A31 battery back in green zone after some exercise...

[underclocker]

I had good results resuscitating an A31 battery that was in the red zone. The battery came with an entire A31 bottom that I picked up on eBay to fix another A31 that I had with a faulty system board.

The battery was an extra perk and I noted that it was in the red zone (22.5 Wh out of 43.2 Wh design capacity) with only 65 cycles.

I figured a little battery exercise would help out, so I fully charged the battery then let it run down until the machine cut out. I disabled all power saving features in XP. Then I completely recharged it while it was off. I did this four times in a row.

After the second time, it was into the yellow zone, and after the third time it was in the green zone showing 30.0 Wh, and after the fourth time is was showing 32.5 Wh in the green zone.

Now when I unplug the AC, the battery gauge shows three hours run time.

Not bad, not bad. Just thought I'd share. Plus the rest of the bottom was perfect, as described by the seller.

[tfflivemb2]

Congrats.

I have tried this exercise before, and never really had luck with it; however, since your battery was only at 65 cycles, it should have been in the green in the first place.

[underclocker]

I've definitely had mixed results over the years with this method. Once I moved a battery from yellow to red! Not what I had hoped to accomplish.

I'd say most times I've gotten a slight increase, this one was dramatic.

[bhtooefr]

I think I merely accelerated the wear on my X21's battery using this procedure... then again, 200+ cycles will do that to a battery.

Then again, I can't believe I've already got 60 cycles on my R51e's battery... and I have a full charge of 45.45 Wh vs. a design of 47.52... should I try to exercise it?

[underclocker]

I think battery exercise is best if you have nothing or little to lose. It's been debated on this board whether or not it's good to run a battery down until the laptop dies. I've done it many times without apparent ill effect, but many sites and people say it causes undue stress.

I agree that if the battery has a weakness, this may expose it. Like a stress test. You could kill the battery, I suppose.

With my A31, it was an extra battery that came with the entire base I bought. My gamble proved worthwhile.

With a battery that shows nearly maximum remaining, it seems you have little to gain.

In the end, it'd be nice to find out if this procedure is OK. I know there are conflicting documents from IBM - some say run all the way to dead, others say don't. I also think the microprocessor in the battery is supposed to prevent destruction.

[schen]

Just checking since you guys are on this topic. Are there any differences between the A31 and A30 batteries?

[underclocker]

A31 and A30 batteries are interchangeable. I think IBM had at least two, maybe three different capacities for the A30/A31's over the years.

I have an A31 and an A30.

[schen]

I've been able to come up with the different capacities on batteries for my T23, but haven't figured it out for the T30 yet. I'm assuming that, like the T30 vs T23, the A31 vs. A30 originally spec'd batteries were higher for the newer machines even though they fit?

[sakkara]

what are you using to show a red yellow green zone ??
is it a program you have on your laptops and if so where do i get it from thanks

[bhtooefr]

It's in Battery MaxiMiser, which is an IBM app that should have come on your machine (although, if it was used, it may not have).

Left click on the big green battery icon (the one with the percentage, not the little blue one), and then go into Battery Information. There should be something that says Battery Health - I've seen it in multiple places, so just look around.