T61 Battery is losing charge

I just received a new T61 and I noticed that each day the battery is dropping 1%. (97% today)The computer is always plugged in so I would expect it to be at 100%.

Does any one have any ideas why this is happening?

Thanks.

 

There might be a leak in the battery due to a jack/AC adapter problem causing the battery to lose charge even when plugged in. I would call Lenovo and see what they can do.

 

If you leave the computer plugged in....it overcharges and then you lose battery life....do yourself a favor and just remove the battery. If it is always plugged in, it wont need the battery, so save the battery life and unplug the battery when it is full.

If you leave it always plugged in, it won’t be able to use the full intended capacity. Drain the power lower before you charge it, and once it is charged, remove it from the outlet.

 

I think this issue has been debated to death (and I still haven't picked a side). Anyhow, does removing it at 100% really make a difference? I've heard that storage with a 60-80% full battery is ideal. Leaving the battery attached all the time while plugged in through an AC adapter does diminish battery life, but not enough to really make a difference. Unless you plan on keeping your Thinkpad beyond two or three years. At that point, the battery will suck so bad, you need a new one anyways.

 

Oh, btw my new T61 is leaking too. Today I turned it on and it showed 99%. That's what made me click on this thread in the first place. I've been on AC power constantly for the past 5 days, averaging about 12 hours a day usage.

 

This could easily be a software issue. If the battery wasn't properly holding a charge, you would notice that 100% doesn't last as long as it used to. Displaying 99% when the battery is fully charged is a misreported number.

 

Your computer is working properly. Chances are your battery charge thresholds are set to something like 95/100, meaning it will charge again once the level reaches 95% and then stop at 100%.

Once it has fully charged the computer will stop charging and even though the machine is plugged in, the battery seems to operate in some kind of 'standby' mode. You will see it slowly drain over time. It would drain even if you just left it in your closet.

To avoid doing damage to your battery, don't use the factory defaults in the battery manager. I set my charge thresholds to something like 70/95. This way the battery is never overcharged and I can leave the machine plugged in 24/7 and incur very few charge cycles on the battery. After having my T61 for almost 4 months I only have 7 cycles on my main battery, 13 on my ultrabay. At that rate these batteries will last me a long time.

 

That is flat out wrong, the battery stops charging once it hits 100%. Li-On batteries by their nature start to degrade as soon as they're made due to the chemical properties of the batteries themselves. A battery that is a year old won't have the same capacity as a new battery.

There is a setting in Power Manager on the Battery Information Tab. Hit Battery Maintenance, there is a check box that allows the software to manage your battery to maximize battery life. That's how I set up mine. Every ThinkPad I have owned has had some fluctuation in how much it charges. I wouldn't get overly excited about it unless it starts to drop a lot.

If you are going to only to use your machine while plugged in and want to preserve the battery, then discharge it to about 40% and stick it in a cool dry place like the refrigerator.

 

Zaz, i see that you are running both vista and gutsy on your R61 (as am I on my z61t).

regarding the battery charging thresholds, how do you manage your battery charging and what not when not running vista? i've noticed that the only time my thinkpad honors the thresholds is when I'm actually running Windows (or in sleep mode).

other than that (if i'm running gutsy or if my computer is turned off), it will instantly start charging the battery no matter what so long as its not at 100%.

ur thoughts?

 

I am honestly not overly attentive to those kinds of thing. When I get a new notebook, I figure I'm gonna have to buy a new battery every couple of years. Not having to pay attention to it is worth the cost of a new battery every couple of years.

 

Call Lenovo it seems like your battery is no good

 

What ZaZ wrote in page 1 of this thread regarding the nature of the battery chemical is the correct reply.

No rechargeable battery remains at a particular level infinitely; they will all drop in level over time.

My new 7 cell battery with 100% charge, detached and stored away in a cool dry location, only has 80% left after 3 months of unuse.

Both my notebooks and all corporate notebooks I came across will have batteries drops of 1% to 2% per day, even with AC adapters attached.

Hence,
- Detaching the battery does not prevent battery level drops; and
- There is nothing wrong about your battery.

 

Thanks very much for your help. I never had this problem with my Toshiba, so I was concerned. I feel better know.....

 

You are welcome.

(What you wrote about your Toshiba is in fact more worrying since it constantly charged its battery to 100%; and constant charging is unhealthy for the battery.)

 

I wouldn't bother w/this. I would just set the charging thresholds in the power manager app so that you don't continually charge the battery to 100% and so that you don't needlessly cycle the battery.

I usually have mine set so that it doesn't charge until the battery gets down to 35% and only charges to to 55%.

After all, what if you accidentally unplug the machine or need to briefly unplug it to move it somewhere?

 

My compaq sat at 99% for about 2 years, and always had the same amount of usage time. My current IBM sits at 99% also on mains power. I think it may just be a battery thing.

 

Sure, a computer will do exactly that if you're not using the Lenovo Power Manager. My wife's Dell is always at 99% too and there's not a thing I can do about it.