Rebuidling T60 Battery

[Miller88]

If I end up keeping my T60 (more like I'm not forced to buy a new one), I plan o buying a new battery for it ... OR I've read about rebuilding batteries.

I know it could go bad if I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm fairly confident that I could get it back together.

1) Has anyone done this with a T60

2) Does anyone know the model number of the cells? I have the base battery for the t60

[independent]

Hiya. I've gone down this road before... a long time ago. It was with a t22 I think. The cells you will find are 3.6v. When I was looking I hunted for the same replica cells. However, what I didn't know is that Li ion cells are nominally 3.6v and so as long as I got the right type and all the same brand, the model number would have been irrelevant.
I suppose at the end of the day you will get people who won't do something like this and others who would jump at the chance (like me). Another thing you can do is simply run the laptop off a SLA battery (wiring in the SLA to where the Liion cells were) and charging the SLA cell separately.

So to answer your questions:
1) Probably
2) Irrelevant (as long as the correct type are used and all the same). There will be a gazzillion versions of the same thing.

[meekus]

With lithium-ion batteries one needs to give some thought to the battery protection circuitry. Even after replacing the dead cells, one's going to have to find a way to reset said protection circuity or the battery pack's capacity may be compromised.

Word to the wise: lithium-ion batteries are known to explode violently when messed with.

[aaa]

My friend has successfully done this with an old Compaq.

But, a) a replacement was nowhere to be found so that was the only choice, b) it was only 4 cells so it ended up costing around $20 for the cells.

I considered doing it on another laptop I had lying around, but it had alot more cells in it (12 or 16), which made it not worthwhile.

So you have to balance the cost of the cells vs the cost of simply getting a "whole" one. Not to mention that batteries are pretty hard to open (for good reason...).

BTW, "could go bad" = spectacular fountain of flame. Gotta keep them risks in mind as well.

[Miller88]

I've had things blow up in my face ... one being my car's intake manifold.

I'm going to give this a shot when I get a second battery. What's the worst that can ... well what's the second worse thing that can happen?

Wouldn't I be able to perform a "battery reset" through software?

[aaa]

Here's a guide for an X31:
http://www.summet.com/blog/2007/02/17/l ... ry-refill/

It took a few discharge cycles for it to report the right capacity, but that seems to be the only thing needing a "reset".

[Miller88]

So I want to go with a higher mAH rating which will give me more amp hours which will give me longer life?

Since it costs about the same I might just buy a second battery and do this to my original.

[icantux]

You guys are nuts.

I'd never fiddle around with a lithium ion battery - a little contact with air and ... blam-o!!

[Miller88]

Two parts to this post

Part a - I was reading around and apparently the batteries have systems that monitor each set of two cells - I'm wondering if I could just replace two cells at a time. At most, I just need 2 hours out of the battery during a 2 hour class. Not the original 4 hours.


Part b
Now I'm not even sure if my battery is even bad. I think software is screwing with me. I forgot to charge it before class and ran for 30 minutes with it telling me I had 0 minutes left.

After that recharge, I got 1:50 with everything turned down and taking notes while connected to a wireless network.

Just ran it dead again and we'll see what we get from there. I know it's probably not the best thing to keep doing but oh well I still want to see.

And then pop it apart and order some cells.

[independent]

Part A

There is a false economy in recelling only two of the cells in a pack IMO. If you had a new battery and could isolate the faulty cell then maybe, maybe but not with used cells. I have done some research on multi cell batteries and only rarely does a cell chemistry allow for partial swaps, ie cells within a battery.

Part B

No idea apart from stating the obvious; if you got charge where there wasn't, there is capacity for charge. Sounds strange

[joester]

My 2 cents on replacing only 2 cells...
You might end up killing the protection circuitry. One of the things the electronics does is monitor cell equalibrium. Too much difference in charge/discharge rate and the electronics will shut down the entire battery and you get a "battery error" flag.
You need to do all of them if you do any. They also need to be as closely matched as possible.

Joe

BTW: Try to get your hands on some 18650-22E or higher cells.

[sjthinkpader]

You need a X60s. Those will run 6 hours on the big battery.