Member Avatar for Aron Smith

Dell inspiron 3521 laptop Battery detecting but Not Charging . how to solve this problem..

  • 3 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 800 Views
  • 12 Minutes Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Reverend Jim

Dani AI

Generated

Short checklist that builds on points from and and gives model‑specific, verifiable checks to produce evidence instead of guesswork.

  1. Capture facts first — run the pre‑boot hardware tests (F12 / SupportAssist pre‑boot or ePSA) and note any battery/charger error codes. These tests exercise the battery and charger outside Windows so results are reliable. Dell pre‑boot diagnostics.

  2. Do a hardware power reset: shut down, unplug AC, remove the battery per the Inspiron 3521 service manual, press-and-hold Power for ~15–30s, then reconnect and boot. This clears the embedded controller and fixes many “detected but not charging” states. See the model service manual for safe battery removal. Inspiron 15 3521 service manual.

  3. Check BIOS information: enter F2 and look at AC Adapter Type and battery status. If the adapter shows “Unknown/None” while plugged in, that points toward the adapter, DC jack, or motherboard detection circuit. Update BIOS/drivers only after you have the diagnostics recorded. Dell troubleshooting steps about charging and BIOS checks.

  4. Get objective battery data in Windows: run powercfg /batteryreport and review Design Capacity vs Full Charge Capacity and cycle count — this shows true battery health. Microsoft powercfg /batteryreport docs.

  5. Verify the adapter itself: read the label for expected DC output and measure it with a multimeter (center pin to sleeve) to confirm the adapter is producing the correct voltage. A working LED on the brick is not a guarantee. How to test an AC adapter with a multimeter.

Collect: ePSA error codes, BIOS AC Adapter Type, the battery report HTML, and a multimeter reading. Those four items let you decide whether the battery, charger, DC jack, or system board needs service — and they make any parts/repair choice far less guessy.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for rproffitt

Look at the age of the battery. Anything past 2 years and you replace that. If that doesn't clear it up then replace the charger. I take it you have already googled this and tried software methods. Cost is about 30 bucks here from Amazon for both items.

PS. While I know to look out for old batteries some want to test batteries with the Dell app or BatteryBar.

Edited by rproffitt because: Grammar. Added PS.
Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

Typically there is a Dell app which will tell you the battery health. You should find it on your taskbar. Right click and select Dell Power Manager. Some batteries also have a button which will indicate battery health when pressed via 1-5 LEDs.

Dell power cables also have a sense wire which is prone to breaking with repeated flexing. When it breaks your computer can no longer tell what type of battery it is talking to.

Finally, if the problem is with a motherboard component (connector or otherwise) a new battery may not help. This was the case with my Inspiron 1720. I replaced the battery and it still wouldn't charge. Fortunately it still works just fine on AC power.

Edited by Reverend Jim
Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.