. Thanks in avance.

 

Have you verified it isn't the AC adapter? I have had one of the 90 Watt ones get the same message, but another adapter still worked fine.

 

Yes, I bought a new 90-watt AC adapter from Dell and it didn't fix the issue. Thanks for the reply by the way.

 

Thats cool the jack is not soldered to the board. Perhaps a volt meter and test the terminals for power. It would be a shame to buy the jack for a defective mobo.

 

Thanks for the reply, but I don't think it's useful to use a voltmeter, because it's the central pin wire which I suspect is faulty. I don't even know how to measure it, and which wire corresponds to the central pin.

I've asked this in a YouTube channel which teaches how to disassemble Dell notebooks,and the host told me it's most likely this cable. He has a notebook parts store, and he told me they sell a lot of these DC jack cables because this is a very frequent issue with Dell laptops, according to him.

I've bought a new one, it's not very expensive so I belive it's worth a shot. If it works, I'll leave a reply here.

 

Cant you probe the harness wires where they connect to the motherboard?

 

Guys, great news!. I replaced this cable and it worked! I accessed the BIOS menu and AC Adapter Type was reported as "90W" like it should. The AC adapter is able to charge the battery again, and the CPU can now reach max Turbo Boost clock (2,3 GHz) with only the AC adapter plugged.

I'm so happy that it worked, I was smart enough to think about replacing this cheap cable first instead of the motherboard, which wouldn't be viable. It was risky but it was well worth it in the end. I'd like to say thank you guys for all your support. I hope my solution can help other owners of Dell laptops as well

 

Thank you for reporting back your findings. This is helpful feedback for others that may have this same issue.