laptop battery weird behavior...

[97tbird]

laptop: Lenovo ThinkPad R60

Normally, the battery is great, and lasts a long time.
However, since 3 days ago, it does this weird thing:
start out at 100%, and when I've used it for a coupla hrs, and the "remaining" still shows about 32% or 34%, it will suddenly jump down to 4% and warn me that battery is low...
This has happened the last 3 times i was in class, and used the laptop...every time it's at the same level (around 32%) when this happens.

I normally charge it to max 100% before using and never have the battery in when i use AC power, which I think helps with battery life...
This battery is about 1.5 yrs old
any ideas? what can i do to remedy this?
Thanks!

 

[sprintman]

Do you partially charge to max all te time or wait till dead flat then charge?

 

[97tbird]

I only charge it to max when it's totally dead. I have never charged it to max when it is partially full. I took very good care of it right from the beginning...
I can see that batteries don't hold charge as time goes by...what I don't understand is:
why I still get total normal performance from it, until it hits that 32% or 34% and then suddenly drop to 4% ???

 

[97tbird]

Looks like there's a battery reset software thingy that one can do on my laptop...gonna try that and see if it works..
Thx for the replies.

 

[Pablo]

Dumb question: What (chemical) type of battery is it???

 

[97tbird]

Li-ion I think.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Li-ion I think.


First of all with a Li-ion, you don't need to cycle them all the time. Second, that does sound pretty young to be dying. How hot does the battery area get?

Decent read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery

 

[97tbird]

it remains pretty cool...

 

[Pablo]

I had nearly the same thing happen on my Li-ion battery in my cell phone - indeed about 1.5 years old. I even ordered a new battery ($9, so no biggie) but while waiting over the weekend, I cleaned the terminals on both sides, reseated the battery and it's been like new. Since Li-ion batteries age, I'll probably slap the new one in a month or two.

The other thing is Li-ion batteries can be susceptible to shock and jarring and I never drop my cell phone

Just some random thoughts....

 

[tmorris1]

HP recommends running the battery dead (let computer run until it shuts off by disabling sleep, hibernate, etc) and then let it completely charge without using the laptop. This is supposed to reset the calibration in the battery for the power metering.

 

[sprintman]

Li-ion shouldn't have memory problem like Ni-cads. Follow HP recommendation

 

[Quattro Pete]

The battery on my sister's Lenovo N100 died within 6 months of purchase. It just wouldn't charge. It got replaced under warranty obviously.

She kept the battery in while using AC power. However, I am not sure that is actually bad. I've done the same with both my home (Dell Inspiron 1100) and work (IBM T41) laptops for years, and they're both doing just fine, still on original batteries. Granted, they don't hold as much charge as when new, but then again, they're 4-5 years old, so I think that's normal.

 

[97tbird]

well, I did the bettary indicator reset thingy (fully charge/discharge/fully recharge) and it says my battery only has 69% of the original charging capacity...i guess that's perhaps normal for after 1.5 yrs??
it's really no big deal, I just have to take the a/c charger/adapter thing to class from now on...i was just lazy to put it in the bag every morning...

 

[Buffman]

Originally Posted By: Pablo


The other thing is Li-ion batteries can be susceptible to shock and jarring and I never drop my cell phone

Neither do i. Well i never seem to drop it on soft surfaces. always finds concrete or something hard :0

 

[Quest]

There seems to be bad batches of li-ion batteries all over the place so don't be surprised that it not only happens to IBM/Lenovo, but on Sony Vio, Dell, etc.

Truth is, there's no way to tell based on their origins for they are pretty much assembled in China.

You can only keep yoru fingers crossed that your original one doesn't die off soon.

Q.

 

[97tbird]

well. I know for sure this battery is made by Sony (they had a bad batch which caught fire, and there was a recall, but mine wasn't in that batch).
I hate sony!

 

[unDummy]

Get a high capacity battery from ebay.

I find that batteries have a variable life. Makes no difference who makes them or where they come from. Its all 'luck'.

I had a LiOn cell phone battery die in 6 weeks. The replacement is 2 years old. Makes no sense.

At ~2 years old, recycle the battery.

I've only had some laptops with bad charging circuits. Not a cheap part to replace(connected to motherboard). Check the power output of your charger. Transformers don't last forever.

To test your battery/laptop, find someone with the same computer and swap batteries for a day. A new battery is less of a hassle.