How can you tell when the battery is ruined?

TinkerBell · 27 Mar 2006 at 17:13

Well my battery for my phone doesnt seem to let it charge, even though when the charger is plugged in it says it is charging but the battery level stays the same.

Also just took the back of and the battery seems to have expanded :eek:

Does this mean the battery is ruined?

Stretch · 27 Mar 2006 at 17:16

TinkerBell said:
Well my battery for my phone doesnt seem to let it charge, even though when the charger is plugged in it says it is charging but the battery level stays the same.

Also just took the back of and the battery seems to have expanded

Does this mean the battery is ruined?

Yes, how old is the phone? From my experience they only last about 2-3 years depending on use.

TinkerBell · 27 Mar 2006 at 17:21

Stretch said:
Yes, how old is the phone? From my experience they only last about 2-3 years depending on use.

hmm prob about 2 - 3 years when i think about it

TinkerBell · 27 Mar 2006 at 21:48

Does anyone know a cheapish place to get new phone battery's?

Efaws · 27 Mar 2006 at 22:38

Ebay is your best bet or a market stall, CPW and the link, etc rip you off for 20 quid a time, nokia etc batteries are normally official and about 4 quid on ebay

duno why it would have expanded? maybe it just got hot, it should work as long as none of the battery insides are showing, then itll be dangerous! as said they last 2-3 yrs depending on use, a tell tale sign is when your phone turns itself off randomly, shows its naffed

TinkerBell · 27 Mar 2006 at 22:44

Efaws said:
Ebay is your best bet or a market stall, CPW and the link, etc rip you off for 20 quid a time, nokia etc batteries are normally official and about 4 quid on ebay

duno why it would have expanded? maybe it just got hot, it should work as long as none of the battery insides are showing, then itll be dangerous! as said they last 2-3 yrs depending on use, a tell tale sign is when your phone turns itself off randomly, shows its naffed

I dont know why its expanded either but i put it on chair last night and woke up this morning to find that the phone was really warm and the battery was still flat, hasnt been any tell tell signs but then again it has been in use none stop for about 2 years or so

Thanks

saitrix · 29 Mar 2006 at 14:14

TinkerBell said:
I dont know why its expanded either but i put it on chair last night and woke up this morning to find that the phone was really warm and the battery was still flat, hasnt been any tell tell signs but then again it has been in use none stop for about 2 years or so

Thanks

DON'T use that expanded battery. It has ballooned, very dangerous. I would not charge it again either, there is now a high risk of a fire starting if you use that battery. You were lucky it only got hot, if any worse it would have ballooned more and more until it punctured. When it punctured the materials it is made out of have a habit of catching alight. If you want to see what it looks liek when one goes just download the video i have linked to.

http://saitrix.rchomepage.com/lipo2.avi

TinkerBell · 29 Mar 2006 at 14:22

saitrix said:
DON'T use that expanded battery. It has ballooned, very dangerous. I would not charge it again either, there is now a high risk of a fire starting if you use that battery. You were lucky it only got hot, if any worse it would have ballooned more and more until it punctured. When it punctured the materials it is made out of have a habit of catching alight. If you want to see what it looks liek when one goes just download the video i have linked to.

http://saitrix.rchomepage.com/lipo2.avi

Lol its ok! Its not in my phone anymore, i got my ex's battery in it at the mo, as we used to have the same phone and hes not using it anymore. But it is right next to me, maybe its time to get rid of it

saitrix · 29 Mar 2006 at 17:38

I would if i was you.

Efaws · 29 Mar 2006 at 18:07

Thinking about it, probably a good idea to bin it, they say dont bin them tho, you need a special bin, duno where tho :\ might be ok in the bin

saitrix · 30 Mar 2006 at 11:08

Efaws said:
Thinking about it, probably a good idea to bin it, they say dont bin them tho, you need a special bin, duno where tho :\ might be ok in the bin

Li-Ion is perfectly fine to stick in the bin once its lost all of its charge. Salt water is a good way for that to completely discharge a battery.

TinkerBell · 30 Mar 2006 at 11:21

saitrix said:
Li-Ion is perfectly fine to stick in the bin once its lost all of its charge. Salt water is a good way for that to completely discharge a battery.

You sure that wouldnt be dangerous!!

Efaws · 30 Mar 2006 at 11:30

Probably, just dont drink the water

saitrix · 30 Mar 2006 at 12:30

Its commonly done for ballooned LiPo batteries with RC Planes. All that the salt water does is produce an area for it to discharge into. Leave it like overnight and it will be totally dead, then just dispose in the normal bin with no problems.