Thinkpads Forum

A few days ago, I accidentally zapped my X61 notebook PC with a static electrical charge.

Now, I see that the battery indicator (the orange light) is blinking continuously. This was not happening before. Also, the Power Manager indicates that "The battery has failed due to normal wear. The battery cannot be charged. Replace the battery".

The Power Manager says the battery is fully charged (100%), at 17.54 Wh. The battery design capacity is 37.44 Wh. But the Power Manager also says there is no battery activity and no current. If I unplug the power adapter, the PC immediately shuts down, losing any work, etc.

Can I assume that I fried part of my motherboard, and need to send the PC in for repair? I ordered a new battery, but I have a feeling that it will not help.

My guess is that you blew one of the fuses on the systemboard associated with the charging circuitry.

Do you have access to another X6 series machine to try you battery there?

Thanks for the suggestion about trying my battery on another X61. But right now, I do not have any other similar PC to try it on.

I will simply have to wait for the new battery to arrive. Hopefully, that will solve the problem, and zapping my PC was just a coincidence.

Well, my new battery has finally arrived, and to my relief, all is well.

Thanks to the previous two posters, for your suggestions.

From here on out, I will try to be extra careful not to zap my PC again.