Get rid of the DELL charger not recognized limitation

The problem

I have a DELL XPS13 9343 (2014) that I am quite happy with it. Everything worked fine until that last year the charger started to behave strangely.

The computer was using the energy from the charger while connected but the battery stopped charging. Rather annoying for a “portable” computer to always have to be connected.

After a quick investigation on the internet, I discovered that the problem is well known for quite a long time (here, or here and even here). The charger contains a small identification chip to tell the laptop what charger it is. Without this information, the laptop accepts to use the energy but not to charge the battery. While it looks like a safety measure at first, the problem is that this chip is a huge point of failure.

1. The chip could stop working
2. The 3rd cable to transmit this data is thinner and tend to break earlier after behind bend back and forth (My case)
3. This 3rd cable is like an antenna that might catch noise capable to damage the chip

In all cases, the identification would fail but the charger is still working and safe.

There is not a simple solution like an option to force the battery to charge. The basic solution consists to buy a new charger from DELL. And of course, they are pricey.

Not only I was angry to put money to replace a fully working charger, but I found it completely anti-ecological. I decided that I want a solution without buying something new. Hopefully, some hackers paved the way.

Move the chip inside the computer so any charger will be recognized

Introduction

This old blog post relates a clever trick: to take the working chip out of the charger and put it directly into the computer. I love that idea to never have an unrecognized charger.

So why another post ?! Some of the posts I share here are quite old and some are already only available through internet archives. Thus, I write this new article to keep the knowledge available. I also hope that the more people are sharing doing it, the more it will encourage others to do it.

Plan

The solution implies 2 steps:

1. Extract the chip from the charger
2. Put the chip into the computer

In between, there is an optional step to test if the chip is still working.

Materials

Only basic materials that you might easily borrow around you:

1. 1 Resistor (or you can reuse the one in the charger)
2. 1 Diode (or you can reuse the one in the charger)
3. A soldering iron
4. Some screwdrivers (small size) to open the laptop
5. An Arduino (for the optional testing only)

Safety note

This change is not dangerous as long as you keep using a valid charger. Using a non-valid one might damage your computer hardware, battery, or even yourself.

A valid charger has:

1. The same tension as the one from the original charger
2. At least the same intensity output (or wattage if point 1. is checked). More is not going to be used by the computer, so it is safe. Less your computer will not work normally and the hardware could be damaged.

Get the chip out of the charger

Material

• Screwdrivers
• Hammer
• Soldering Iron

Open the charger case

It depends a lot on its shape but most of the time it is an annoying step where you will let some marks on the case. As a result, I won’t recommend doing it if you don’t want to show you opened it. Many tutorials exist on the internet, I follow this recipe: my hands, different screwdrivers, and sometimes a hammer. I always managed to keep the case intact while still marked.

Small impacts resulting from the screwdriver

Find the chip

Once open, you have to find the chip. The chip is connected with only 2 pins to 2 cables on the side connected to the laptop:

1. The data (3rd) cable
2. The ground (black)

The chip in my charger is a DS5201. It is connected like this on the board:

A diode is present between the 2 pins to let the current flow from GND to DATA. I guess it is a protection to bypass the chip if for a reason GND is not at 0V.

A resistor protects the chip, here it is 330 ohms. I recommend reading the value with the code on the resistor itself or with a multimeter.

Schema

Once you have remembered which pin is connected to what, you can unsolder this DS2501.

The empty spot at the top of the image once the DS2501 is removed.

Verify the chip (Optional)

This step is useful if you want to be sure the chip is working. To confirm, it is only the data cable that is broken. Or maybe if you want to play with electronics =D.

Material

• Arduino
• 1 Diode (or you can reuse the one in the charger)
• 1 Resistance (or you can reuse the one in the charger)
• 1 Resistance 5K
• 1 Breadboard
• Dupont cables
• DS5201 (the chip)

The DS2501 Chip

The DS2501 communicates with the OneWire Protocol. You can find information on Wikipedia, this hacker blog, or directly in the repository of the Arduino OneWire library.

The datasheet is available here. Always useful, if you want some detailed specs.

Schema

A pull-up is coming from the 3.3V. The rest is similar to the circuit in the charger. The D6 pin should be connected after the pull-up resistor.

Code

Open your Arduino and copy the example code from the OneWire library for Arduino. The example is enough by itself, just 2 tips:

1. Watch you connect the chip to the right pin used in the example
2. You might change the line 63 to print characters instead of hex values from “Serial.print(data[i]);” to “Serial.print((char)data[i]);”

Before running the code, you should download the library “OneWire”.

1. Open “Tools” > “Manage Libraries”
2. Search for “OneWire”
3. Install the one called “OneWire” by “Paul Stoffregen”

Click play, and voila you should see something like: “D E L L 0 0 A C 0 9 0 1 9 5 0 4 6 C N 0 R F 6 7 3 7”

Data

Based on this comment, it should represent:

1. DELL: The charger brand
2. 00: Unknown
3. AC: From alternative current
4. 090: Wattage
5. 1950: 19.5V
6. C N 0 R F 6 7 3 7…: The charger serial Id

Put the chip in the laptop

Open the laptop. Safety first for you and the material, I recommend unpluging the battery (connector). Find the power input, and unplug the cable linked to the motherboard.

The power connector is below the screw. Some wires (red, white, black) link it to the motherboard, the connector is hidden under the black tape. On the left is the WiFi chip.

I unscrewed the connector to simplify the soldering process. The pins were sealed in yellow trans-lucid material. I had to remove it gently with pliers. By gently, I mean I did not want to damage the cables sealed nor to break the already soldered ones.

The power connector with the wires soldered inside a yellow gel.

To prepare the chip, you have to solder to it a diode and a resistance like it was back in the charger. I recommend using the smallest component to simplify the process of closing the laptop again. I had only a quite big diode, and it did not simplify the process although it still fit. -_-”

All the components soldered

Last but not least, please insulate all the wires to avoid a connection with components inside the laptop. I used some heat shrink tubes and insulating tape.

With the insulating tape

For a cancellable solution:

1. Solder the GND pin directly on the connector alongside the GND going into the motherboards.
2. Disconnect the data cable (white) coming from the motherboard to the power connector. Solder it on the data pin of the chip.

Place the chip to have enough room to close the laptop. I did not want to bend the pins too much, so I put them between the case and the WiFi module. The space was limited with the tape and the big diode but it fit. Watch carefully that all the soldering is strong enough to support once the case is back.

Plug inside the laptop

I had to make the operation twice as the solder on the data side was too weak and broke the first time. I am not a soldering expert with very tiny components ^^.

Don’t forget to plug in both the power connector and the battery before closing everything. Now, when you plug in your charger again, the battery should charge again. As in good old time ;)