Dell XPS 13: After water incursion, only runs when plugged in

[mayache]

I have the 2015 Dell XPS 13. A few days ago, I spilled some water on the keyboard (laptop was not plugged in at the time). Nothing seemed to happen immediately at the time of the spill, so I turned it off. The battery is not accessible from the outside, and I didn't have a Torx screwdriver necessary to open the case, so I drained water water I could from the keyboard and left the computer upside down.

A couple hours later, I opened the case, removed the battery and other components, and left the open computer to dry for a few days in front of a fan. There was some water visible on the battery, nowhere else.

Today I reassembled the computer. It would only turn on with the AC adapter plugged in, and turned off as soon as I removed it. The battery indicator says "19%, plugged in, not charging". The BIOS setup says I need to replace the battery, but in similar situations for other computers, it is usually suggested that the charging circuitry is damaged (and that makes more sense to me, a short across battery terminals would be more likely to fry the wire than the battery). Is there a way I can test either the battery or the charging circuitry? I am comfortable with a multimeter and basic electronics. Can the charging circuitry be replaced or would I have to replace the entire mainboard? I don't want to spend the money to replace the the battery then find out that didn't make a difference.

Thanks!

 

[webworkings]

You could try the battery in another laptop and see if it works fine. Or try another battery in yours. See if someone you know has a similar device. Then you don't have to purchase anything to do the test.

Here is a video on how to test the charging circuitry. I didn't watch it through, but it may help you on how to test yours. https://youtu.be/qcWowCgOFOw

Or you could take it to a local tech shop and see if they can test it for you either for free, or for a small fee (which is less than replacing either part)

Here is another video, this one on replacing the charging circuitry... https://youtu.be/kFCejg_LRog

Now these obviously aren't to your specific device, however they should give you a better idea of what would be involved to attempt the testing/replacements.