T43 battery problems (is all hope lost?)

[rjnagle]

Hi,

I have a T43 2668 which is 3 years old.

All in all, a good machine and spectacular about running Ubuntu.

About 2 months ago, my battery totally died. I couldn't charge anything.

I ordered a replacement from sparepartswarehouse.

http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/IBM- ... Parts.aspx

I was unsure whether the problem was with the AC adaptor or with the battery itself, so I bought both. I did not buy a "factory direct" model but instead I bought a "compatible" battery. I'm assuming that means it was a third party battery which sparepartswarehouse lists as compatible. After I got the new "compatible" battery to work with the old original AC adaptor, I made the decision to return the replacement AC adaptor.

(I think the battery I bought was http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/IBM- ... 197LP.aspx although I am not sure.

So when I put the compatible battery in, things worked perfectly. Then about 2 months later, a curious thing happened. If I plug it in, the laptop will work fine (I am typing this message on it now), but once I unplug it, the laptop immediately shuts off and the yellow/brown low battery warning light flashes. It is incapable of charging at all. It runs on plugged in power, but not battery power.

I'm not sure what's happening. I assume the battery is defective, and maybe I should have originally gotten the factory direct part. But is it possible that the problem may be elsewhere?

i would hate to blow $105 + 15$ shipping on a battery only to have the same problem happen again. Could the AC adaptor be responsible? What about any other parts on the Thinkpad?

Finally, if the second battery is defective, then why would it still allow me to work with it when it is plugged in? When the first battery failed, everything went dead (even when it was plugged in). What is the difference between the two failures?

I am resigned to getting a new laptop for daily use, but if I could feel reasonably certain that a new battery would solve the problem, I would definitely do it (so I could give this laptop to my nephew).

Thoughts? Opinions?

[madkat]

One thought: warranty

[sktn77a]

Did you try charging the old battery with the new charger (or the new battery with the old charger)? I would contact the seller of the new battery and ask for a warranty exchange but try to figure out what's bad first.

Aftermarket batteries are a bit of a crap shoot!

[rjnagle]

no, I didn't try recharging the old battery with the new recharger. That would have been a good idea. I bought a replacement AC adaptor and replacement battery (both are compatible, but not factory direct).. For cost reasons I ended up returning the new AC adaptor (with a 15% restocking fee).


is there any reason to believe that the problem is other than a bad replacement battery?

Should I buy the factory direct battery + AC adaptor? or just the battery?

I'm trying to minimize my expenses, and because I'm already buying a new machine I don't want to throw good money after bad.

Btw, I just noticed that delivery times for T400 just changed from 8 business days to 18 business days. I don't mind a little wait, but 18 days may be too much for me to stand.