Is leaving in dead battery dangerous?

Older ThinkPads.. from the 600, the 7xx, the iSeries, 300, 500, the Transnote and, of course, the 701
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VIBM
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Is leaving in dead battery dangerous?

#1 Post by VIBM » Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:31 pm

I had read somewhere that it was dangerous to leave a dead battery
in a laptop. Is this true for thinkpads?

Majestic
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Re: Is leaving in dead battery dangerous?

#2 Post by Majestic » Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:09 am

I don't know about dangerous, but I figure it can't be good if the machine is constantly trying to charge a dead battery. I have Presario laptop that was running very hot and had a dead battery. What I did was open the battery case and remove the dead cells. I then resealed the empty battery case and returned it to the bay so that it didn't effect the air circulation. It made a difference.
My Laptop Collection:
IdeaPad Z570, 8gb RAM & Win 7 Home Premium / Win 8.1 Pro
Toshiba A75-S206, 1.5gb RAM & Windows 7 Home Premium
ThinkPad T-22 (Formerly a T-20), 512mb RAM & Win XP Pro

Radioguy
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Re: Is leaving in dead battery dangerous?

#3 Post by Radioguy » Wed Aug 25, 2010 9:51 pm

I believe some laptops will run slower with no battery installed, but I have to assume that's due to the absence of a functioning battery. I can't imagine any difference exists with a dead battery provided the chip knows the cells are dead and prevent charging them regardless.

The chip is the issue. If it says it's dead, then I assume no charging takes place and you simply have extra weight you don't need. Removing it can only help dissipate heat.

Just so you know, while obtaining a new battery is best (check outlet.lenovo.com for deals), replacing the cells in a dead battery is not impossible. I would not recommend that for anyone without previous experience of electronics repair, but there are posts about successful attempts here (use the search).
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VIBM
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Re: Is leaving in dead battery dangerous?

#4 Post by VIBM » Mon Aug 30, 2010 3:59 pm

Majestic wrote:I don't know about dangerous, but I figure it can't be good if the machine is constantly trying to charge a dead battery.
Is there a setting so that the laptop does not attempt to recharge the dead battery?

Majestic
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Re: Is leaving in dead battery dangerous?

#5 Post by Majestic » Mon Aug 30, 2010 4:03 pm

VIBM wrote:Is there a setting so that the laptop does not attempt to recharge the dead battery?
Not, that I am aware of.
My Laptop Collection:
IdeaPad Z570, 8gb RAM & Win 7 Home Premium / Win 8.1 Pro
Toshiba A75-S206, 1.5gb RAM & Windows 7 Home Premium
ThinkPad T-22 (Formerly a T-20), 512mb RAM & Win XP Pro

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