On my laptop (ASUS 8400 series), the second Li-ion battery failed after 2
years (the first had lasted 2 1/2 years), so I ordered another. This charged
to 70% at first and then its maximum charge declined by 3% per day down to
0% over 3 weeks. I returned it and was sent another which charged to 56% and
then did the same 3% per day decline. A third battery was sent which charged
to 80% and first but declined like the others. I sent it back when it was
reaching 56%.

The battery charging light would go out when the 'capacity' was reached.

The company tested this third battery and say it charged to 90%, 96% and
100% in three consequtive tests and is not therefore faulty. They are
proposing to refund my money anyway.

My question is - does this behaviour reflect a failing charging circuit on
my laptop or is something else going on? The three recent batteries were
from a company that I have not dealt with before and look like chinese
copies. The first replacement (that lasted 2 years) was a MrBattery unit
supplied by the notebook supplier. Should I try and get one of these again
or am I likely to be wasting my money? (a battery costs about 30-50% of the
current value of the machine)...

FWIW the behaviour was the same under Linux and Windows.

Any comments appreciated

Dave

"Dave" <daveandniki@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:455f0d38$0$5111$ba4acef3@news.orange.fr
> On my laptop (ASUS 8400 series), the second Li-ion battery failed
> after 2 years (the first had lasted 2 1/2 years), so I ordered
> another. This charged to 70% at first and then its maximum charge
> declined by 3% per day down to 0% over 3 weeks. I returned it and was
> sent another which charged to 56% and then did the same 3% per day
> decline. A third battery was sent which charged to 80% and first but
> declined like the others. I sent it back when it was reaching 56%.
>
> The battery charging light would go out when the 'capacity' was
> reached.
> The company tested this third battery and say it charged to 90%, 96%
> and 100% in three consequtive tests and is not therefore faulty. They
> are proposing to refund my money anyway.
>
> My question is - does this behaviour reflect a failing charging
> circuit on my laptop or is something else going on? The three recent
> batteries were from a company that I have not dealt with before and
> look like chinese copies. The first replacement (that lasted 2 years)
> was a MrBattery unit supplied by the notebook supplier. Should I try
> and get one of these again or am I likely to be wasting my money? (a
> battery costs about 30-50% of the current value of the machine)...
>
> FWIW the behaviour was the same under Linux and Windows.
>
> Any comments appreciated

First off, do you need a battery in your laptop? Mine usually runs on AC
24/7. And if you leave the battery in the laptop all of the time, they
will normally die in about 2 years. Best to leave them out and just
charge them every 6 months or so.

And if yours stays put on AC a lot like mine does. It is best to invest
in a UPS instead of laptop batteries anyway. Save your laptop batteries
when you really need portable power. They will last over 10 years this
way. Probably longer than you are going to use the laptop anyway. ;)

And no comment about your recent suppy of batteries or your charging
system. As it is hard to say what could be wrong at this point of time.
They could have old batteries or your charger isn't working right.

--
Bill

Dave,

Do you mind if I ask where you bought your replacement battery? This is
out of self interest - I'd like to know what kind of quality you are
getting from different places.

Thanks,
Patrick
http://www.batteryfuel.com

BillW50 wrote:
> "Dave" <daveandniki@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> news:455f0d38$0$5111$ba4acef3@news.orange.fr
> > On my laptop (ASUS 8400 series), the second Li-ion battery failed
> > after 2 years (the first had lasted 2 1/2 years), so I ordered
> > another. This charged to 70% at first and then its maximum charge
> > declined by 3% per day down to 0% over 3 weeks. I returned it and was
> > sent another which charged to 56% and then did the same 3% per day
> > decline. A third battery was sent which charged to 80% and first but
> > declined like the others. I sent it back when it was reaching 56%.
> >
> > The battery charging light would go out when the 'capacity' was
> > reached.
> > The company tested this third battery and say it charged to 90%, 96%
> > and 100% in three consequtive tests and is not therefore faulty. They
> > are proposing to refund my money anyway.
> >
> > My question is - does this behaviour reflect a failing charging
> > circuit on my laptop or is something else going on? The three recent
> > batteries were from a company that I have not dealt with before and
> > look like chinese copies. The first replacement (that lasted 2 years)
> > was a MrBattery unit supplied by the notebook supplier. Should I try
> > and get one of these again or am I likely to be wasting my money? (a
> > battery costs about 30-50% of the current value of the machine)...
> >
> > FWIW the behaviour was the same under Linux and Windows.
> >
> > Any comments appreciated
>
> First off, do you need a battery in your laptop? Mine usually runs on AC
> 24/7. And if you leave the battery in the laptop all of the time, they
> will normally die in about 2 years. Best to leave them out and just
> charge them every 6 months or so.
>
> And if yours stays put on AC a lot like mine does. It is best to invest
> in a UPS instead of laptop batteries anyway. Save your laptop batteries
> when you really need portable power. They will last over 10 years this
> way. Probably longer than you are going to use the laptop anyway. ;)
>
> And no comment about your recent suppy of batteries or your charging
> system. As it is hard to say what could be wrong at this point of time.
> They could have old batteries or your charger isn't working right.
>
> --
> Bill