Dell Inspiron 8600 frying battery chargers

[ntoren]

Hey, folks. Love any suggestions on this one: My boss has a two year old (appx.) Dell Inspiron 8600 laptop. It seems to run fine plugged into the wall when the battery is removed. However, when I insert the battery and plug into the wall the charger gets fried after a few days. Two new chargers and a new surge strip (thought that might have been the issue) later, still same issue. Checked the parts number for recalled batteries and his removable battery is not one of the listed models.

Cheers!

 

[raybay]

You need to get that Inspiron 8600 to the hospital. This is a known problem which Dell should still take care of...

 

[ntoren]

Many thanks. Any suggestions as to how to proceed? Find a customer service # for Dell off the internet and hunt through there until I get a rep on the phone?

 

[raybay]

You get the Service Tag off the back of the computer and enter it into the Dell support site... then you can get a tech support person who handles that model... you can also print out the original configuration, date of purchase, and so on. If still under warranty, they will help you fix it, or arrange for you to ship it to Round Rock for a repair or replacement... be sure you don't send the hard drive unless they specifically ask for it.

 

[ntoren]

Just spoke with Dell and their lab techs say it's a motherboard problem. Would need to replace it on my coin as it's out of warranty. Worth it? or should we replace the whole machine? Thanks for any advice!