| Laptop Battery Tips: |  |
| 1.What is a Battery? | 9/3/2009 |
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In science and technology, a battery is a device that stores energy and makes it available in an electrical form. It converts chemical energy into electrical energy, producing an electric current when connected in a circuit. The finished battery is an electrically connected group of cells (wired in series) that stores an electrical charge and supplies a direct current (DC). We usually call finished battery as battery pack and unfinished battery is called as cell.
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| 2.What battery chemistry types will I find at our company ? | 9/3/2009 |
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While devices and chargers made to use lithium based batteries can use either Lithium-ion or Lithium-ion-polymer (Polymer Lithium) without compatibility issues, chargers made for nickel based batteries are a little tricky. Many devices are made to use Nickel based batteries and can use both Nickel-cadmium and Nickel-metal-hydride without compatibility issues. As far as chargers go, a charger designed only for nickel-metal-hydride can also accommodate nickel-cadmium, but not the other way around. A charger designed only for nickel-cadmium would overcharge the nickel-metal-hydride battery. Some chargers are designed and specifically labeled to charge both nickel based battery types without issue, and some can even charge all lithium and nickel chemistries.
(1)The lithium-polymer battery differentiates itself from the conventional battery in the type of electrolyte used (a plastic-like film that does not conduct electricity but allows ion exchange - electrically charged atoms or groups of atoms). The polymer electrolyte replaces the traditional porous separator, which is soaked with electrolyte. The dry polymer design offers simplifications with respect to fabrication, ruggedness, safety and thin-profile geometry. Cell thickness measures as little as one millimeter (0.039 inches). Lithium polymer can be formed and shaped in any way imagined. Commercial lithium-polymer batteries are hybrid cells that contain gelled electrolyte to enhance conductivity. Gelled electrolyte added to the lithium-ion-polymer replaces the porous separator. The gelled electrolyte is simply added to enhance ion conductivity. Lithium-ion-polymer greatest market potential is it wafer-thin geometries used for batteries in PDAs. Lithium polymer also offers improved safety - more resistant to overcharge and less chance for electrolyte leakage.
(2)Lithium-ion batteries are widely used today since they offer significant benefits for portable consumers. Lithium is the lightest of all metals it has the greatest electrochemical potential, and the largest energy density for its weight. The load characteristics of lithium are reasonably good in terms of discharge. The high cell voltage of 3.6 volts allows battery pack designs with only one cell versus three (less costly and compact). Lithium ion is a low maintenance battery with no memory and no scheduled cycling being required to prolong the battery's life. And finally Lithium-ion cells cause little harm when disposed.
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| 3.What are volts? | 9/3/2009 |
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Volts - or V - is an electrical measurement of energy potential. Mathematically voltage is commonly measured by V= I x R; where V=Voltage, I=Current, R=Resistance.
Voltage can also be defined as Electrical Potential difference - a quantity in physics related to the amount of energy that would be required to move an object from one place to another against various types of force. In the fields of electronics the electrical potential difference is the amount of work per charge needed to move electric charge from the second point to the first, or equivalently, the amount of work that unit charge flowing from the first point to the second can perform. A battery contains four unique types of voltage measurements. Each voltage measurement type residing in a battery effects battery life.
4 Battery Capacity: mAh rating
an abbreviation for milliamp hours. Milliamp hours is a technical rating that defines the battery's total capacity. The higher the mAh rating, the longer your battery can last between charges.
Battery capacity quanitifes the total amount of energy stored within a battery. More capacity equals longer time between battery charges. Battery capacity is measured in amperes, which is the volume of electrons passing through the batteries electrolyte per second. A milliAmp hour (mAh) is the most commonly used notation system for consumer electronic batteries. Note that 1000 mAh is the same as 1 Ah. (Just as 1000mm equals 1 meter). Generally, BatteryShip.com batteries have a mAh rating 30-100% higher than the batteries that are originally installed by the manufacturer of your device. |
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| 4.What is Battery Current ？ | 9/3/2009 |
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The second critical key component to battery design is the battery’s current requirements. PDAs, MP3s and other portable devices, for the most part, utilize a constant power discharge to operate. This means that the amount of current will increase as the battery discharges electricity in order to maintain constant power. So we will need to ultimately know the maximum current required. This is important since knowing the max current requirement will influence the necessary protection of chemistry, circuitry, wire, and capacity amongst others. Again we must know the current requirement over the entire nominal voltage range of the battery including start-up currents, surges (intermittent transient pulses). One other important aspect to know about current requirements is the inert current drain of the device. Devices, even when powered down, require small amounts of current to power memory, switches and component leakage.
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| 5.What is Battery Temperature ? | 9/3/2009 |
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Ambient operational temperatures are also important because the internal heat of the battery compartment will dramatically affect the life of a battery. Usage and storage patterns are external effect that will also affect battery life and are the responsibility of a user (for example do not leave your device in a hot car with the windows rolled up, or take your device into a sauna).
In my previous two installments of Understanding Battery Life we reviewed what battery life means; how battery life is measured; what factors determine and impact battery life; when do batteries begin to lose life; and how the internal battery design limits the overall capability of the battery. In part 3 of Understanding Battery Life I want to look at two aspects of battery usage that reduces battery life and they are: individual usage patterns and internal technical factors.
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| 6.How Does A Battery Create Energy? | 9/5/2009 |
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A battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. Batteries create electrochemical energy by a chain of events that have to occur prior to the creation of electrical energy. Electricity is introduced into a battery via a charger. The charger acts as a conduit of the pushing electrons that are forcing their way into the chemical lithium. This charge process involves intercalation where electrons join with other molecules in the lithium's minuscule spaces between the the lithium's crystallized planes. Electrons are in essence ionizing lithium which loads the crystal planes to the point where they are forced into a current flow. Intercalation replenishes, in effect, lithium but the net result of ionization is the ultimate depletion of the lithium reactive property.
But what makes lithium good for batteries is that lithium is a highly reactive metal. Lithium has a very high electrochemical potential. In some lithium-based cells the electrochemical potential can be five times greater than an equivalent-sized lead-acid cell and three times greater than alkaline batteries. Lithium is also pliable and bendable allowing lithium to fit in tight configurations (perfect for in small cell designs in PDAs. Laptops, Cameras etc...).
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| 7.What Type of Lithium Cell is Used in Laptops ? | 9/3/2009 |
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Now this brings us to battery cells and our original question from the reader. Lithium based battery cells are good but there are a variety of lithium based battery cells. For example the lithium based cell identified as 18650 is one of the most common battery cell on the market for laptops. 18650 is manufactured by many manufacturers including many private branded companies to public companies like LG, Sony, Sanyo, Samsung, and Panasonic.
18650 is a 3.6V cylindrical Li-Ion cell. 18650 has no memory effect (distinguish between digital memory effect) and longer storage life than NiMH battery cells. 18650 is light weight and has a high energy density. It is in effect perfect for building batteries for laptop and other portable power devices.
The additional technical specifications for the 18650 battery cell include:
· Nominal Voltage Average 3.7 V - the concept of nominal voltage is that voltage range exists depending on the number of cells in the battery.
· Nominal Capacity - 2200 mAh (above 2200 the stability of lithium based cells is called into question)
· Max. Charging Current - 2.4 Amps Max.
· Max. Discharging Current - 4.6 Amps max.
· Dimensions (DxH) 18.3 mm (Max 18.4) x 64.9 mm (Max 65.1)
· Weight 46.5 g (1.64 oz)
· Internal Impedance Internal Impedance: less or equal to 90 ohms
· Cycle Performance is 80% of initial capacity at 300 cycles
Now as stated above the reader asked how many cells were in the Toshiba Satellite M105-S3041 Laptop Battery? The battery is rated at 10.8 volts and a capacity of 8800 mAh.
As I mentioned above the nominal voltage average is 3.7V. Some manufacturers may use 3.6V and some may use 3.7V. In the case of a laptop battery with 10.8V the nominal voltage rating used is 3.6V. Thus if we divide 10.8V by 3.6V we get 3. Thus 3 cells in a series. We also know that the batteries capacity is 8800 mAh. We know the nominal capacity is 2200 mAh. Therefore if we divide 8800 mAh by 2200 mAh then we get 4 in parallel.
Therefore we have: 3 cells in series multiplied by 4 cells in parallel equals 12 cells in total.
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| 8.How many times can a battery be charged ? | 9/5/2009 |
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500 million lithium batteries are in use today. A very big number indeed and the chances that you are one of them are quite high. You could have a laptop, PDA, MP3 or even a cell-phone, all of which more likely than not has a lithium ion or a lithium polymer chemical based battery system. If so then one question that you will have eventually is how many times will I be able to charge the battery before it is effectively dead? Is it 300 times, 400 times, or 500 times? The answer is between 300-500 times.
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| 9.Are the batteries charged when they come? How do I charge it? | 9/3/2009 |
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The battery or batteries you receive from BatteryShip.com are NOT charged. To charge your battery, please put it in the laptop OR PDA and connect the device to AC power (a wall plug). Most devices have an indicator that will indicate that the battery is charging. See your user manual for the device if you are not familiar with this feature. Please leave the battery to charge overnight for the first time, even if the user manual indicates that the charging time is 3 to 4 hours. Some batteries require 4+ hours of charging while other require up to 14 hours depending on the chemistry of the battery.
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| 10.How can I get the most out of my battery? | 9/3/2009 |
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Here recommends that you do not use the battery when you have available AC power. Each battery is rated for a limited number of charge-discharge cycles.
Avoid dropping the batteries, do not use any improvised chargers other than the ones sold by us or the manufacturers. Excessive heat or cold can also damage a battery 12 How Do I Care For My Battery?
Your new battery comes in a discharged condition and must be charged before use. Upon initial use (or after prolonged storage period) the battery may require two to three charge/discharge cycles before achieving maximum capacity. If the battery is not going to be used for more than a month, it is recommended that it be removed from the device and stored in a cool, dry, clean place. It is normal for a battery to become warm during charging and discharging. A charged battery will eventually lose its charge if unused. It may therefore be necessary to recharge the battery after a storage period. |
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| 11.My New Battery Will Not Charge? | 9/3/2009 |
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New batteries are shipped in a discharged condition and must be charged before use. We generally recommend an overnight charge (approximately twelve hours). Refer to your user manual for charging instruction.
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| 12.How Can I Maximize Battery Performance? | 9/3/2009 |
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Breaking In New Batteries - new batteries come in a discharged condition and must be fully charged before use. It is recommended that you fully charge and discharge your new battery two to four times to allow it to reach its maximum rated capacity. Keep Your Batteries Clean - a good idea to clean dirty battery contacts with a cotton swab and alcohol. This helps maintain a good connection between the battery and your laptop. Exercise Your Battery ?Do not leave your battery dormant for long periods of time. We recommend using the battery at least once every two to three weeks. If a battery has not been used for a long period of time, perform the new battery break in procedure described above. Battery Storage ?If you do not plan on using the battery for a month or more, we recommend storing in a clean, dry, cool place away from heat and metal objects.
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| 13.How Long Should My Battery Last? | 9/3/2009 |
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The life of a rechargeable battery operating under normal conditions is generally up to 500 charge-discharge cycles.
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| 14.Do I Have To Deep Cycle Charge My Battery? | 9/3/2009 |
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Some batteries do not achieve their maximum capacity until after several deep cycle charges (fully charging, fully discharging, and repeated) sometimes as much as 5 times. These are all brand new battery cells and don't always reach their full capacity until they've been used a bit. Please try to deep cycle your battery at least 4 times to bring your battery to full capacity.
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| 15.Do I Have To Clean My Battery? | 9/3/2009 |
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Keeping you battery free from dust and dirt is always better for your battery and device. Somtimes cleaning the battery contacts will also improve battery peformance as your battery may not be getting the proper connection necessary to charge, recharge, and report battery information to the laptop.
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| 16.Do I Need Special Software For My New Battery? | 9/3/2009 |
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In some laptops there are system BIOS software upgrades. Some laptops have been prone to reject 3rd party batteries if they have an old BIOS software version installed on the laptop. BIOS upgrades are designed to fix a wide array of problems including Hard Drive capacity limitations, Battery compatibility and usage, Power management features, and performance modifications after the laptops were made and shipped. It's like getting a tune-up for your laptop!
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| 17.Battery Safety Guidelines . | 9/5/2009 |
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Have you ever held a battery before? Did you know that a battery though relatively safe can act and operate like a mini bomb? Don't worry your next battery more than likely will not explode on you if handled correctly. In fact in excess of 100 million battery related devices have been bought by consumers since 2003 (that is a conservative number). So the 339 incidents report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission represent .000003 (a very small percent) of all battery related devices on the market. So the likelihood of your next battery exploding is highly unlikely. However if you ever use a battery or plan on using a battery you should know how to handle and maintain basic battery safety guidelines. In fact as a general rule of thumb battery packs should be used in the following form:
· Batteries have to be stored safely
· Batteries have to be charged correctly
· Batteries have to be protected from unexpected damage
· Batteries have to be handled safely
Batteries have to be stored safely
Batteries can be stored both indoors and outdoors as long as batteries are kept in cool conditions without direct sun light on the battery or battery storage box or container. Batteries should be stored in a dry location with low humidity, and a temperature range of -20°C to +30°C. Batteries can be stored for a long time however the longer the storage time is the faster the acceleration of the battery's self-discharge which can lead to the deactivation of the batteries. To minimize the deactivation effect, store battery packs in a temperature range of +10°C to +30°C. Also if a battery has been stored for a long period of time please note that the deactivation of the batteries may have led to decreased capacity. To recover batteries in this state simply repeat several cycles of fully charging and discharging. Also when storing packs for more than 6 months be sure to charge the battery at least once every 6 months to prevent leakage and deterioration in performance due to self-discharging.
Batteries have to be charged correctly
Batteries must be charged correctly. This means you need to charge your battery with a charger that has the specified voltage and current to correctly charge your battery. You should never attempt reverse charging, since charging a battery with the polarity reversed can cause a reversal in battery polarity, causing gas pressure inside of the battery to rise, which can lead to leakage of the batteries in the pack. Also avoid overcharging. Repeated overcharging can lead to deterioration in pack performance and the battery pack may get over heated. Also note that battery charging efficiency drops at temperatures above 40°C.
Batteries have to be protected from unexpected damage
Batteries, understandably should have some basic protection everyday damage. For example the battery terminals [(+) connector and/or (-) connector] should never be touched or connected to metal wires, necklaces, or chains. Batteries should not be dropped since dropping a battery will cause the battery to malfunction or puncture. Also batteries should not be twisted or bent. Since any such forced movement will cause the battery to fail.
Batteries have to be handled safely
Furthermore batteries should never be disassembled. Batteries should never be used if an abnormality is detected such as foul odor, deformation, discoloration, bubbling and so on. Battery cells, such as Li-ion or Li-polymer cells should never be reused after removing from the chemistry from the battery pack. Also never touch any liquid coming out of the battery if there is an electrolyte leakage. Also batteries and water should never mix. Once water or moisture gets onto the battery, the battery has the potential to malfunction. In addition never store batteries in hot temperatures 140 degrees Fahrenheit or more. Furthermore do not put batteries into a fire, do not crush, puncture, or nail a battery. Finally never solder directly onto the battery casing or terminals.
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| 18.What does the life of the battery mean? | 9/3/2009 |
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Battery life is the term that is often used when we speak about how long a battery can last (other terms we often use when speaking about battery life is battery capacity, battery runtime, battery mAh, battery milliamp rating, and battery playtime). All these terms speak about the life of the battery – how long the battery will power my PDA (or other mobile computing device) before I have to recharge.
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| 19.How is battery life measured? | 9/3/2009 |
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Battery life is a measurement of capacity. What is Battery Capacity? Battery capacity is a reference to the total amount of energy stored within a battery. Battery capacity is rated in Ampere-hours (AH), which is the product of:
AH= Current X Hours to Total Discharge
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| 20.What factors determine battery life? | 9/3/2009 |
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The duration of the battery charge is governed by five factors including:
Physical Size - the amount of capacity that can be stored in the casing of any battery depends on the volume and plate area of the actual battery. The more volume and plate area the more capacity you can actually store in a battery.
Temperature - capacity, or energy stored, decreases as a battery gets colder. High temperatures also have an effect on all other aspects of your battery.
Cut off Voltage - To prevent damage to the battery and the device, batteries have an internal mechanism that stops voltage called the cut-off voltage, which is typically limited to 1.67V or 10V for a 12 Volt battery. Letting a battery self-discharge to zero destroys the battery.
Discharge rate - The rate of discharge, the rate at which a battery goes from a full charge to the cut off voltage measured in amperes. As the rate goes up, the capacity goes down.
Battery History - Deep discharging, excessive cycling, age, over charging, under charging, all reduce capacity. Note charging your battery 1 time will reduce capacity as much as 15%-20% depending on your battery's chemistry.
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| 21.When does the battery begin to lose life? | 9/3/2009 |
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A battery begins to lose life the very moment is used. Let’s clarify a little more so that we are clear with what that technically means! A new battery is NOT: a battery that was charged, connected to a device, been opened from its wrapping or chemically activated in any way. Now be very careful with any assumption you may have where a battery could still be considered new even after it was charged, connected to a device, been opened from its wrapping or chemically activated in any way. Why?
Inside the battery itself is a system designed to produce a chemical reaction. The chemical reaction is designed for a single purpose: to create an electron flow (i.e. electricity) by which the device is powered. The electron flow is measured (or moves at speeds) in amperes, where 1 ampere is the flow of 62,000,000,000,000,000,000 electrons per second! Therefore once the chemical is activated and the flow of electrons takes place, even for a second, then the loss of power and battery degradation begins and there is no stopping it. Once battery degradation begins a battery is considered used and its natural life will deplete in a matter of time.
One note is that a battery only need be connected to a device or have its connectors touched to effectively create a closed circuit for the chemical to potentially activate, at which point of course the battery life will begin to deplete.
then we will look at the factors that shorten the battery life and whether it is better to buy a long life battery or a lesser capacity battery.
how battery life is measured; what factors determine and impact battery life; and finally when do batteries begin to lose life. In part 2 of Understanding Battery Life we will look at a battery's internal design. A battery design is an important foundation on understanding battery life because of the fact that a battery is a consumable product (a batteries internal chemical is consumed upon activation) and that this consumption shortens the batteries life over time.
Therefore to know what the maximum potential of a battery is (the starting point) before the battery is ever consumed is good because once a battery is used even once a battery begins a gradual degradation to the point of no longer being able to power a device (typically about 80% of the batteries capacity - less than 80% capacity is often times too low for a device to recognize the battery).
Initial Technical Ratings
The initial technical ratings of a battery are the specs (the technology) that define the battery. They are represented in most battery websites as the voltage, mAh (battery amperage/capacity), and battery chemistry. There is much that can be written, and has been written, about each of these factors individually; however, what is key to know about the battery’s technical specs is that they were all decided upon prior to the production of the battery and predestined to operate at specific power levels. Knowing this allows the buyer and seller of a battery to understand in advance how the battery will perform, thus disclosing upfront the capability of the battery.
A battery’s design is a compilation of several required parameters.
Battery Voltage
Battery Current
Battery Capacity
Battery Chemistry
Battery Temperature
Battery Protection Circuitry
Battery Smart Technology
Before we begin I want to note that Battery Protection Circuitry and Battery Smart Technology require minimal battery usage and although critical components of battery design it is not germane to battery life in great quantity and therefore will not be discussed in this article. I do have more info available on my blog which can be accessed from the links at the end of this article.
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| 22.Common Causes of Battery Failure . | 9/3/2009 |
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All batteries have an inherent self-discharge. The self-discharge on nickel-based batteries is 10 to 15 percent of its capacity in the first 24 hours after charge, followed by 10 to 15 percent every month thereafter. Li‑ion battery's self-discharges about five percent in the first 24 hours and one to two percent thereafter in the following months of use. At higher temperatures, the self-discharge on all battery chemistries increases. The self-discharge of a battery increases with age and usage. Once a battery exhibits high self-discharge, little can be done to reverse the effect.
Premature Voltage Cut-Off
Some devices like PDAs do not fully utilize the low-end voltage spectrum of a battery. The PDA device itself, for example cuts off before the designated end-of-discharge voltage is reached and battery power remains unused. For example, a PDA that is powered with a single-cell Li‑ion battery and is designed to cut-off at 3.7V may actually cut-off at 3.3V. Obviously the full potential of the battery and the device is lost (not fully utilized). Why? It could be something with elevated internal resistance and or PDA operations at warm ambient temperatures. PDAs that load the battery with current bursts are more receptive to premature voltage cut-off than analog equipment. High cut-off voltage is mostly equipment related, not battery.
Concluding Remarks
Now to conclude this 3 part series of Understanding Battery Life lets recap. In part 1 of the series we looked at look at what battery life means; how battery life is measured; what factors determine battery life; and finally when do batteries begin to lose life. In part 2 we looked at the internal design of batteries as their designed potential. Finally in this article we looked at how individual usage patterns and internal technical factors ultimately cause batteries to fail.
All batteries will ultimately fail, stop working, and cease to operate, and or otherwise end their useful life. It is the reality of a consumable product. The cost to operate a replacement battery in your device, however, is relatively cheap so it is not a catastrophe when batteries stop working (although certainly an inconvenience). Yet when batteries do fail have you ever wondered why? In my next series I will look more closely at the common causes of battery failure including:
· Batteries degrade and lose the ability to power a device
· Batteries can warp or bubble
· Batteries can explode
· Batteries can have incompatible designs
· Batteries can have improperly selected hardware
· Batteries can be misused or abused
Battery degradation and power loss is the normal result of internal battery use. Technically battery degradation and power loss includes declining capacity, increasing internal resistance, elevated self-discharge, and premature voltage cut-off on discharge. I have written about each of these points in depth in another article at our Battery Education blog so please see that blog for more info, but what is important to get across is the fact that battery degradation and power loss is real! Much like gravity it exists regardless if we believe that it does not!
Furthermore battery degradation and power loss begins when one of the following occurs: when the battery is charged, when the battery is connected to a device (the device does not have to be turned on), when a battery is opened, or when a battery is chemically activated in any way. Any assumption you may have where a battery could still be considered new even after it was charged, connected to a device, been opened or chemically activated in any way is faulty. Why because inside the battery itself, a chemical reaction is produced the moment any of the aforementioned factors occur to begin electron flow. The chemical reaction is purposely designed to create electron flow (i.e. electricity). The electron flow is measured (or moves at speeds) in amperes, where 1 ampere is the flow of 62,000,000,000,000,000,000 electrons per second! Therefore once the chemical is activated and the flow of electrons takes place, even for a second, then the loss of power and battery degradation begins and there is no stopping it. Once battery degradation begins a battery is considered used and its natural life will deplete in a matter of time.
some of the other reasons why batteries fail including batteries that warp, bubble, explode, and batteries that have incompatible designs or improperly selected hardware.
All batteries will ultimately fail, stop working, and cease to operate, and or otherwise end their useful life. It is the reality of a consumable product. But sometimes batteries can warp, bubble, and even explode! Batteries can also fail due to incompatible designs or improperly selected hardware, and batteries can fail due to customer misuse or abuse.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission each year deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost U.S. taxpayers more than $700 billion annually. This cost includes over 15,000 different types of products that pose a risk of fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or products that can injure children (cribs, toys, etc.). Batteries by their nature are 1 out of the 15,000 products the CPSC monitors because of the increased implementation of battery chemistries that pack higher energy in smaller packages. Batteries with lithium ion and lithium metal polymer chemistry are thinner, smaller, and lighter weight designs yet contain more energy than traditional rechargeable batteries. These battery chemistries are excellent choices for small electronic devices that require higher capacities and specialized hardware to safeguard the battery from doing anything other than performing as expected within the device.
It is true that sometimes batteries can warp, bubble, and even explode. It is also true that batteries can fail. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission there have been 339 battery-related overheating incidents tracked. 339 overheating cases sounds like a lot but when compared to the well over 100,000,000 battery related devices that have been bought by consumer since 2003 it represents a very small percentage (.000003) of all battery related devices on the market.
The reason why overheating occurs in batteries to the point of warping, bubbling, or exploding is due to one of the following reasons:
1. Improperly Selected Hardware – from the connector, the fuse, the charge and discharge FETs, the cell pack, the sense resistor, the primary and secondary protection ICs, the fuel-gauge IC, the thermistor, or the pc board.
2. Uncontrolled Manufacturing Processes – including badly run production facilities which lead to cell short circuits, leaks, unreliable connections, sealing quality, mechanical weakness, and contamination.
Batteries can also fail due to customer misuse or abuse. Battery abuse can happen in a variety of ways however all types of battery abuse fall under one of the following categories including altitude simulation, thermal cycling, shock, external short circuit, impact, overcharge, forced discharge.
Finally batteries can fail due to consumer misuse. Misuse is different then abuse because battery abuse is intentional consumer disruption of the battery and battery misuse is unintentional consumer misuse of a battery. For example one common misuse of a battery is trying to use a battery rated and designed for a specific pda, camera, or ipod model, but instead the battery is used for an entirely different device. It may sound funny but it has happened. Why because consumer’s think that just because the physical footprint, the voltage and the capacities are the same that the battery will work in multiple devices. This is a fallacy that happens frequently. To avoid this type of misuse, only use a battery that is specifically designed for the device model you have and do not battery swap.
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| 23.How to deal with the problem of discharge battery ?. | 9/5/2009 |
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The first step in troubleshooting your laptop battery is determining whether it is a right battery for your laptop model then check if it can hold enough charge to boot the notebook. Will the laptop power up and run on the battery? if not, please remove the battery and reinstall it properly and make sure it is seated in the laptop completely, if still not, does not necessarily mean the battery is dead. The battery might get over-discharged over time if it stays in the warehouse too long, So it might need to be charged overnight. The AC adapter which doubles as the laptop battery charger need to be plugged in. Modern notebooks usually have a whole array of status LEDs that will tell you if the laptop senses good power coming from the battery charger and whether or not the battery is charging. Unfortunately, there's no universal standard for these LEDs, their colors or their actions. After being charged overnight, check if the laptop power up and run on the battery again. If the laptop powers up on battery, you can hear the fans and the drives, your troubleshooting problem lies elsewhere. If it is not charged at all, Since this is the third party compatible replacement parts, Please check your charger's output
voltage and ampere readings if they meet the requirement of the battery, make sure that your charger functions well and is powerful enough, You can try the battery on another laptop if it is possible. If it charges well on another laptop, the problem might be the charger, it does not work well, or it is not powerful enough. if it is just partially charged after overnight charging, you might need to condition your battery.
The most general condition procedure is to charge the battery fully before use (leaving it on the AC battery charger overnight is best), and then to run exclusively on battery until the battery is discharged. I suggest you run until the operating system warns of low battery life remaining, which could be anywhere from 10% to 3% remaining on standard settings. This doesn't mean that you have to sit there working for three or four hours, you can run the battery down over multiple sessions over multiple days. The important thing is not to plug the AC power adapter back in and start recharging the battery until it is completely run down. The condition process generally requires you to go through this cycle three times in a row.
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| 24.How to deal with the problem of short life ? | 9/5/2009 |
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The battery's life depends on a lot of factors,the defective battery cell is just one of them. Before we declare the battery as defective, let's do some troubleshooting. The battery might get over-discharged over time if it stays in the warehouse too long, So it might need condition.
First ,since this is the third party compatible battery, Please check your charger's output voltage and ampere readings if they meet the requirement of the battery, make sure that your charger functions well and is powerful enough, You can try the battery on another newer laptop if it is possible. The failure of the charger can't get the battery charged fully and the failure of the laptop hardware might cause the laptop suck the power when it should not. So if your laptop and charger are old, both might be the cause of the short life of the battery. So sort this out first.
Secondly, please condition the battery, the most general procedure is to charge the battery fully before use (leaving it on the AC battery charger overnight is best), and then to run exclusively on battery until the battery is discharged. I suggest you run until the operating system warns of low battery life remaining, which could be anywhere from 10% to 3% remaining on standard settings. This doesn't mean that you have to sit there working for three or four hours, you can run the battery down over multiple sessions over multiple days. The important thing is not to plug the AC power adapter back in and start recharging the battery until it is completely run down. The condition process generally requires you to go through this cycle three times in a row.
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