X61s battery failure

[pgoelz]

Folks,

Just lost the battery in my X61s and I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem. This is the enhanced battery, with 58 cycles on it.

Until last Saturday evening, all was fine. The laptop ran acceptably on battery power for an appropriate amount of run time given that the battery was about a year and a half old. Saturday evening I attempted to watch a video on battery power and it ran for about 5 minutes (displaying an appropriate remaining run time) and then abruptly hibernated. There was no low battery warning prior to the hibernation. After plugging into AC power and resuming, the battery was shown as 4% charged and charging with an amber battery indicator. The recharge took an hour or so, during which time the percent charged increased very slowly.

The Lenovo power manager (which I normally don't use because it STILL is not 100% stable) showed the battery was 100% charged but trying to run on battery power did the same thing.... about five minutes and then an abrupt hibernate.

I did the power meter reset, and after it finished it stated that the battery had 70% of design capacity remaining. But it still only runs about 5 minutes before it abruptly hibernates.

I have seen this behavior before on my old TP600. Replacing the battery fixed it. Several times On the X61s, the battery is out of warranty by about 6 months (the laptop itself is still in warranty) so I have ordered an Ebay replacement for $35. I might have decided to get a genuine Lenovo battery but it is not at all certain how old they are and I'm not about to shell out the big bucks for a battery that has been on the shelf for a couple years. Better to pay the $35 (with free shipping) for the one I bought off Ebay. It has a 9 month warranty too.

So.... anyone else had a similar experience? And has anyone taken a failed battery apart to see if it is a bad cell as I suspect?

Paul

[adrianaitken]

Last year Lenovo did a big recall because of dodgy batteries. My X61 one got replaced free because it's serial number was in the 'bad' list. Search the forum and you'll find the actual URL to enter your battery serial number to see if it bad or not.

[pgoelz]

Thanks for the tip. At Lenovo's suggestion, I have already checked that URL and unfortunately my battery is not on the list.

If the Ebay $35 battery works fine, I won't be TOO upset. Even if it only lasts a year. But between my laptops, my cellphones and my electric model airplanes, I am not at all happy about the longevity of lithium cells in everyday use.

Paul