Member Avatar for mikespike2008

There was a thread with this title "dell d610 won't power up w/ac adapter but it will power on with the battery" two years ago which was never resolved. It involves the power adapter light going out when it is plugged into the laptop. The laptop works fine off battery none of three charges will work with it though. Rik from RCE said he might have an answer down the track but I can't find it if there is one. It's a common problem apparantly, has anyone got an answer?

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Brief expert checklist and diagnostic notes tied to the thread: reported the classic symptom and and offered initial thoughts. The most likely culprits are a protection trip caused by a local short or a failed DC-in / power-handling component on the motherboard. The steps below are ordered from lowest-cost/easiest to more advanced diagnostics; safety and ESD precautions apply.

  • Confirm adapter output: read the adapter label for its rated DC voltage/amperage, then measure the barrel with a multimeter set to DCV while the adapter is unplugged from the laptop. A stable reading matching the label indicates the brick is producing voltage no-load.
  • Check for a short on the laptop: remove battery and adapter, discharge caps by holding the power button ~10 seconds, then measure between barrel positive and chassis ground on Ohms. A sustained very low resistance (only a few ohms) points to a short in the power stage; note that initially low readings can come from filter caps, so look for sustained low values.
  • Inspect the DC jack area: look for lifted/broken solder joints, cracked plastic, a separate DC-in daughterboard, nearby SMD fuses or resistors, and bulging or charred capacitors. Physical damage here commonly triggers adapter protection.
  • Isolate the jack: if the jack is on a small board, unplug that board and re-test adapter behavior. If the adapter LED remains on when the jack/daughterboard is disconnected, the problem is on that small board; if it still drops, the fault is deeper on the mainboard.
  • Use controlled power testing only if the proper tools exist: a bench PSU set to the adapter voltage with current limiting (start low, 1–2 A) can reveal excessive draw; thermal methods (hot-spot detection or short, cautious probing) can localize the failing component.

Typical repairs: replace the DC jack or its SMD fuse, reflow cracked joints, or replace a shorted MOSFET/regulator. If those fail, mainboard power-stage repair or board replacement is the remaining option. Given ’s comment on genuine Dell adapters, adapter-label verification should be the first concrete check; OEM parts or a known-good donor board simplify isolation.

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Member Avatar for rubberman

Sorry, but my first Dell laptop was a D600 and current one is a D630, yet I have never experienced this problem. Have you contacted Dell tech support?

Member Avatar for mikespike2008

No I haven't but I doubt they would take time to explain how to fix a problem on such an old laptop. It's well out of warranty. This old post seemed close to getting an answer so I'm hoping the guru from that thread might be around.

Member Avatar for caperjack

Dells like the orignal power adapter ,or at least a certified Dell replacement,other wise it acts like your is doing

Member Avatar for mikespike2008

Had the adapter plugged in and working then suddenly the D610 went on to battery. Both the adapter that was working with it for years and two others that work with a second D610 all do the same thing. Light is on when in the power point but goes out when plugged in to the D610. Something in the D610 is shorting or not working or something which causes the power pack to shut down. Took the laptop apart and the socket is solid, no apparant bad solder. Put it back together and still not working. Took the battery out, no different.

Member Avatar for mikespike2008

Tried the dell site, drilled down to the appropriate level and it recomended giving the computer to them to fix.

Member Avatar for mikespike2008

Still, hopefully when I've posted this 5th post the site will unlock my messaging abilities and I can as the venerable Rik if he ever solved the problem.

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