The charger that came with my laptop became very corroded right where it connects, and my laptop wouldn't charge. My battery power was at 2% and I had to sit near an outlet to use my computer; if the charger fell out the computer would instantly die. So I started looking for a replacement.
I was a bit nervous about this charger working on my Dell 1501 when it claimed to work on 26 different models, but it matched the specs of my current charger--65W, 19.5V--and the price was hard to beat. On the Dell website they wanted $80 for a replacement charger, one that was only 3 feet long! So I gave this a try. It looks a bit different from my old charger, but it works, and my laptop is charging as we speak, for the first time in a month. Seller SIB shipped it quite fast; it arrived on the third day after ordering, and I only paid for standard shipping.
We'll see if I have any long term issues, but at this point it looks like I got a better charger (about seven feet long instead of three) at just over a quarter of the price I would have paid by going through Dell for an "official" replacement.
IMPORTANT UPDATE 11-23-09: Bear in mind that extra parts like the charger are sometimes included in your computer's service warranty, if you purchased one. It turns out that my warranty did include the charger, so I really didn't have to buy this charger at all. And since I threw out my old Dell charger when I bought this non-Dell one, I don't have it anymore to exchange for a new Dell one! NEW Laptop/Notebook AC Adapter/Battery Charger Power Supply Cord compatible with Dell Inspiron 1150 1420 1501 1505 1520 1521 1525 1526 6000 6000D 6400 8500 8600
This item arrived Friday 6/12/09 and as soon as it arrived I tried it on my Inspiron 1505 and my son's 1501 and it did not charge either. I contacted these people on Friday and got one response that said they would gladly exchange or fully refund the product, but they need more information to make sure it wasn't a technical issue. I responded back and gave them all of the information they requested and here it is 2 days later and I have not gotten any response at all. At first I was willing to exchange, but now I don't want to deal with people that take your money and leave you hanging. I needed to get this issue resolved as soon as possible as my son is leaving out of town and will need to take our only working adapter.
So please beware if you buy this product it may not work and they will take their time responding to you!!!
Within seconds of using for the first time, it caused the Dell 1525 laptop to smoke and pop. Technician said the adapter had wrong polarity. The refund does not cover the damages...not by a long shot. Everyone is pointing fingers so far. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY BUYING FROM THIS COMPANY EVER!!! My daughters brand new graduation gift is ruined.
I totally understand the favorable reviews...I agreed when I first used two of these Dell laptop power adapters...they are almost identical to the power adpaters we got when we bought our Dell laptops (so, no--they're not lightweight or built for ultra heavy use nor do they span great distances...they're basically the same weight, size and length of the Dell adapters). But there's a reason they're $80 less than any other adapter--the product quality is awful. It's now been two months of moderate use. The first one died a month ago, and in a disturbing way...I plugged it into the wall and the cord that leads from the wall to the adapter actually shorted and started a fire. No lie...an actual fire. I blew it out right away, but after that I didn't trust the other one to be out of my sight while in use. But it worked, so I stuck with it. Then last night, I pulled the wall plug out and one of the two flat prongs stayed in my wall socket. Seriously? I didn't even notice it at first. Can you say electrocution hazard? I knew you could. Maybe these are rare cases of failed quality, but that's enough for me to say you're taking a chance probably not worth taking if you buy this product. All those who gave this product such a great review should provide a followup rating after six months of use--I'm guessing many of those 4-star and 5-star reviews would vanish.
I always depend on owner reviews with an item like this as you will find some are junk and some are just fine... Many reviews for this item said it worked just fine and it does for us also.
Seems to be a wide variety of quality out there these days.
The one we bought charges the battery pack and runs the Dell Inspiron 1501 without problem.
THIS notebook has the optional extended capacity battery pack from Dell also.
Will this replacement power adapter last as long as the original Dell AC adapter? Won't know until it quits, but will report back when it does to let everyone know. Although the original Dell that came with the notebook didn't last very long IMO, around two years I guess.
Everything breaks sooner or later, its value depends on what you paid and how long it worked, at this price, even a year would be ahead of the original Dell unit.
Maybe even 6 months would be good, going by the price of the replacement direct from Dell.
We shall see how it goes, but I've already ordered a second one to use at the office, at these prices might as well not carry an AC adapter back and forth IMO.
All volts,watts & amps on the label matched the original unit, computer side plug matched and fit well and has the positive on the center post.
Note that SOME electronics use the reverse on the DC side (notebook end) and have the positive pole on the outside, so be sure you are ordering the right one on the computer end. Reversed polarity is a sure way to blow more than the new AC adapter out.
It does not have the rubber belt to hold cord around adapter like Dell, but I think that is bad idea on the original adapter as it bends the DC side connection too hard, this replacement adapter also has a third wire grounded AC line unlike the Dell unit which is always good.
Be careful which one you order through Amazon, there are several 3rd party suppliers and not all of them give the same details but still use the same photo. The one from "Super Deal" lists the input/output numbers and that it fit my notebook, some don't... some have BAD reviews, this one has pretty good reviews and they all look the same at first sight, read the details and specs first
Cord length is 18 inches less than Dell unit.
Both of the replacements have a total cord length of 92 inches not counting the adapter box, 46 inches of cord on both AC and DC sides.
Original Dell has total cord length of 110 inches not counting the adapter box, 36 inches on the AC side and 74 inches on the AC side. Not really a problem as I plug them into a power strip that makes up for this and has it's own circuit breaker.
Power plug on the DC end (computer end);
Dell unit measures 9/32" outside diameter with 7/32" inside diameter (negative pole)
THIS replacement measures 9/32" outside diameter with 7/32" inside diameter (negative pole) and does not fall out.
It would seem that Dell uses two sizes of plug that goes into the computer, if you get the smaller size and needed the larger it will keep falling out as many have had happen.
Please NOTE, I'm talking about using this on a two year old Dell Inspiron 1501, they might have changed the plug size needed on other notebook models AND might even change sizes within the same model over time. Be sure to check the size of yours and IF possible the size of the replacement you are going to order.
"Super Deal" page on Amazon also lists a 12 month warranty... good/bad hard to say, but it is given.
No doubt price of warranty shipping each way would buy a new unit outright anyway.
My order was filled by "Super Deal" and they got the order out very fast and was delivered ahead of time given.
I've seen some reviews that just sound like horrible results and have to wonder if some of these people had other things, like their battery packs go bad without knowing it and tried to fix the situation with this adapter only to find out it gets hot and quits trying to power through a shorted battery pack that was the real problem in the first place.
Of course, BOTH could be bad at the same time so just be sure this is the whole fix for your power/charging problem first.
One big item to consider is something I found while searching the problem on the Internet;
Some Dell notebooks are programmed to detect when a non-Dell power adapter is used, and will restrict the ability of third-party adapters to charge the battery but still supply power to keep it running. There may very well be various combinations of trouble if Dell has tried to defeat owners when they try to bypass Dells high prices.
Can be the same with replacement battery packs also, Dell uses "Smart" packs that have their own electronics in them in order to try and keep all sales in house. Mixed results from people who try to buy and use outside sources.
Try not to drop your adapter, that COULD also lead to some problems you are reading in many reviews... knock out one little component and you stop electrical output.
Keep your power adapter as cool as you can. Do not pile things on top of it, or let it slip under furniture etc. Also, realize that if you have it on a rug or carpet, it can not cool as well as it would on the desk or bare floor.
Do know though that even the expensive power adapters can and will get hot to the touch when they are working to full output, so some of the cheaper made units with lower end materials used for the case and cords could get too hot and fail. If it's the cable or plug, it will short out after it melts enough to let the wires make contact with each other.
I can only wonder how many reported problems are because of cord/wire failures rather than the power converter itself. Would be interesting to know how many of the problem units always get their cords wrapped around them for transport or storage. I for one do not wrap the cords as that can weaken them where they attach to the unit.
Too bad that reviewers don't always say which seller they bought from when they say "junk" or "great item" at least there would be a chance to weed out the worst units from same suppliers and come up with some kind of list of best place and unit to buy.
If you are worried, you could try one in the next higher priced adapter/chargers which is about three to four times this price... but still much less than OEM from the notebook Mfg.
For example;OEM Dell Ac Adapter Laptop Charger for Dell INSPIRON ,Dell XPS ,Dell Studio, Dell Latitude ,Dell Vostro, P/N PA-10 PA10 90w 90 watt Genuine/Original/OEM Portable Charger for Laptop Notebook Computer Battery Charger Power Supply Cord Plug
After that, you can still step up to a more expensive universal adapter like the one from Targus for example;Targus Premium Laptop Charger (AC/DC) APM69US (Piano Black)
Update 8/27/2010
Our two units are still working just fine and we have had no problems at all. Coming up on the next time period where some have had failures so will be watching for trouble and will report any here when it happens. - Notebook Power Adapters - Laptop Charger - Laptop Power Adapters - Dell Replacement Ac Adapter'
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