Did my battery spring a leak?

[mattfromomaha]

For the past two months my battery has had a slow drain.

Since I've been on winter break from school until a couple of weeks ago, my T30 never left its port replicator, so it's always been plugged in. Over the course of about four days it will lose 1% battery life until it gets down to 95%, then it of course tops itself off again. Then, a few days later, starts its slow hike back to 95%.

The battery was new in March, 2004, so it is just under a year old. The cycle count is 77, full charge capacity is 35.14 Wh compared to the design capacity of 47.52. The health is still in the green/good condition. Last week I unplugged my power supply and ran the battery down to 5% to try calibrating it, and that didn't fix anything.

I'm running WinXP $P2 with all the newest drivers, including Battery MaxiMizer and power management.

Do you guys think this may be something wrong with the battery, or maybe it's getting too old, or could this be something with the Battery MaxiMizer???

Thanks!

[redsb3]

Its normal, Li-On batteries deteriorate over time regardless of what you do. Eventually it will only run the notebook for 15 or 20 minutes before it will require a charge. Your battery is dying and there is no cure. Usually without extra effort on your part to preserve it, they will only last between 12-18 months. People will argue with me, but I suggest taking it out of the notebook while on AC or in the replicator. Heat is a real killer of Li-On batteries and any un-necessary heat prevented will only prolong battery life. It is cheaper to get a UPS to protect you notebook than a $180 battery. But to each his own.

[Technician]

All rechargable batteries self discharge, even brand new ones.

[PetraM]

They replaced my 3 month old battery because it was leaking power slowly, just the same as you described.

Petra