Laptop not charging properly!

Hi. Got a real issue here and I don't know the cause. My Dell Vostro 3550 laptop, which I've used everyday since 2011, isn't being charged properly as of last night.

With the mains charger plugged in to mains, the small rectangular green light on the charger itself comes on, so there is power to the mains charger. I plug the mains charger into the laptop but the battery icon on the task bar doesn't change to show any charging. There's no message that comes up saying anything like 'plugged in not charging'. The battery is just running down as though it's not connected to a mains charger. Eventually the battery runs down and the laptop shuts down.

Once it has shutdown, the battery icon on the front lip of the laptop then illuminates in white as long as the mains charger is still plugged in.

I left it overnight plugged in, booted it up this morning and the battery was full, but still no change to the battery icon. So as soon as it's booted, the battery is running down again. It's as though the mains charger is giving a very slow trickle charge. Also, the laptop won't power up at all if I take the battery out and just have the mains charger plugged in.

I uninstalled the various compliant battery manager thing's in device manager and they reinstalled themselves again after rebooting, but it didn't make any difference. The centre pin in the centre of the connecting plug of the mains charger is intact and not bent. The socket on the laptop looks ok too.

Is this the mains charger at fault? Clearly it's giving a slow charge, but only when the laptop is shutdown. And why doesn't the laptop turn on when the battery is removed and the mains charger is plugged in? I'm hoping it's a simple fix of buying a new mains charger. The battery appears to be ok, and the Dell battery manager says it's working normally.

Have you checked the AC adapter in Device Manager (under Batteries)? Tried updated the driver? Is it marked as Working Properly?

It sounds like the adapter isn't being "seen" by your computer, as it shouldn't be running on battery when plugged in. If everything on the computer end is good, then you've probably got either a bad cable/connection, or the adapter is faulty.

Yeah, it's the adapter that's faulty. Tested laptop in a shop with a universal charger and it was charging so that's a relief!

Another question. I can get this genuine OEM 90w PSU for £33

Dell Vostro 3550 - Genuine OEM Laptop Charger


But there's others between £13 and £20, compatibles I imagine. Should I stay away from compatibles and EBAY? Should I just buy the one in the link? Or do cheap compatibles work fine?

If there's any warranty on the laptop, I'd go with OEM. Otherwise, as long as the voltages match up, you should be okay. You're better off matching voltages than getting a universal, in my opinion, but I'm not an expert by any means.

Ah, the warranty expired a long time ago. I've spotted this genuine one on ebay which is a fair bit less money. Doesn't come with the mains lead though, but I guess I could use mine?

MAINS CHARGER / LAPTOP ADAPTER FIT/FOR Dell Vostro 3550 | eBay

As long as it was the adapter itself and not the cable that was the problem.