Battery is not working

This pretty much means a bad battery or charger. The early 130W chargers seem to be affected worse then the lower wattage and revised units. If Dell is molded into the plastic enclosure on the blank side of the later one it is a early failure prone one, and should be replaced. If it works and was just a fluke, keep it as a working spare but don’t rely on it - it’s a matter of when! At this point in time, you want the slim 130W (DP/N: 0VJCH5 or newer) or the 130W slim retail model. The reliable revisions don’t have any molding in them and the Dell logo is only found on the spec label. If you're under warranty contact Dell and get it replaced NOW; it’s a ticking time bomb! If you’re out of warranty, you’re on your own so choose which one you want.

If the BIOS complains, Dell usually tries the charger first. If it says "unidentified charger", they send you a new unit and you send the bad one back if you’re under warranty. If you need to use it and don't have a spare, it can be “fixed” temporarily but it’s a matter of WHEN it stops charging; when you’re under warranty, Dell is good about shipping them before they get worse and no longer charge the computer. Out of warranty ground with free shipping is a crapshoot. If you are out of warranty, troubleshoot it before buying a new adapter by checking the indicator lights.

If replacing the charger doesn't fix it, it's a battery problem. This is typically a undetected or low risk problem not fatal enough to permanently flag the battery as “failed” and trip the “Permanent battery failure” POST error. For example, a battery may not charge temporarily to balance the cells, but if it happens too many times the permanent failure flag may trip - especially as the batteries get up in age like my E6440 65Wh from 2014 the seller included.

What's wrong with these early chargers?

The early 130W units have more problems with the 8 pin sense IC, and the BIOS cannot detect the wattage and charger vendor (Dell). If it can't make out what the charger *is*, charging is blocked and machines often throttle. The only way for it to work correctly is for the charger to identify as Dell and register the correct wattage.

Can I still use the charger?

Whether you can use the charger or not depends on the severity. If the sense IC is intermittent, you can often use the charger with the problematic sense IC, but it's just a temporary workaround. The charger needs to be replaced.

If the sense IC is so bad you can't get it to register at all (even with the workaround), you'll need to replace it to avoid throttling and be able to charge the battery. Order a new charger with expedited shipping to minimize (or prevent) battery damage - losing the battery hurts your wallet more then a few bucks for expedited shipping if you can’t get it for free.

If you need to use the old charger until your new one arrives, unplug the charger until the LED ring on the charger tip goes out. Once it goes out, try again. More often then not, this is sufficient to get the laptop to accept the charger again. Do this until your new charger arrives and ID the old one as bad so you don't mix the chargers up. Replace it ASAP once you identify the issue has happened to you. The sense IC may not last too long. It typically works for ~1-2 weeks, which gives you plenty of time to get the replacement. My experience is beyond 5 days, it becomes more difficult to get it to work. YMWV.