Custom T42 Battery Charging Issue

[Austin Shopper]

After some long researching I finally settled on a T42 as my new business computer. I've liked the product except for a couple of issues.

First, the keyboard had the already-documented floppy tray on the bottom right (arrow keys). I called IBM and they sent out a technician. He brought a new keyboard, but before installing it, he bent a couple of prongs in the main system. It helped, but I still felt the keyboard was weak. I used some high density foam with sticky tape on one side and adhered them onto the backside of the keyboard. It's now rock solid and has a wonderful feel and sound. (Of note...due to the charging issue mentioned below, IBM sent a second system to try out. This keyboard didn't have the floppy issue, but the keys were definitely inferior. They had a clanky feel and a tinny sound to them. I noticed the spill tray on this keyboard had dimples on it as opposed to the "solid" keyboard which was plain stainless steel. I've kept my first keyboard due to the better quality keys.)

The charging issue might be more of a concern. My system has both the 6-cell main battery as well as the Ultrabay slim battery. I used my system for a few days and then after charging to 100%, the ultrabay battery indicated 0% and "critical" when I removed the AC charger. I notified IBM about the issue and the aforementioned technician stopped by with a new one. However, prior to his arrival I noticed a situation where the charging froze at around 37%. In the end I found that the only thing that would "fix" the issue was to not only power down, but to remove the AC charger. Interestingly even shutting down entirely (w/o removing the power cord) did not improve things. Also of interest is that I figured this out before the technician stopped by. The ultrabay battery was working fine once the system was "reset" in this way...the tech replaced the battery anyway.

After the ultrabay battery was replaced, I used the system for a little more than a week before the situation occurred again. Thus the second system from IBM to use as a trade-in. I could just power down and remove the power cord...but that's not why I bought an IBM!

I'm suspicious this is a design issue and would like to hear feedback from others if they've encountered this before.

Kurt
(1.8 GHz, 512 MB, 14" monitor, 60 GB/7200 rpm, IBM a/b/g, Bluetooth)