I have an Inspiron 8200 laptop and my old power cord was starting to fray by the connector that plugs into the computer. So I bought a new one on ebay (same model number), it worked for the past day and a half, but now there doesn't seem to be any power going to my laptop. The green light on the power supply blinks, but my laptop doesn't seem to get any charge from it. Anybody have any idea what might be wrong? If the power supply didn't work, wouldn't the green light on it not even blink?
Is the connection into the brick tight? I'm typing on an 8200 right now that I've had for four years. I've replaced the stupid power cord 3 times for the same exact reason you did.
I have an Inspiron 8200 too. I've replaced the power supply twice and the motherboard once, in relations to the battery not charging. Right now they're saying my battery is dead, which it probably is. But they definitely have some crappy power supplies too. Plus, I don't think my PS blinks but is just solid green. I gave it to me wife so I'm not quite sure. I'll check later if you want.
Actually, I didn't read that right the first time. Yonkers is right, the power supply shouldn't blink. Mine have always been solid. Besides the power supply, I've also replaced the original battery, hard drive, and cdr/dvd drive because all have stopped working. My floppy drive also occassionally just kind of falls out despite all the screws being tight. This thing also has one of the worst wireless cards I've ever seen. For a while I thought it was just mine, but somebody else I knew that also had one had the same exact problems I do. Yeah, Dell's great though.
Yeah, it's tight into the brick. Feels tight going into the laptop too (jiggled it around trying to get any kind of power going into the laptop...nothing). The old power supply/cords I have still work, but not real well since the wires are fraying and lose their connection if I move the cord around. I even used the new power supply with the old one's electrical socket cord, but still nothing. Yonkers: my battery has been "dead" for about a year or so. Even though it says it is charged to 100%, I only get about 10 minutes of juice out of it before the laptop has to power down.
Yeah, you guys are right about the light. The one on my old power supply is solid green. I think the light on the new one was solid too when it worked for that day or so, though I'm not totally sure.
While I don't have the 8200, I do have the Inspiron 5150, and sadly I've lost my laptop to the exact same problem. After a while my laptop stopped getting any power, even with the PS plugged in and the light on it blinking. There's apparently a problem with a motherboard (where the PS is plugged into the computer), with the connecting pins getting loose. It doesn't help that Dell power supplies are pieces of crap and not supported real well. If you have this problem, then expect to dish out some dough, since Dell, Best Buy, and other companies will charge you in the $400s to fix it. The good news, I found this, guy who fixes the problem and doesn't charge a whole lot to do it. I haven't gotten around to doing it, though. Good luck!
Yeah, same with our battery. It says 100% but we get about 5 minutes worth of juice. Fortunately my wife never really uses it as a 'lap'top. Then again it's the original battery so I don't expect it to still be good. As for my floppy drive, it also drops out on its own all the time. you're not alone, arkoe.
Yeah, that's what happened to me. I had to get my motherboard replaced. Fortunately I got the 4 year warranty when I got the laptop and they sent someone to my house to replace it for me. I normally never buy warranties but I'm so glad I did in this case. As much as I've used it it's been totally worth it.
The part on the old one that is frayed is right before the connector that goes into the laptop, so I wouldn't be able to use the old brick since it is "attached" to that portion of the cord.
Dell Inspiron's have always had this problem. At my old job, I saw those blue Inspirons always have power issues. Either buy higher end Dells or don't bother because you'll be swamped with issues. Dell's warranty policy, however, is pretty damn sweet.
Hmmm...guess this is a bad time to say that I'm the Lead Power Supply Reliability Engineer, huh? Two other known issues here: 1. Some older 65W models have issue with loose solder joints on the power pins from the AC inlet to the PCB. This was fixed over a year ago with improved soldering process and adhesives added. 2. System Side DC Connector: often times the pins wear out due to repeated insertion/removal cycles, resulting in a loose/intermittent connection. Consequently, your battery won't charge.
Their new accidental damage plans are pretty awesome. You might as well throw the laptop in the pool the month before it expires.
