My INSPIRION 1501 battery is not charging

Don't think as a battery error, if you can use without the battery ,pls check with ac adapter without battery.because there may be a short circuit with charging unit or power side, you have to test before blow up the unit. if blow up chip or mos fet, it will be hard to repair.

First try a different AC adapter, see if the system will power on.
If no change, then the failure is most likely the motherboard

The adapter is working correctly. The battery is either slow to charge or in need of replacement.

It's possible your battery isn't charging at all so to test this boot into bios -> battery status and watch it run overnight.

try to remove the battery from the computer, after unplugging it, plug in the AC adapter without the battery and check if it will turn on. if it doesnt then 2 possible reason
1. the AC adapter is busted, you can try a known good Dell AC adapter. if its still now working with a know good AC adapter then
2. its the motherboard that needs to be replaced.
Hope this help

Does the back dc jack seem loose when you have the ac adapter plugged into it? Wiggle the cord right where it plugs into the laptop. If it moves around then most likely the dc jack on the inside has one of it's 3 points of contact broken. This means that someone would need to re-solder that contact or put a whole new jack into the laptop. Another thing to try is replacing the battery. Sometimes they won't charge because they are bad. Another thing to try is take the battery out, plug it into the adapter, turn it on, get into windows, shut down, put battery back in, turn on. See if that resets the battery and makes it charge.

Hello

It would appear that there is a motherboard issue with this model laptop from Dell. Below is a link to the discussion thread for the problem you described. Unfortunately, there is no current solution for this issue - short of replacing the laptop.

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19092498/19363647.aspx

Flash the BIOS, if still no change, then replace the motherboard

Most Dell batteries have an LED indicator that allows users to see how much run time and how much overall battery life are available at the touch of a button.
To check battery charge, press the button and the number of lights that appear will tell you charge status. If all lights appear, you have a fully charged battery. Each light that appears accounts for approximately 20% charge.
To check the battery health, press and hold the status button on the battery charge gauge for at least 3 seconds. If no lights appear, the battery is in good condition and approximately more than 80 percent of its original charge capacity remains. Each light represents incremental degradation. If five lights appear, approximately less than 60 percent of the charge capacity remains, and you should consider replacing the battery
if the ac adapter will power the laptop without the battery installed its fine. if the cord is fine and your battery is fine its a mother board issue and it will most likely have to be replaced

You mentioned trying a different battery, try a different AC adapter.

When plugging in the ac adapter to the wall, see if the POWER LED comes on on the adapter, then when you connect it to the computer, see if the LED stays on.

If the issue occurs with both AC adapters (No battery installed) then the motherboard has failed. If one ac adapter works but the other doesn't then the adapter is bad

The Dell 1501 ac adapter (possibly other Dell’s as well) has been known to be problematic because of its lack of a plug to jack secure fit. You will notice that the plug can all too easily be pulled from the jack, as opposed to other systems where the plug fits more securely onto the jack. The plug and jack combination is poorly designed so that over time, the plug will come unseated depending on how much movement the machine is subjected to. This will result in power error messages or outright power-up failure. So before assuming you have a faulty adapter, make sure that it is not just a loose plug that is causing the problem. If you look inside the jack, you will notice that there is a 3mm region of non-conductive material nearest the surface of the jack. Use a strip of standard electrical tape 3mm wide and long enough and wrap it around the base of the plug (you may need more than one layer of tape to get a good fit). I have used this method to secure my plug and it has served me well. If the tape comes undone over time, just simply replace it. A more “elegant” method would be to use an “O” ring of the appropriate size (about 6mm) around the base of the plug in lieu of the tape.