cf28 with red flashing battery indicator

My cf-28 now has a red flashing battery indicator. I have had to disable the software low battery shutdown - because it thinks the battery is dead every few seconds. In fact (although the computer doesn't seem to know this) battery charging and use otherwise seem pretty normal. Clearly something is not happy with this machine now - can anyone give me some clues of what is broken?

Thanks in advance!

 

Replace the battery. They do wear out over time, and they do exactly what you said. I had one that would never change from red while power was attached...

Search eBay for part number: CF-VZSU18B . There is a guy selling them (WilliamJ) that has brand new batteries for a damn good deal, and I've personally bought 4 batteries in total from him (including a secondary).

That's the best deal in batteries you can get.

 

Second that - no fighting an old battery - you will get better performance as well - lot of these batteries are over five years old and that is a long time in battery technology - They also have a chip in them that tells the computer a lot more info than windows gives you - Linux Ubuntu will actually give more detailed info on the battery - I have looked at some of my old batteries even ones that show good lights and they just don't take a good charge - it has just gotten to the point that the computer knows it is no good. I have also had good luck with Batteryrefill.com - their is a thread that discusses them as well.
Good luck -

 

Thanks guys.

I've ordered a replacement battery. Hope it does the trick.

Thanks again!

 

If you are a handy person you can rebuild these yourself. If the battery shows orange BEFORE it flashes red then you can cut it open and refill with new batteries... 18650 I believe. It is a little tricky to solder everything so it fits back into the case it came out of but you can get the hang of it. Once rebuilt with quality batteries... Refresh them a few times and you won't believe how long your laptop will go!

The cost difference is almost half. New 2200Ah batteries cost about $50 shipped for 9 of them.

Something to think about....

 

Toughbook, I may try that with my one battery if I can figure out how to open it successfully. The one that was red only, I screwed the hell out of it's case opening it.

 

Hey Modly,
Haven't seen you posting much lately; wondered if you were ok?

There are some folks posting with questions that sound like they could use a Modly fix.

I have the same question about opening a 29 battery, it looks like I could seriously destroy it trying to open it.

Maybe TB has discovered a way to do it.

 

modly, cut the batt with a utility knife down the seam on outside edge. careful not to deep on conn/circuit board end. toughbook, where did you find to purchase cells? i gave up and sent the batt to batteryrefill.com thanks

 

Could you post a photo of where to cut on the connector end?

 

48user has it pretty much right... At least how I do it. I use a heavy x-acto knife and CAREFULLY score down the seams. It takes about 5-6 heavy passes until it will finally start to break apart... At least in one spot. Then you can use a screwdriver to pry it open the rest of the way around. If you get to a tough spot (You will!) then you need to break out the x-acto knife again and make a few more scores. Then it will FINALLY come apart. Then... You have the super adhesive tape on both sides of the inside sticking to the battery. They are VERY well constructed. Then you need to unsolder the 4 leads (White, black, red & yellow) and remove the circuit board. Solder all of the cells together using the one you took out as a template. THEN cut away what you need from the old battery to make the final connections on the new battery. The secret is fine soldering on the tabs that get folded between the batteries. They can touch since they are soldered together... But you can't leave a big blob of solder in there... The MUST fit flat together.

I buy my cells on ebay. There are a few sellers that started offering them in packs of 9 but several of them who sell four packs will sell you two plus an extra one. I plan on buying 36 next time I buy... Which will be in a few minutes!

 

Yeah, I've just been rebuilding my transmission and focusing on learning how to do it. I've been reading alot (I haven't had my nose in a book in at least 10 years before the last few weeks), and trying to inspect every part as well as I can.

This weekend I should be around more, but that's because I'm now waiting for my parts to arrive

The plus side is, Now I've pulled that carcass of a dead tranny out of my hearse... And it's hacked into pieces on my bench at work

Wait, that came out so wrong.

But it means that the hearse will live again soon!

 

Glad you're ok Modly

 

modly, i've watched trannys get pulled apart and rebuilt for the last 13 years and dabbled a little myself. sure glad i'm the electrical/drivability guy!---good luck

 

Trannys and carbs... Two things I won't go near! Everything else is cake!

 

I'm willing to tackle almost everything. I just wish I could learn how to do upholstery... but I can't even properly fix my pants when they get holes in them, so I think I'll screw that one up.

At least now my car will have been built 100% by my brother and I, and between the two of us, our experience has covered everything except the previously mentioned upholstery (neither of us took home-ec).

 

You guys are SUCH a bad influence on me. After reading TB's instructions, I cut open a dead 'no-name' battery to see what was there. Wasn't too difficult - TB's instructions are excellent. (Again!!)

I went online and ordered a set from this e-store. http://tinyurl.com/2eq8r2 It was 9 LG 18650 3.6V 2600mAh Li-Ion batteries for just under $50 with shipping. I'm willing to gamble that the battery will work even though the circuit isn't properly 'conditioned'. We'll see.

When they arrive, I'll have to dig out the electronic solder and get to work. Any suggestions on the cleanest way to put the case halves back together?

 

You guys may want to look into local battery manufactures. There are always local companies that make custom batteries and they will refurbish you old batteries.

I have used http://www.totalbattery.com/ for this sort of thing in the past.

 

mngunner, what they use is first an adheasive primer and let dry then the adheasive. check loctite and 3m brand catalogs.==========================rayford booth, all local batt rebuilders will not sell idividual cells to us common folk, it is just recently we can get them from ebay. not to mention we don't want to pay for what we have the ability to repair.

 

ahh when i had a special battery refurbished i looked into buying cells and then looked at what it was going to cost for them to do it. The cost difference was minimal.

In the end, if you want to be able to say i rebuilt the battery yourself, well thats good. If you want a battery refurbished without the hassle, the cost is minimal. At least it was in my case.

 

Will do - I know some folks who use adhesives in a manufacturing setting and I'll check in with them. Thanks!!

 

Gunner -

There are two ways I'll put them together; usually I'll just use some 2" wide shipping tape to hold it all together for the first couple weeks on a newly-rebuilt pack, just to make sure it's happy & healthy with no funky (Or accidentally shorted/bypassed) cells; then if it's going to be swapped a lot I'll run down the edges applying pressure with the smooth round shaft of a #2 philips screwdriver to burnish the edges so they meet up close... then I put them back together with superglue & hold it all together with rubber bands. Most modern battery pack housings are made of polycarbonate based plastic, which glues well with superglue.

mnem
Oh great... I've superglued my tail in the battery again... A LITTLE HELP PLEASE?!?!?

 

Sounds like a good plan. I'll follow your advice, including the packaging tape on a temporary basis. I know that there are some super glues out there that are gap filling - might be a good choice for this type of work as long as I'm careful not to put too much on.

As far as help with your tail -- I may be a newbie, but I ain't THAT new!! You're on your own there, big fella!!

 

A trick that I learned from repairing broken rifle and shotgun stocks: Apply the adhesive to the parts to be glued and then wrap them with surgical tubing. You can get complete coverage and can adjust the amount of tension applied to the parts.

 

Plus, it gives you an excuse to go flirt with... err, schmooze the nurses for some surgical tubing...

mnem
Nurses are DELICIOUS!

 

I'm glad I set you guys off on an interesting discussion about rebuilding batteries - I may try that myself in due course.

However, thanks a million for the advice, my cf28 is now happy with its new battery. I didn't post sooner to avoid tempting fate - but its working for a month now so...

Thanks again

Tim