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    Toasted T400 Battery

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by MSGX, Apr 10, 2009.

  1. MSGX

    MSGX Newbie

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    I bought a t400 around December I believe so its still covered under warranty. I set the battery to charge when its below 45% and stop charging at 60% since its plugged in most of the time. When I use the laptop without plugging in the wall adapter the battery dies out fast. I did the battery reset and it said the battery is in poor condition. It would say 50% battery left and then shut down. Seems like the battery keeps getting worse every day. i just bought the thing and the battery is dead already. What are my options at this point. Does warranty cover something like this?
    What could have messed up the battery in the first place?

    Thanks for your time
     
    MSGX, Apr 10, 2009
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  2. firefox360

    firefox360 Notebook Enthusiast

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    The battery could definitely be a dud. Ideally, when you leave the laptop plugged in for long periods of time, you should pull the battery out rather than leave it in. However, the details you provide suggest that there is probably something wrong with the battery.

    I would suggest that you call Lenovo and explain the problem to them. I think that it should be covered by the warranty.
     
    firefox360, Apr 11, 2009
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  3. MSGX

    MSGX Newbie

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    Thanks for the reply I will give them a call up to see what my options are.
     
    MSGX, Apr 12, 2009
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  4. jonlumpkin

    jonlumpkin NBR Transmogrifier

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    Give the battery a full cycle (drain to 10% or less, and charge to 100%).

    Then open power manager, switch to advanced view, and go to the battery tab. Then post your Full Charge Capacity and the "Design Capacity" for that battery. That will tell you if the battery is bad (it sounds like it is).

    Overall, I think your maintenance plan (45% to 60% thresholds) is appropriate for your usage, and removing the battery is unnecessary.
     
    jonlumpkin, Apr 12, 2009
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  5. MSGX

    MSGX Newbie

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    Full Capacity charge is 38.6 Wh and Design Capacity is 84.24 Wh. Condition is poor so yea this battery is toasted good.
     
    MSGX, Apr 12, 2009
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  6. jonlumpkin

    jonlumpkin NBR Transmogrifier

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    You can do a deep cycle (disable automatic hibernation) and drain it to 0%, then recharge to 100%. This may cause a substantial change in the reported full capacity.

    However, it will not make up for the substantial discrepancy in your battery. You should CALL AND GET IT REPLACED, as that is well below any normal degradation for 4 months use.
     
    jonlumpkin, Apr 12, 2009
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