Laptop problem, is it a duff battery?

JEB · 2 Feb 2006 at 16:36

My brother-in law is having a problem with his Fujitsu Siemens Amilo D7830. As soon as he un-plugs it from the mains it shuts itself down, won't run at all on the battery.

In the power options in the control panel the battery is showing as charging, 75%.

I phoned Siemens and they couldn't tell me if it was a battery or mobo problem, and they wanted £110 for a replacement battery.

I have seen other batteries for about £50, but his one is rated at 14.4v, and the ones I can get (apart from the one from Fujitsu) are all 14.8v.

So what do you think:-

1. Do you think it's a battry or mobo issue
2. And if I chance taking a battery home will a 14.8v one be ok, if the original one is 14.4v?

I know it's a hit and a miss, but I think my gut feel is to take home a battery first, rather than have to send the whole laptop off to them. What would you do if it were yours?

Sputnik II · 2 Feb 2006 at 16:59

Can you boot it up from the battery? I've seen laptops like this because people are always plugging them in and it damages the battery. If you slip the battery out and look for the part numbers on it you'll probably find a company selling them for a reasonable price on the web.
If your using your laptop on the mains slip the battery out first. It will last years longer!

mc_bob · 2 Feb 2006 at 17:06

This ruined my Dads battery. Is there anywhere I can go to get it reconditoned or a place similiar, I don't really want to spend £80 on a new battery.

MC_Bob

JEB · 2 Feb 2006 at 17:06

Aye - he's always used it since last 2 years or so plugged into mains, with battery in. It won't boot on battery either, just dead duck unless plugged into mains. I have got the part no, but only ones I can find are 14.8v, not 14.4v, so not sure if they would be ok or not. Bit of a pain this one as you have to unscred a cover to get the battery out, so not very practible for taking out when plugged into mains.

leezer3 · 2 Feb 2006 at 17:14

Can I just point out that replacing a battery while the laptop is plugged into the mains is highly likely to wreck the battery at the very least!
I don't believe that the 14.8V battery would do the laptop any damage (I've use batteries at different specs before), but I would make absolutely no guarantees. Your best bet for a definite compatibility check would be to find a local dealer, some of them will answer this sort of question.
Do you get the battery charging light on the laptop at all? If not, then your battery controller board could have gone (I had a IBM TP560 which was left on for several days, and this burned out the electronics which controlled the battery, and there was nothing anything could do about that one)
Final thought, cheap batteries from the major auction site

are also probably a bad idea in terms of quality.

-Leezer-

JEB · 2 Feb 2006 at 17:20

LOL - don't worry leezer3, wasn't planning replacing it whilst it was still plugged in

Energize · 2 Feb 2006 at 17:33

Plugging it into the power doesnt damage lithium ion batteries.

mc_bob · 2 Feb 2006 at 17:38

Energize said:
Plugging it into the power doesnt damage lithium ion batteries.

Which ones does it damage? I'll check mine.

MC_Bob

Energize · 2 Feb 2006 at 19:31

mc_bob said:
Which ones does it damage? I'll check mine.

MC_Bob

Nickel cadium batteries, but afaik laptops only use lithium ion or zinc batteries.

mc_bob · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:37

It is a Li-ion, but it's definately the battery casuing this problem in my view. We tryed discharging it fully and charging it up, it only got worse, a full charge will last 10 minutes with no usage.

MC_Bob

benjo plz. · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:49

While memory effect will not damage Li-ion batteries, they will die after a certain number of recharges.

Sputnik II · 2 Feb 2006 at 21:50

Energize said:
Plugging it into the power doesnt damage lithium ion batteries.

Li-ion cells aren't prone to the 'memory effect' but, they still have a charge/discharge life cycle. Have you ever read the battery guarantee on a laptop? its usually around 12 weeks or so.

Edit: Beaten to it by PHnom penh

Energize · 2 Feb 2006 at 22:31

I had considered that may be the problem but the op never said how old it was.