Inspiron 1501 Battery Life Issues

Hey everyone, I'm having some battery life issues with my laptop, and i wanted to see if the performance of my battery is normal, or if something is wrong.

At first, my battery started draining really fast so i replaced the battery in July, and now im seeing the problems again.

Basically, I need my laptop for class, and i have microsoft word, wi-fi running, and a web browser during that time period. My brightness is set on about 4, and the battery option is on portable/laptop (note: i have tried max battery with same result)

i'm getting less than an hour of battery life..

i was wondering if there was anything i could possibly do to improve this, perhaps purchase a 9-cell battery, or if there might be something more wrong with my computer that i should get checked, i'm not sure if this is normal battery life, but i don't remember it dying that quickly before.

thanks for the help

 

You replaced the battery in July ? Was it a brand new battery, or did you purchased it at the same time you bought your notebook ? If so you have to know that a battery loose is capability by time, not by use.

Yes a 9 cells will be up longer, but turning off the Wi-fi, WL messenger and internet browser will help alot. Do you have a DEL screen ? If not you have to know that Classic CCFL monitors drains more battery, so keeping the brightness to the minimum will help too.

 

Even the six cell should last you two hours minimum. Did you buy a Dell OEM battery or an off brand?

 

It was an off brand, but the dell 6-cell battery that came with the manufacturers was only roughly a 12 months old when it started draining the same levels, thats what drove me to a new battery.

I've been trying to put the brightness on to a level that was at least tolerable, and really the only things i have running during class are my Wi-Fi, google chrome, and microsoft word. Hell, I could just let my computer sit there with wifi on and nothing else and it would die within an hour.

 

It shouldn't be doing that. Though I could see the original battery dying in a year if you used it often. A high amount of cycles will quickly shorten their lifespan.

 

So should I get the batterys checked? Could it be my AC adapter? Are there any tests I can run? Should a 9-Cell be tried? I guess i dont know if this is more a computer thing, or if maybe i just keep getting bad batteries.

I just reformatted my computer last night, to see if the battery would drain that quickly with a clean computer, and it did.

 

I think it is more along the lines of buying an off brand battery. They cost more, but you will get better quality out of name brand or OEM batteries.

 

Pardon my ignorance, but where is a reputable place, and what exactly is an OEM battery?

 

By OEM I mean the Dell batteries. You can find battery sellers on ebay to get OEM batteries, but you can also get the off brand ones as well.

 

Actually Li-Ion batteries do break down with use as well as with time. You have a limited number of charging cycles and this number varies based on the quality of the original cells, charging temperature, etc... Mostly you can expect at a minimum to have to replace the battery every two years.

Off label batteries vary considerably as to their quality with some actually meeting or exceeding the original batteries. Dell and other manufacturers often do take low bids or push manufacturers to give them better prices as well, (they generally do not have their own factories). Our battery factory for instance makes several OEM batteries for various manufacturers.

SterlingTEK has a 9 cell battery that we guarantee for 1yr and ship with Free Fedex 2nd day shipping if you need it. Here is the link,

Dell_Insipron_1501 Laptop Battery - 9 Cell

Good luck and I would suggest that you speak to the store where you purchased your replacement battery to see if they will replace it.

Chris

 

I bought a Chinese knockoff 9-cell for my Studio 15. Apart from missing one of the two rubber feet to prop it up on a desk, it's been performing admirably. 4:30 to 5 hours in Power Saver on a full charge. My OEM Dell 6-cell rarely gets more than 3 hours, by comparison. And my 9-cell cost less than a new OEM 6-cell from Dell.