dell xps L501 booting issues

[Tonyr570]

I'm new to this site and new to computer repair. I fix ps3's all the time but this is uncharted territory for me so please help a noob and bare with my lack of knowledge. My xps recently started having issues, first off a few days ago the battery light started flashing orange which i found out meant the battery was going bad. I figured i had some time so i didn't buy a battery right away. Yesterday i tried to turn it on and the keyboard lights up and the system buttons to the right of the power button then everything dies. I've tried powering up with/without the battery and ac power supply. My power cord was crushed in a recliner a year ago and the blue light hasn't come on since so i can't tell if it's shorting but the charger had been working fine before this. If anyone has any ideas on how to fix this i would appreciate any input. I'm not sure if the orange battery light is related or not but from my research it sounds like it's either a short on the motherboard or a power supply problem. it's out of warranty and I'm a broke college student so I need my computer but i can't afford to drop enough for a new laptop.

[Gariarto]

Re: dell xps L501 booting issues

Start by borrowing a multimeter and test the output from the AC adapter. Match it to the output voltage on the adapter bottom sticker. Are they close ? should be around 19v. Better still if you can, you could also rule out (or in) the adapter by borrowing a known good one to try. Some Dells won't successfully boot without something of a charge showing from the battery even with AC connected. strange but true.. Had one do it last week. A Latitude D830 no sign of life until the battery had a few mins to take on a charge.

[Tonyr570]

Re: dell xps L501 booting issues

I don't have another charger that i can test it with but i checked the voltage coming out of mine, and it's 19.5 which is what it's labeled output is so that's good. Is there anything externally i should check before I open it up and start trying things inside?

[Time2Retire]

Re: dell xps L501 booting issues

There is a chance it could be the socket that the power supply plugs into. These often become damaged if you trip over the cord, or something similar. Try wiggling it with the power supply plugged in, to see if the charging light comes on at all.

[Tonyr570]

Re: dell xps L501 booting issues

Thank you for all the input but today i plugged the power cord in and it just worked it's charging, it turns on, stays on, and works fine. Should i just pretend like everything's fine or should i look into this further?