Battery light flashing red on Dell laptop

[3kids4me]

So all of a sudden my battery light is flashing four times red, then one green.

In googling, I see this means that my battery will no longer charge. (I am currently plugged into A/C power.)

So I guess I either need a new battery, or one person said that they needed a new power cord.

Some folks said that even after replacing the battery and having it work, that the light was still flashing.

My question is...is this the kind of thing I can bring over the Comp USA to investigate what I need to do to fix? I can't imagining trying to call Dell...and it's over the warranty phase anyway.

And no, the battery is not one of the ones recalled.

Thanks for any help!

Sharon

 

[DaveNV]

I think the easiest way to check it is unplug your computer from the wall, and see if/how long it will run on the battery. If it fails, and/or won't recharge, you'll know the battery is shot. A replacement battery can be purchased, but they tend to be expensive (~$100 in some cases.) But it may be the wiring, not the battery. You'll need to have it checked to be sure.

Push comes to shove, call Dell anyway and ask them. They certainly should have some sort of tech support available for battery issues. They can tell you the extent of the problem, and whether a simple replacement will fix it. Those blinking lights are what they set up, so there must be a reason for them.

If it does turn out the battery is shot and if no replacement is available (which may happen - sometimes batteries are deleted when the computer model is discontinued) your only recourse would be to replace the computer, or turn it into a desktop-only device. CompUSA may have aftermarket batteries that may fit it, but my experience with Dell equipment is that they can be pretty proprietary.

FYI for future use: If your laptop will be plugged into the wall for extended periods of time, take out the battery. It'll save it from overcharging, and the battery will work better when you travel with it.

Good luck!

Dave

 

[Icarus]

How old is the laptop? Batteries only have a limited number of charge cycles. Chances are you need a new battery. But do you ever run it off the battery without plugging it in? If not, don't worry about it.

The battery won't overcharge if you leave it in. The battery supplies feedback and only charges when it needs to. Modern Lithium Ion batteries don't have a memory effect like older technology batteries did.

-David

 

[3kids4me]

Thanks guys.

The laptop is about a year and a half old. It does have a Lithium Ion battery.

I mostly do use it as a desktop but it's also the computer we would normally take on the plane to watch movies, etc...so not having the ability to have it function as a laptop would definitely be a bit of a liability. (And the flashing light is driving me nuts!)

So, it's not even worth going to Comp USA for a Dell product? Is there a way other than calling Dell to figure out if a battery/new charger will even work without buying them?

Sharon

P.S. Since the computer was plugged in the whole time before it started flashing, I'm sort of unclear as to what would set it off to "know" that the battery can't be charged. If it's plugged it, then presumably the battery is fully charged and the computer wouldn't have had to recognize that the battery doesn't work, right?

 

[Icarus]

The battery provides feedback to the computer.

Try the test that Dave suggested. See how long it lasts running on the battery when playing a dvd. If it doesn't last long, buy a new battery. (mail order).

A year and a half is not out of the ordinary for a battery with frequent charge/discharge cycles.

-David

 

[swasuth]

We have a laptop & ALWAYS use it plugged into AC. When we go to our timeshares, we have Wi-Fi. We have never removed our battery. We do unplug the cord overnight. Is this the best way. We keep learning from TUG.

 

[DaveNV]

I said "overcharging" but I meant "overheating." Some batteries have been known to get very hot while in the machine, and can result in fires. Dell had this happen a few years ago with some models. I make it a matter of course that if a laptop will be plugged in to an AC outlet for extended periods of time, just pop out the fully charged battery. The system will work normally until you need to unplug it, so that's when to put the battery back in.

It may not hurt it to leave the battery in the machine, but it also won't hurt things to play safe and remove the battery if you don't need it. In this case, if the machine is only 18 months old and is mainly on AC power, then I'd suspect something is haywire about leaving this particular battery in this particular machine.

If your CompUSA is nearby, Sharon, take the machine to them and ask them to check it out. For the diagnostic cost, at least you'll know what you're up against.

Dave

 

[Icarus]

Dave,

You're talking about the problems with the batteries manufactured by Sony's battery factory which lead to battery recalls from most manufacturers of notebook computers and some other consumer electronic batteries. The problem was a manufacturing defect; there were metal shards inside the battery that could cause the battery to short out, then overheat and sometimes combust.

I wouldn't worry about that problem anymore (assuming that if you had a battery that was recalled, you got it replaced). It's really not necessary to remove the battery. In fact, some notebooks may not work with the battery removed.

Before spending money on it and taking it to CompUSA, I would try the test you suggested in your original reply. Take the fully charged machine, unplug it from the AC, and see how long the battery lasts playing a typical DVD. If it doesn't last very long, you need a new battery. If it does last, it's something else causing the light to blink red.

-David

 

[DaveNV]

Before spending money on it and taking it to CompUSA, I would try the test you suggested in your original reply. Take the fully charged machine, unplug it from the AC, and see how long the battery lasts playing a typical DVD. If it doesn't last very long, you need a new battery. If it does last, it's something else causing the light to blink red.

-David

I concur. My suggestion to take it to CompUSA was after doing the original power test. But regardless if whether she does this test, it sounds as though Sharon will want/need some amount of help above what she can get at home. She's reluctant to call Dell, so CompUSA may be her only "tech" hope.

Thanks for the info about the newer batteries. But I still wonder if leaving the battery in Sharon's machine all the time has affected its lifespan.

Dave

 

[Icarus]

But I still wonder if leaving the battery in Sharon's machine all the time has affected its lifespan.

Dave

It's certainly possible, but they are made to be left in all the time. A year to a year and a half is not all that bad for a laptop battery to last. They have a limited number of charge/recharge cycles. The lifetime will depend on the quality of the battery and the use pattern.

As I said before, I just always use mine on AC power and haven't bothered to replace the original, which won't hold a charge for more than 10 minutes now. On the other hand, it's a pretty old laptop .. (ok, I checked on support.dell.com) the shipping date was 4/4/2003! I'm too cheap to spend the $100 or so on a new battery when I don't really need it. On the other hand, I have added memory to it and I've replaced the original hard drive when it started exhibiting problems. Since I keep it spyware, crapware, and virus free, it's still very responsive for my needs.

-David

 

[3kids4me]

Okay, as soon as I unplug my laptop, it gets a bit dimmer and a message pops up that says:

Your internal network card has been turned off to preserve battery life.


I don't know what that means, but I assume it means that my battery is already low? Haven't tried the DVD yet....

Sharon

 

[nightnurse613]

We got a new battery off of Ebay. It was a Dell OEM for about $40. That's been a year ago (and no they weren't the Sony recalled battery!)

 

[Icarus]

Okay, as soon as I unplug my laptop, it gets a bit dimmer and a message pops up that says:

Your internal network card has been turned off to preserve battery life.


I don't know what that means, but I assume it means that my battery is already low? Haven't tried the DVD yet....

Sharon

Why would you assume that?

No, it lowers the backlight to preserver battery life. You can control the backlight with the function keys if it's too dim. If you aren't using your network card, I guess on your laptop the power management also turns that off. Are you using wireless at that point?

-David

 

[Miss Marty]

Dell Lap Top

Could be the battery or AC adapter, but it might
also mean that your DC charging board is bad.

Check your surge protector and electric outlets,
Try a higher level outlet on the surge protector.


The battery is automatically charged whenever the computer is plugged in. Dell advises that you leave the battery in the system at all times so
it will retain its charge. It will not harm the battery to leave it in the system, even if you are always using the computer on AC power.


http://ftp1.us.dell.com/diags/R66243.htm


User's Guides in Windows XP

To access the Tell Me How and User's Guides in
Microsoft® Windows® XP:
Click [Start] | Help and Support | User's and System Guides.
Click User's Guides | Tell Me How.

 

[3kids4me]

Why would you assume that?

No, it lowers the backlight to preserver battery life. You can control the backlight with the function keys if it's too dim. If you aren't using your network card, I guess on your laptop the power management also turns that off. Are you using wireless at that point?

-David

Yes, I still had the browser open so wireless was being used. The battery is at 97% charge...so if it's normally supposed to be at 100% then I guess it's slowly losing it's charge and is no longer chargeable. Since it's at 97%, I imagine that a DVD would run normally but would use up the battery all the way.

I think I will order a new battery and hope that the new battery will be able to stay charged.

Thanks!

Sharon

P.S. BTW, the screen dims when I unplug the a/c power.

 

[Icarus]

Yes, I still had the browser open so wireless was being used. The battery is at 97% charge...so if it's normally supposed to be at 100% then I guess it's slowly losing it's charge and is no longer chargeable. Since it's at 97%, I imagine that a DVD would run normally but would use up the battery all the way.

I think I will order a new battery and hope that the new battery will be able to stay charged.

Thanks!

Sharon

P.S. BTW, the screen dims when I unplug the a/c power.

Yes, it's supposed to dim the screen when you unplug the AC power. When you unplug the power, the software attempts to do everything it can to reduce the power usage on the laptop so the battery will last longer. That includes running the CPU at a slower clock rate, turning off unused devices, dimming the screen, etc.

97% is fine. As soon as you unplug it, it will go below 100% because the battery is being drained. The longer you keep it unplugged and running, the lower that number will get. The question is how long does the battery last until it gets so low that the software does a save to disk and turns off the machine?

Try the dvd test, like we suggested, before wasting money. Chances are you might need a new battery, but you won't know until you try that test at least once. Running the dvd, the sound device to play audio and the display device to display the movie and the decryption algorithms when reading the DVD will tax the machine and give you an idea if the battery is good enough to last for playing a dvd when you travel with it. If you've done this before, you can compare the time it lasts until the battery is too low for it to continue running.

-David