sony sz650n/c battery discharges like mad

If I charge my battery to 100%. Turn off completely and unplug, after 48 hours the battery is at 80%. Are you guys seeing this too?

 

That's not normal ... you are seeing 80% charge after 48 hours of non use?

How old is the battery? Wear cycles? Regardless, you should probably call Sony and request a different battery.

 

It's a new laptop. I'm not sure if the problem is with the battery or with the laptop. I'll have to fully charge the battery and remove it from the laptop.

 

Almost makes me wonder if there's not a short or parasitic drain.

 

I'm having the exact same problem with my 650 I just bought. Between this and the insane amount of bloatware, I am not amused so far.

 

My new CR 220 does the same thing. Perhaps it takes that much power to open again to check the battery status???????

 

That's one wicked bootup then, especially since I'm in powersave settings.

 

That sounds about right, even on my SZ160.

 

Same problem here, I lose 12 percent per day, I will charge it at night up to 100%, shut down windows and make sure the computer is completely off.I will then check it exactly 24 hours later and my battery is down to 88 percent.My sz650 is only two weeks old, but I am guessing I will need to return the whole notebook before sony would actually send me a replacement battery.A shame since the computer is perfect other than the crappy battery, no dead pixels or anything.

 

If I charge my battery to 100%, then unplug and boot it up, it drops to an indicated 90% just starting up. I bought it in Singapore, and I am here at the moment, so I will take it to the Sony gallery/service centre this afternoon and have a whinge. It doesn't seem right does it.

 

Sony SZ batteries are horrible to say the least, and it's unfortunate they haven't fixed this problem after six iterations of this series. You'll be lucky if yours lasts over a year, and don't be surprised if it suddenly dies on you, as it has happened to many people before, including me. To extend the battery life as much as possible, I suggest to take it out of its slot while being powered by AC, unless it needs to be charged.

 

I did a battery exchange at bestbuy last night and will let you know if it makes any difference with my CR 220 rapid discharge. The geek squad didnt see anything obviously wrong and stated that loosing 10/12 percent overnight is normal in their opinion...... I dont like the battery being so loose while installed either. I thought a different battery would correct this problem. Anyone elses batteries loose while installed???

 

I have exactly the same problem with my vaio SZ3, it looses aproximately 10% in 12 hours, with the notebook completely off.
But when i take out the battery it didn't loose anything.
I tried a lot of possible solutions, but anything worked.

As i see this is very normal in SZ series.

 

I have the same exact issue with my new SZ680. Apparently the ESP does not cover batteries, so now I have to call Sony Service and probably send the machine back for a THIRD TIME just to get a battery swapped out.

Before I go through this process I would be interested in hearing whether or not a battery replacement has fixed this issue for anyone else?

 

According to reviews the loose battery is normal with the CR series.

 

Hello

If you changed your battery for 100% and left it for 48 hr at 80% . how long does your battery last at that point.

 

The problem is *not* with the battery. I removed the battery from my laptop. 48 hours later it was down to 95%. This is COMPLETELY NORMAL.

However, leave the battery in the laptop for 48 hours (completely off) and it is drained to 80% which is COMPLETELY WHACK. The problem is with the laptop draining the battery... the battery is fine.

 

Of course, the problem is with the laptop, but how can we solve this??
with a new Bios update?

I'm getting crazy with this!

 

Scary part is, I doubt sony is aware of this issue.It took about 10000 people calling in and complaining before they even finaly acknowledged to the touch pad electrical shock fiasco.

 

My replacement battery made NO difference in the discharge rate, (10/12% overnight).. In fact, after charging and getting a reading of 100% before disconnecting, I immediately reopened the CR220 and guess what, it showed only 91% after bootup. That seems to indicate that every time I open on battery power, it uses at least 9/10% just to bootup. Also, thanks for verifying that the loose battery issue is a normal condition for this model.

 

I also tried downgrading to windows xp, and the same happens.

i think this could be an internal circuit failure

 

Exactly what mine does. Sony Singapore has my battery at the moment after I questioned the same issue, thinking I may have had a dud cell. They will probably tell me there is nothing wrong with it and charge me $60. I tried turning my machine on and off several times over a 1 hour period and was basically able to flatten the battery. I must say, I am VERY disappointed with Sony, and wouldn't buy one again. They also told me when I bought that the Speed/Stamina switch only required a system restart the first time you used it. Yeah.........right. 6 &1/2 hours battery life, my a**.

 

I have a SZ160 and I have original battery and it works just fine...and it has been used for 18 months about now.

 

How long does it last per charge now, on average? Mine only lasted about 10 to 15 minutes on a full charge right before it died.

 

The loose battery condition can be resolved by sticking the fuzzy side of some velcro on battery. I use a half inch square on each of the sides at the bottom. [o o] <--like so

 

Well I have only a week and a half to return mine, so I guess it will be going back, I havent decided wether or not I will get another SZ or try an asus.I really dont want to get another sz and have the same battery problem.One wierd thing I noticed is that when the battery charges the green light slowly flashes until the battery gets to about 90 percent.Then it doesnt flash at all anymore but it still says charging so I am not sure it is being properly charged.

 

I dont find the loose battery is a problem. just slightly annoying.

Battery discharge while the laptop is off: Try removing the battery for the night and then put it back in in the morning and see if the discharge is still apparent. Also if you have a multimeter check the battery terminals while its off and see if there is any power being drawn out.

 

Mine loses charge immediately, I will charge to 100 percent, turn the computer off unplug it and immediately turn it back on and I just lost 6 percent off my battery just rebooting.I believe this is probably a bios or vista problem, since I know Im not losing 6 percent in 15 seconds I must assume that either the software is not correctly detecting the battery charge, it could be charged at 100 percent but the software is giving an inaccuarte reading, or the battery is not being fully charged to 100 percent for some reason.One this is certain, If I leave a fully charged battery in the notebook when it is completely off I will lose 12 percent in 12 hours.I will take my battery out tonight and see how much I lose in 24 hours.

 

Have you tried flashing the BIOS, or calibrating the battery?

 

By calibrating the battery do you mean completely drain it to 0 then charge it back to 100 percent?Yes I tried that, doesnt help though.I might try upgrading the bios if there is an updated one to flash to.

 

There is an updated European BIOS that some people have flashed (even a few that have N.A. models). It supposedly fixes the incorrect resolution when waking from sleep bug.

 

The geek squad guys sound like a bunch of morons or they are just flat out lying to you, both I'm guessing.All of the notebooks I have ever owned usually loose 1 to 2 percent per day when they are new or even a couple months old.Losing 10 to 12 percent per day for a new computer is not normal, don't let them BS you, I would exchange the computer for a new one if you can and if the new one does the same thing I would attempt to get a refund.On a side note, never buy anything expensive from best buy, they have the absolute worst CS in the business.

 

Bump

Anyone get anywhere with this? From what I've gathered this has always been an issue with the SZ's...hopefully that's not actually the case and there will be a fix.

I'm going to try and give Sony a call next week.

 

It is not a problem with all sony SZs, my girlfriend also has an SZ650 and her battery does not have this problem, she loses 2 to 3 percent a day, mine seems to be losing about 1 percent per hour now, completely turned so I am definately returning mine.

 

Well, I got my battery back from Sony Singapore, they reckon they tested it and there was nothing (they could find) wrong with it. Looks like the SZ is a battery life lemon. 10% loss just booting up is a joke. So much for Sony.

 

I guess your sz is not real new?Did your battery always lose its charge that fast?

 

You guys are missing the point... the problem is not the battery, it's the laptop.

 

Well, it's 10 weeks old. To me, that's pretty new. But, Sony has checked it and reckon there is nothing wrong with it, so I guess I'm buggered.

 

I had this problem in a SZ650NC back in January and sent it back. I had to wait 8 weeks and they replaced my unit with a SZ750NC. Guess what, same problem. I just got off the phone with Sony and they said the problem "might" be fixed if I reinstall the Control Driver and utilities (SOAOTH-42600000-US.EXE):

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VGNSZ750NC&upd_id=3421&os_id=29

I'll let you know if it works.

-David

 

I feel really sorry for you guys...
I personnally have a SZ650NC and can let my battery days, no dropping at all, not even 1%....
Anyway, try removing your battery from the laptop when not using it...
Good luck...

 

Well at least you got a new computer out of it. They replaced your 650 because of this battery issue? I don't imagine they'll give everyone new laptops just because of this? If so, I'm hoping I have the same problem(kinda) I wouldn't mind getting a 750. I'm going to check my battery tonight.

 

When you wrote of no drop in battery over days, I don't know how many days you refer to.

My ThinkPad batteries will, on average, lose 1% over 3 days interval. Even Wikipedia and Battery University acknowledge that lithium-ion battery loses power retention when not in use.

You can claim of NO battery level drop at all ? This implies that Wikipedia and Battery University are wrong in their claims ?

I suspect your battery is no longer showing the correct reading. I suggest it's time that you re-calibrate your battery.


rgds.

 

I often let it out of my laptop for more than a week at 80% (using battery care) and when I put it back still 80%....
I just did to check before posting (battery was removed like 4days ago) and still 80%...
Battery has been used no more than 10 times, since I use my laptop as a desktop replacement...
By recalibrating you mean full discharge then full recharge?

 

funny!
I would love to get mine updated too...
But honestly it runs perfectly well so why fix it??
I could get something worse... :s

 

I have an SZ650 and the battery does discharge when you leave it in the computer when turned off. To prevent the battery discharging you must remove the battery from the laptop when it is turned off. I also contacted Sony about this and they said it was within their acceptable standards and that I had to either return the laptop if I was unsatisifed or use it as-is.

Mine discharges 5% over 12 hours or so (maybe less). Note that simply turning on the laptop on battery will take 6% of the battery. (i.e. if fully charged, powering on the laptop on battery will show 94% remaining when vista finally loads -- on my computer anyways).

 

Well I was talking about REMOVING the battery of the laptop, I never let it in when at home...
I'll try to put it back and restart my laptop just to see...

 

Well updating the drivers and utilities didn't do a thing. The battery still discharges >10% in 24hrs.

As far as the suggestion to remove the battery... I didn't pay close to $2k to have to pull the battery out of the laptop.

So back it goes. A really nice laptop but I like my equipment to "work" when it's new.
-David

 

That is not normal for a laptop or the battery. It's a design flaw in the m/b. If the problem doesn't occur when you pull the battery then the conclusion is obvious. Of course Sony is going to say it isn't a problem. I had a problem like this years ago with a Dell Latitude. After the m/b was replaced the problem went away.

 

Thanks for the elaboration.

It is abnormal for a Li-Ion battery to maintain its same power level after more than a week as you wrote. The typical Li-Ion battery has a self-discharge rate of 10% per month. This translates to 1% over 3 days period, which is what I observed on both my ThinkPad batteries.

Proof of this can be found in the folowing link when you scroll down to the section on "Performance Comparison" :
http://www.lumicycle.com/CMS.aspx?MIS=36

According to Battery University, "To calibrate a battery, a full charge and discharge is necessary. One without the other does not constitute a calibration.".

With respect to your battery storage at 80%, this is NOT advisable given that your SZ is used mainly as a desktop replacement.

Sony is not alone in its battery charge limit at 80%. Panasonic also adopts this practice to its Toughbook 7 Series. The rationale is that battery shelf-life at 80% is longer than that if the battery is kept constant at 100% charge level. When the battery is needed at short notice, it takes under 30 mins to bring it up to 100% from 80%.

Sony and Panasonic take the view that the battery may be needed at short notice and hence recommended 80% as their stand-by level. However, your circumstances is that of using your machine as a desktop replacement. Hence, to preserve your battery over the long-term the appropriate level should be 40% to 60% (not 80% anymore).

Proof of this can be found in the following link when you scroll down to the section on "Guidelines for prolonging Li-ion battery life" :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery

Hope that the above will clarify. I believe you need to re-calibrate your battery as its reading is now inaccurate.


rgds.

 

You are maybe right...
I just shut my computer down, then replaced the battery and rebooted...
My battery went from 80% down to 79%...
But anyway I'll do the recalibrating thing and let you know...
Oh and I have a question...
My laptop seems more responsive while connected to AC adaptor than when on battery... Is that normal? (note that the power plan remains the same)