Dell Diagnostic LED Blink Codes

Diagnostic LEDs

Instead of beep codes, errors are indicated via the bicolor Battery Charge/Status LED. A specific blink pattern is followed by flashing a pattern of flashes in amber, followed by white. The pattern then repeats.

The diagnostic pattern will consist of a two-digit number being represented by a first group of LED blinks (1 through 9) in amber, followed by a 1.5 second pause with the LED off, and then a second group of LED blinks (1 through 9) in white. This is then followed by a three second pause, with the LED off, before repeating over again. Each LED blink takes 1.5 seconds.

The system will not shutdown when displaying the Diagnostic Error Codes.

Diagnostic Error Codes will always supersede any other use of the LED. For instance, on laptops, battery codes for Low Battery or Battery Failure situations will not be displayed when Diagnostic Error Codes are being displayed.

BLINKING PATTERN PROBLEM DESCRIPTION SUGGESTED RESOLUTION AMBER WHITE 2 1 CPU failure Replace the system board. 2 2 System board failure (included BIOS corruption or ROM error) Flash latest BIOS version. If problem persists, replace the system board. 2 3 No memory/RAM detected Confirm that the memory module is installed properly. If problem persists, replace the memory module. 2 4 Memory/RAM failure Replace the memory module. 2 5 Invalid memory installed Replace the memory module. 2 6 System board/Chipset error Replace the system board. 2 7 LCD failure Replace the LCD module. 2 8 LCD Power rail failure Replace the system board. 3 1 CMOS battery failure Replace the RTS battery. 3 2 PCI or Video card/chip failure Replace the system board. 3 3 BIOS Recovery Image not found Flash latest BIOS version. If problem persists, replace the system board. 3 4 BIOS Recovery Image found but invalid Flash latest BIOS version. If problem persists, replace the system board.

For diagnostics pattern 2-amber, 8-white connect an external monitor to isolate between system board or graphics controller failure.