Comments on: Got to get myself connected...

Question: Got to get myself connected...

yellowcandy — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 13:58:19 -0800

BatteryFilter: I've got a Dell Latitude C800 that I've been nothing but happy with, until recently. Of late, the power seems to be iffy at best, switching at random between AC power and battery power...

I thought the power adapter might have been bad, so I replaced that first. No dice. I still seem to have a problem with the connection in the back of the machine. A little push or adjustment makes the machine swap from AC to battery. What's worse is that when it's in AC mode now, the machine doesn't want to charge the battery. You can see how this might lead to a problem situation pretty quickly.

I can tell something strange is going on when the machine is even in regular AC mode, because when I run audio or video files, they seem to be punctuated with little pops and clicks that go away when I switch to battery power. It's driving me crazy! Any advice?

By: PurplePorpoise

PurplePorpoise — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 14:30:37 -0800

/obvious

Have you checked the connections (the little metal bits on the female end of the AC coupling)? It could be you have a bent pin or something. Is the plug pretty snug or is there play when you try to wiggle it?

By: zsazsa

zsazsa — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 15:51:14 -0800

You probably have broken solder joints. They connect the power plug to the board inside your laptop. Someone handy with a soldering gun could fix it in a jiffy, but you may have to send it back to the manufacturer.

By: RikiTikiTavi

RikiTikiTavi — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 21:30:51 -0800

I agree with zsazsa, but consider the possibility of the plug being bad, too. The wires broke internally on my Dell adapter, not on the laptop proper. Try swapping in a known good one if you have one.

By: mkdg

mkdg — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 21:43:33 -0800

See if you qualify for this Dell adapter recall program:
https://www.delladapterprogram.com

That could be the problem.