X41 - Battery Problem

[morgie]

Hi all, long time no post - still been running my T30 mainly but today took delivery of an X41, type 2526 (eBay job). Generally the machine is in good condition, but I definitely have a battery related issue. The eBay advert mentioned it held a good charge, but no warranty on the battery. I wouldn't agree with the first statement right now.

I plugged the machine in to charge as soon as it arrived as the battery was dead. It started to charge - great. I installed the power manager driver and Battery Maximiser utility - I wanted to see how many cycles it had done etc. It reported holding 37.5 Wh of a 64.8 Wh design capacity, 183 cycles and first use back in March '06 - all seemed reasonable. However, I then noted that at only ~8% charge Windows (XP) was no longer reporting that the system was charging and the battery light had turned green. The unit would not charge above this 8% mark and still won't - it seems to think the battery is full.

I have taken some steps to rule out various factors:

* Power Supply - I have tested with a different one, no change.
* Operating System - Originally it was running XP, I've now installed Windows 7, same behaviour.
* Battery - I don't have another machine to test it in, but I do have an external Multiple Battery Charger. This seems to charge it from flat up to the 8% mark also, and then flash amber - that usually indicates a bad connection. I've cleaned the battery connections too.

I'd like to update the BIOS (currently 2.02) and the Embedded controller (currently 1.00), but of course I need a full battery to do so.

Any ideas on this one? I did think I may want to invest in a new battery, but I didn't expect the original one to be so bad. Thanks in advance!

[Harryc]

The battery is shot. Unfortunatley I do not know of a good source for original Thinkpad batteries in the UK. Beware of Chinese knock-offs.

[morgie]

Thanks Harry. In a way I'm glad it's the battery, not the machine, but a bit annoyed about how it was advertised.

Regarding "replacement" non IBM batteries - any had experience of them? On eBay in the UK I can see various available, cheaper than an official new battery of course and I know the performance will be worse but I'd like to understand how/good bad it would be in a performance per pound type analysis. E.g. any thoughts on this? Feedback for that seller doesn't seem too bad, I've seen others with very bad feedback talking of how poor the batteries are. Also - what's the difference to this model that they are also selling?

[Harryc]

Anything less than an original IBM/Lenovo battery is likely to be problematic.

[Raceboy]

Cheap knock-offs usually hold charge well.....for few months to year (max).

I bought one for my X23 two years back and within a year the battery degarded to 75% from the original capacity. I sold the laptop so no further news but obviously it can't be better.

Used original would be your best shot (seek eBay or put an ad here in Marketplace section) if you don't want to spend a fortune.

And BTW, I would be interested in your dead battery if you will find a new one

[morgie]

Hi all - thanks for the replies.

The good news is I managed to pick up a genuine used battery from eBay for just a few pounds. Seems in good condition, last night I was installing apps and defagging, wireless on, screen fully dimmed, it lasted just over 2hrs.

I don't have ThinkVantage Battery MaxiMiser app installed - any easy way to view info from the battery that it normally reports, e.g. cycles, first use date, design capacity, actual capacity? I think I could use WMI to get to it, but if there's a standalone exe or something I could use it'd be handy.

Raceboy - what's the interest in the old battery?