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Computer power switches randomly to battery even when plugged in

post #1 of 18
6/20/05 at 2:31am
Thread Starter 
This just started happening yesterday. The 9100 is plugged in, then i watch a dvd. when i'm done watching it, my battery is half drained and i'm on battery power, even though i'm plugged in. I have to unplug the plug to the 9100, then plug it back in before I can get AC power supply again, and sometimes I have to plug it in and out 2-3 times. What's going on?

This worries me because I'm overseas and Dell customer service is already bad as is...
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post #2 of 18
6/20/05 at 3:00am
Hmm could it be you have a lose electrical contact inside your laptop? I know my girlfriends HP laptop is doing that as well...and she has to wiggle the cord a bit before the power comes back...
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post #3 of 18
6/20/05 at 6:18am
there is a pin in the middle of the jack.See if it is broken or woobling
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post #4 of 18
6/20/05 at 7:07am
Thread Starter 
it doesnt seem to be a lose connection. its doing it right now again.

i pulled the plug out and it was really hot. Could it be some kind of protection for the battery or power supply? The place i'm at is pretty hot...unairconditioned right now.
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post #5 of 18
6/20/05 at 7:44am
It has done the same to me as well. I have noticed that at the point where the wire connects to the "brick" (the side you can't remove) the rubber thing is not holding it properly. Wiggle this and see if it changes. Has anyone noticed sparks coming out of the adapter when plugging it in?
Man, it seems that every problem this laptop could have I had/have it.
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post #6 of 18
6/20/05 at 7:50am
Thread Starter 
hey i just played with that. funny thing...it started working. Thanks.
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post #7 of 18
6/20/05 at 7:54am
Thread Starter 
nevermind, its not working. Refuses to stay on AC power.
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post #8 of 18
6/20/05 at 7:56am
Thread Starter 
one more funny thing though, it stays charging when the computer is off. I think it might have something to do internally with the laptop?
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post #9 of 18
6/20/05 at 7:59am
Thread Starter 
I forgot to add one more thing...I'm using the laptop in asia, which means I dont have a proper 3-prong outlet. Don't know if that has anything to do with it. Right now the ground prong is just sticking in the air. It worked fine for the last month I was here. Don't know why this country would be any different.
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post #10 of 18
6/20/05 at 10:51am
Err that does not sound good at all...you would need prob a voltage converter and you would prob need an adapter converting the 3 prong to 2 prong...your problems probably lie there...
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post #11 of 18
6/20/05 at 10:57am
I had this happen to me around the first of the year, the AC adapter's light would turn off even if it was plugged in and I would have to figgle with the rubber part of it to get it to work - this became more and more difficult to do and then finally it quit working all together. I called Dell tech support and had a new one shipped.
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post #12 of 18
6/20/05 at 12:23pm
That rubber thing on mine is cut on mine. It is probably cause the brick is so heavy and many times I/We leave the brick hanging from the cord while we are tidying the cord to put it in our laptop's bag..
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post #13 of 18
6/20/05 at 6:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by suryad
Err that does not sound good at all...you would need prob a voltage converter and you would prob need an adapter converting the 3 prong to 2 prong...your problems probably lie there...
Don't think the ground is a problem. I used my XPS in Switzerland for months on end with a 2 prong adaptor, and didn't have this issue.
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post #14 of 18
6/20/05 at 7:01pm
One thing I have seen with mine is, if the wall power goes out (even for just a few seconds) the power brick light goes out and stays out. I have to unplug it from both the laptop and the wall then plug back in before the transformer will power up again. During that time, the laptop goes to battery power. So it could be you're just getting flaky power from the wall.
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post #15 of 18
6/21/05 at 3:49am
The ground should not be the problem.I am using mine for 3 months now in Bulgaria and the ground is not connected.No problems so far.It is very likely that the wire is broken inside the plastic insulation.And it is normAl to see little sparks in the socket when plugging and unpluggng it is beacause of the big number of coils inside.
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post #16 of 18
6/21/05 at 8:37am
Thread Starter 
I am starting to think that this might be temperature related. Yesterday was a very hot day, and I just couldn't get it to stay on AC power, but today was cooler and it has been fine. My fingers are crossed.
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post #17 of 18
6/21/05 at 1:45pm
Hmm check to see how hot the brick gets...that could be a good indication. My XPS brick gets hot but not too hot and it stays at the same temperature the whole time...I wont be suprised if Dell starts to put fans in their power bricks!!
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post #18 of 18
8/18/05 at 6:29pm
Thread Starter 
I got a replacement power brick and cord from Dell. So far so good. It seems to click into the lappy a lot better than the old one did. Also, the new powerbrick is A02, compared to A01 for my original. dont know if it really makes a diff.
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