Help With a Yellow Battery Light on a Dell D620
- A blinking amber battery icon LED indicates that your D620's battery is running low on power, and a solid amber light means it is critically low. To avoid losing work, plug your AC adapter into the laptop to begin recharging the battery. The total length of time necessary to fully charge your battery will vary depending on the overall health of the component, but most batteries will offer a full charge in just a few hours. Plug the laptop in before you head to bed at night for a fully charged battery the next morning.
- The Dell D620 battery offers five small LED lights on the battery itself. These lights are the battery's charge and health gauge, and will indicate its overall condition. Press the circular status button to the left of the LEDs to learn the charge status. Each LED represents a 20 percent charge, and the more LEDs that light, the more charge the battery has. Check the battery's overall health by pressing the status button and holding it for three seconds. No LEDs indicate a healthy battery in good condition, while all five lights mean less than 60 percent of the battery's total capacity remains.
- If the D620's battery indicator icon does not change from amber to green when you plug the adapter in for charging, it could mean the adapter is faulty. Verify the outlet you're plugged into has power and the various connections running from and to the adapter's brick are secure and tight. Examine the adapter for signs of damage, such as sharp kinks in the cord or frayed wiring. Check the cord's output with a voltmeter and verify it matches the advertised voltage. If the cord is damaged or delivering too little or too many volts, replace it.
- Dell lists the average lifespan of a laptop battery as ranging between 18 months and two years. Your laptop battery will slowly lose its ability to accept and hold onto a proper charge as it ages, lessening the amount of power it's able to provide. If you notice that you're seeing the little amber “low battery” light much sooner or more often than you used to, it's possible your battery is starting to reach the end of its life cycle. Purchase a new battery to regain a longer lasting charge.