Acer Battery Connection Problem

My Acer Aspire 5535 battery has physical guidance tabs in two locations on its case that are designed to move a sliding retainer built into the laptop case. The sliding retainer has NEVER moved freely and can only be moved about 1/16th of an inch, even with considerable force.
My battery shows full charge (96-100%) yet if I disconnect the AC power source, it depletes in about 3 minutes to less than 20% and automatically shuts down the laptop.
My concern is that the slider needs to slip into the "Home" or "Closed-Latched" position before the battery electrical contacts are made good.
Does anyone know if the latches are to physically lock the battery in ONLY, or do they move the laptop electrical contacts into firm contact with the battery electrical contacts?
When new (~1 year old now), I only got about 45 minutes run time out of the battery... ONCE. I have kept it plugged into the AC power source except for two occasions early on. Now the battery appears worthless when I disconnect the AC power source even though it has basically never been used as the standalone power source.
When inserting/removing the battery, does the latching slider on YOUR laptop move freely? And how far, 1/8th inch or more?

 

I haven't got your model of laptop but the latch is for mechanical security only... it does not move any contacts etc.

All your symptoms point to a defective battery, particularly it only working for 45 minutes from new.

What you could try for interest is booting up on battery only and entering the BIOS (pressing F2) at start up. Then see how long it runs displaying the BIOS screen until it couts off. If it's a lot longer see if the battery recalibrates itself.

I assume it's all standard and original and that you haven't changed operating systems or flashed the BIOS etc.

Edit... I seem to remember some threads on battery issues on a particular Acer... BIOS update needed... just going from memory. Maybe someone else reading this can add more

 

Thanks for the comeback, Mooley.
Strange that you were the only one to comment. The Acer batteries all seem to look like they have the same retention tabs; therefore, most of their laptops logically would use the same latching technique.
I think I will go ahead and buy a battery (only ~50 bucks).
Once again, thanks for the comments.

 

Might it be worth complaining to Acer as it's only a year old?

Found this,
http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/407698-acer-aspire-5530g-battery-problem.html

When you get a new battery I would fully charge and discharge it a couple of times. Advice varies on this....
I too use mine infrequently on battery, but I make a point of using it at least every two to three weeks. And still an odd discharge down to around 10%. After 4+ years I can't really say there's any noticeable deterioration.

Make sure you get the new battery from a reputable source.

 

2/13/2011,9:14 AM PT
Just checked back... thanks again Mooly. I too usually discharge, then charge the batteries on my workhorse travel companion, a Fujitsu Lifebook Laptop, bought in 2006. Still going like a champ... great macnine.
The Acer 5535 I bought for my wife... but she never uses it, so it stays plugged in all the time.
From your reference, it appears that Acer got a bad battery lot. The described problem is exactly what I am experiencing. However, it is not worth my time to fight Acer for a new battery as the machine is just out of warranty.
Thanks again for your responses.
Mikon

 

As a followup to close this thread, I bought a new battery for only $35 and all works well. It is rated at 4400 mAh and typically gives 1 hour and 30 minutes of continuous run time. This machine has never approached the 3 hour range touted by Acer.

 

Thanks for updating the thread... pleased you got it sorted. Sounds a bargain tbh.

Just as an aside, my 4 yr old 9301 Aspire (4400mAH battery I think) also gives at least around 90+ minutes running time using the original battery and following the regime I mentioned.