problem with T61p- should I reinstall OS, replace mobo, or buy new?

Hey, long time no post (school stuff and whatnot). I've had a huge problem with my T61p and dont know what to do.

This past weekend, I was at a school event (an orientation) and I was operating my T61p at a desk on a carpeted floor. I was charging the battery (plugged in with a 90w A/C adapter and a replacement FRU battery (to be specific: http://cgi.ebay.com/Battery-for-Lenovo-IBM-Thinkpad-T60-T61-R60-Z60-Z61M-Z_W0QQitemZ370152149353QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item370152149353&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1234|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1308|301:1|293:1|294:50 )

When we had a meeting, I left it to charge in a classroom and locked the door. At the time, the battery had 56% charge- After returning to the room 45 minutes later, the LED stating the battery status was green, but I checked and the battery was still at 56% charge..... I was confused- so i removed the battery and put it back- still to no charge. I then unplugged the computer, and it shut down instantly as if there was no battery. I was even more confused, so I went to Thinkvantage Power Manager and clicked on the "Battery" tab. It stated (and still states) as follows:

Battery Condition: Good
Status: Charging
Remaining percentage: 56 %
Charge Completion Time: -
Current: 0.00 A
Voltage: 11.59 V
Wattage: -

My computer won't boot on 56 % battery alone, and if i unplug it with a battery installed, it cuts off, while the OS still recognizes that a battery (with half-charge) is installed. Was the charging mechanism on the motherboard fried (maybe a short), and if so, what need i do? Can I send it and get this fixed, or would it be a better deal to buy a refurb or a new machine? I really need some advice here on what the problem is and/or what my next course of action should be. Thanks in advance!

 

The battery is defective. It's a non-OEM - Never buy them unless REALLY recommended. Go out and buy a Lenovo genuine battery and your system will work.

 

I'm interested in where how you came to those solutions, but for what it's worth, here's my thoughts.

If there's any way you can borrow/use a known working battery and charger, swap out each of yours so you can rule them out as problems. I reckon it'll be one of the two, but that's the only way to prove it.

If you're still getting the problem with a good battery/charger, you may have more of a problem like the mobo, but I don't have a lot of experience with that.

Just out of interest, if you plug just the charger in, does it read all ok?

I'm thinking the battery's malfunctioned (non OEM's *do* have a bit of a history), and if it all reads ok when on only charger, then that's what the problem should be.

 

I have a known working 90w Lenovo charger and I tested it with a 65w Lenovo charger, and they both read that the battery is installed and that there is a 0.00 A current towards the battery, as well as reading "-" towards the wattage (as seen above). If I remove the battery, it continues as it were on A/C power, but if I remove the A/C adapter, it cuts off as if there was no battery installed, though the system detects a half-charged non-OEM six-cell battery present in the system.

BTW- rep to you guys!

 

Cheers lol...

What I mean is, what does the software detect when you have a known charger, and no battery installed?

The power taskbar icon and/or Thinkvantage - do they just detect the charger and no battery as you would expect?

If so, you might wanna claim warranty on that battery. (Pretty sure I read something about it on the ebay link you posted).

 

Real T61p replacement battery has a chip in the battery that is compatible with the T61p. See if you can return it and buy one that will work.

 

The software reads that I'm on A/C power and no battery is installed, and the same goes for the Power Manager. Those work perfectly fine- and I tested with the 65w adapter that my dad has on his 14.1" widescreen T61 and it works as well...my charger is one that I bought from the Lenovo site after losing mine at a LAN party

Would you recommend me claiming warranty on the battery and getting another lackluster non-OEM product, or splurging for the $129 to buy a new Lenovo product?


(by the way, thanks for all the help- I'm a Thinkpad aficionado but I've never had non-OEM parts (and being a high school student, I wanted a cheaper battery than the $129 asking price on Lenovo's site)

 

Don't waste your time. Buy an OEM battery.

 

I'm afraid we don't have enough info yet like you never said what the cpu was? How can any one tell you whether to sell the cpu or not?

 

The CPU is fine, why does it matter?

besides, the specs are all in my sig.

I was mainly wondering about the motherboard because on many cheap computers, this sort of thing can happen. But I ran diagnostics, and it's fine.

 

Well if the cpu does't matter to you, I guess that says it all. You read sigs?
-Renee

 

Return the battery - advertising a battery like that as compatible is misleading. Explain to the seller what has happened, and that it is a non-compatible battery (raise the issue of compatibility chips in certain batteries that SonDa mentioned). If you have any problems, raise a dispute claim through EBay or Paypal, though you might have passed the length of time you can do that in.

You may have to write the cost off as bad luck - but try to be diplomatic about it and the seller will be more inclined to listen.

Get your money back if you can, (if you can't, that sucks, but them's the breaks) and buy an OEM battery.

 

Erm, think you may have gotten the wrong idea, the OP was asking whether to replace his motherboard (if the charging circuit's fried).

It's already been established that the problem is the battery, and he gave us plenty of information.

And yes, if you are offering someone help, it's perfectly reasonable to expect you'd read the specs in their signature - that's partly why it's there.

 

Sorry for the hassle guys.......and thanks for all the help! Rep for all!

I ordered my battery off the Lenovo website, and I'll get back if there are any problems.

 

Dear Druginov21.

Look at the title of thread and see if you make the same statement?
Help in the computer field is non-obvious. For example, the battery's life has a lot to do with whether you are supporting a T-9600 or a 2.1 ghz machine. I had a T-9600 in my T-61g. I know.

 

Nice one. Update us when you get it

 

btw- thanks for the help Renee, but the T9600 isn't a compatible processor in the T61p