Two defective Batteries ?*?*?

Is there a chip, switch or RFID in genuine Dell batteries that will cause a system to recognize it as genuine?

I have posted my original thread below for reference. I have bought 2 Dell replacement batteries one from the Dell shop (locally) and one from atbatt on line. They both do the same thing. Once charged the blue battery charge light starts flashing slowly, and does NOT stop. I have access to a sister laptop to mine. Bought, built and purchased at the same time. The other system reacts the same way. So simply there must be a flaw in the new batteries or a reference ID that the system is reading and not identifying as Dell.

I am concerned about a fire hazard or damages to the power supply and/or motherboard.



-----Original Post-----
Vostro 1500 Flashing Blue Charging LED

Dell Vostro 1500 has worked well for 4 years. I had a local "Dell Certified Shop" replace my HDD because of a clicking sound. The 5600 Mwh battery (original) would not hold a charge so he replaced it too. The new battery a 5200 Mwh battery would not charge past 99% and the blue charge LED would flash constantly. Dell technician said he also flashed the BIOS when he did all the repairs to the laptop and that the flashing light would likely subside eventually. It has not. I've replaced the battery myself with a 9-cell Dell battery. Once the battery charges to 100% the light switches from constant on to flashing blue again. I have discharged the battery fully and remove it and the A/C power & pushed the start button to drain all power from the laptop. I have let it sit for an hour with no power on it at all. NOTHING WORKS! What can be done to stop the flashing? I do know that while the blue light is flashing a trickle charge is connected to the battery because the battery becomes warm. When I check the system in the morning the battery is warm as if it has been on charge all night. The Battery and system show a 100% charge. Whether the laptop is running or not once charged the Blue light flashes continually when connected to A/C power. What to do???

 

Err, if it's not working right, I'd stop using it. Does the system say it's charging the batteries? Are you using a genuine Dell power adapter? (some Dell laptops will refuse to charge the batteries if they can't detect the power rating of your adapter through the smart chip in the adapter, which is usually only on the genuine ones)

FYI, there *is* technology of that sort at work, but with good reason. Li-Ion packs have smart chips which manage the battery life and keep track of vital stats and such. The laptop can also talk to the battery and get information from it as well (ex: battery level, manufacturer, etc.).

Google "dell battery smart chip", you'll find some interesting information. However, keep in mind that any reset trick or hacking of the battery EEPROM can have extremely dangerous, life-threatening consequences and pretty much waives Dell and/or the company that refurbed the batteries of any responsibility since now you're going outside of what these things were designed to do. Li-Ion cells are regulated by the smart chips and tampering with those chips and/or modifying the cells can be extremely dangerous if you don't know *exactly* what you're doing. (read: resetting the counter without properly fixing it is effectively bypassing a safety mechanism) For more reading: Lithium-ion battery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The best way to test if your laptop is still good is to somehow get a genuine, non-refurbed Dell battery and test it.

If you didn't buy directly from Dell, there's no way to 100% guarantee it's new and genuine. Batteries are chemical and have a shelf-life. If they aren't "topped up" regularly, they die "permanently" if they drop below a certain threshold. Also, some places sell "genuine" Dell batteries which are just refurbed old ones where the cells were changed and the counter was reset. Unless you got it from Dell, you can't really count on proper testing or QA. If it isn't done right or properly checked, it can cause all sorts of problems or might even catch fire and/or explode (no joke, the number might look low but batteries contain a large amount of stored energy).

As a tech, I've seen dead original batteries (particularly HP where the thing says it's charging, then you pull the plug and the system drops like a rock), I've seen bad chargers (with a clone battery provided by the customer), I've seen bad DC adapters (power brick mishaps), I've seen laptops not accepting AC adapters (bad DC board/input/motherboard), but the most frightening prospect must be clone batteries heating up... you just never know if it's even the right one for that laptop, *even* if it "fits" (physical connection doesn't guarantee electrical compatibility).

Anyway, this is your laptop's power system, you *really* don't want to cheap out on this.
- On desktop PCs, a cheap power supply can catastrophically fail and burn out components, but it *usually* stops quick enough either from overcurrent protection circuits (not usually in cheap ones), active components in the supply ceasing to function (generally the case) or your circuit breaker/fuse popping/blowing (usually doesn't get to that point).
- On laptops, a cheap power adapter can burn your DC-to-DC board, but more importantly a cheap battery can burn your charger circuit (expensive if it's integrated into the motherboard, which it usually is) or, in the worst case, explode and catch fire. There are protection mechanisms to prevent that sort of thing from happening, but they're inside the battery and might've been inadvertently/deliberately bypassed.

When you consider the 100-150$ for the peace of mind, it's just really not worth it to try fiddling with it.

 

Thank you AlexF. But as I said the batteries are from a DELL SHOP that sells new Dell systems and replacement parts. They, The Dell approved service center installed the battery. The batteries weren't cheap. I get the same results on the "sister" system.

 

Oh.

Well, I would recommend checking what the PC says about the battery and verify to see if it really is Dell:

- Under XP, it's under Control Panel: Power Options: Power Meter tab and click on the battery.
- Under Vista, not sure if they have this. Might need to use the Dell power management panel if applicable.

I think SiSoft Sandra and EVEREST are able to read (more) direct battery information.

I'm guessing the battery obviously looks like the original one?

Alternatively, it could be simply old from being on the shelf too long. If you're not past DOA, I would say call them in since they're supposed to have 1 yr warranty.