Will any laptop battery charger work for all laptop batteries?

Question

I have a Dell Latitude CPX wireless windows XP laptop and want to know what kind of battery charger I will need and any suggestions on products. Also, besides the laptop not working, how do I know when battery is getting low?

Answer 1

Laptop will tell you battery is low and advise to switch to mains power.

If you DO NOT have a DELL charger, U need to buy one quickly, or a generic charger that is SPECIFIC IN SAYING it will work with that model.

laptops all use differenct voltages and current ratings, also different plugs on rear to plug into it.

Answer 2

Most Dells have three pins or connection points with the charger (AC adapter), with two of these for power and one for communication with the adapter. Like was already stated, if you get a generic charger http://cgi.ebay.com/Universal-AC-DC-Laptop-Notebook-Power-Adapter-charger_W0QQitemZ260182218700QQihZ016QQcategoryZ64471QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem ) it will probably work, but the computer will whine about it.

You can get an adapter that is specific for Dells (including your model) but made by a generic company and thus costing <$ for instance: http://cgi.ebay.com/AC-Power-Adapter-for-Dell-Latitude-CP-CPi-CPx-CPt-C600_W0QQitemZ250187262951QQihZ015QQcategoryZ64466QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

also, whenever you unplug your laptop from the AC adapter you should see an icon in the notifications section of the Task Bar, it should tell you when your battery is getting low. If you mean Battery going dead (unable to charge) that is harder to know but a good idea can be the change in how long your computer runs on battery power.

Answer 3

A replacement transformer (it's not actually a battery charger) from Dell designed for your specific laptop. Transformers differ in the amount of voltage and amperage they put out, depending on the make and model. Plug in the wrong one and you could have another battery go up in smoke and flames or just croak forever.