Hello, everyone, and after much Googling I couldn't find any leads on my
problem: I recently replaced the battery in my ThinkPad A30 with a new
one that I purchased from Laptops For Less. The battery charges OK and
I've run it through one discharge cycle. At the end of the charge the
IBM Battery MaxiMizer Gauge on the WinXP task tray shows 100% charged
but the charge level indicator never stops blinking green. Even after
many hours on AC power I never obtain a solid green indicator. I can
probably live with the blinking as long as the battery provides decent
performance. Thanks for your time and any comment on this matter.
Sincerely,

"J.B. Wood" <john.wood@nrl.navy.mil> wrote in message
news:elppt9$5kk$1@ra.nrl.navy.mil...
> Hello, everyone, and after much Googling I couldn't find any leads on my
> problem: I recently replaced the battery in my ThinkPad A30 with a new one
> that I purchased from Laptops For Less. The battery charges OK and I've
> run it through one discharge cycle. At the end of the charge the IBM
> Battery MaxiMizer Gauge on the WinXP task tray shows 100% charged but the
> charge level indicator never stops blinking green. Even after many hours
> on AC power I never obtain a solid green indicator. I can probably live
> with the blinking as long as the battery provides decent performance.
> Thanks for your time and any comment on this matter. Sincerely,

I assume that the previous battery worked OK (other than being knackered).

It sounds like the battery monitor circuit is not signalling when the
battery is charged. This means that the battery may be being overcharged.
This is a dangerous condition, because overcharged batteries can explode
(check the videos of the exploding Sony batteries). I would suggest that
you contact the vendor for a replacement without delay.

M.I.5¾ wrote:
> "J.B. Wood" <john.wood@nrl.navy.mil> wrote in message
> news:elppt9$5kk$1@ra.nrl.navy.mil...
>
>>Hello, everyone, and after much Googling I couldn't find any leads on my
>>problem: I recently replaced the battery in my ThinkPad A30 with a new one
>>that I purchased from Laptops For Less. The battery charges OK and I've
>>run it through one discharge cycle. At the end of the charge the IBM
>>Battery MaxiMizer Gauge on the WinXP task tray shows 100% charged but the
>>charge level indicator never stops blinking green. Even after many hours
>>on AC power I never obtain a solid green indicator. I can probably live
>>with the blinking as long as the battery provides decent performance.
>>Thanks for your time and any comment on this matter. Sincerely,
>
>
> I assume that the previous battery worked OK (other than being knackered).
>
> It sounds like the battery monitor circuit is not signalling when the
> battery is charged. This means that the battery may be being overcharged.
> This is a dangerous condition, because overcharged batteries can explode
> (check the videos of the exploding Sony batteries). I would suggest that
> you contact the vendor for a replacement without delay.
>
>
From some of the things I've read, you are right. The battery monitor
system isn't compatible with the battery. I read in a thinkpad forum
where IBM changed the code in the BIOS and many (or most) aftermarket
batteries don't work right.

I have a A30 that had a bad battery. I could 'borrow' the one from my
wife's machine and it worked great. I bought two batteries from
Batteries.com. They charge up OK and run the laptop fine, but you learn
to ignore the meter. When they are charged the green battery light will
blink. If you leave the machine alone (on the charger) for a day or so,
the battery light will be a blinking orange. If you check in the
control panel, the power indicator will show the battery 90-100%
charged.. If you pull the battery for a few seconds and reinstall it,
it's back to blinking green on the indicator. I called the company and
they replaced both batteries, no questions asked. Unfortunately, the
replacements act exactly the same.

After a bit you just ignore the indicator (black tape would work too!).
I understand you can go back to a earlier battery monitor program, but
I haven't done it.

John

jw wrote:
> M.I.5¾ wrote:
> From some of the things I've read, you are right. The battery monitor
> system isn't compatible with the battery. I read in a thinkpad forum
> where IBM changed the code in the BIOS and many (or most) aftermarket
> batteries don't work right.
>
> I have a A30 that had a bad battery. I could 'borrow' the one from my
> wife's machine and it worked great. I bought two batteries from
> Batteries.com. They charge up OK and run the laptop fine, but you learn
> to ignore the meter. When they are charged the green battery light will
> blink. If you leave the machine alone (on the charger) for a day or so,
> the battery light will be a blinking orange. If you check in the
> control panel, the power indicator will show the battery 90-100%
> charged.. If you pull the battery for a few seconds and reinstall it,
> it's back to blinking green on the indicator. I called the company and
> they replaced both batteries, no questions asked. Unfortunately, the
> replacements act exactly the same.
>
> After a bit you just ignore the indicator (black tape would work too!).
> I understand you can go back to a earlier battery monitor program, but
> I haven't done it.
>
> John

Hello, John, and that's exactly what's happening with my Laptops For
Less battery. In the case of the A30 ThinkPad I'm wondering whether it
has more to do with compatibility issues with the Embedded Controller
Program than the BIOS. I currently have versions 1.08 and 1.19 of the
Embedded Controller Program and BIOS, respectively, installed. It
appears as though the charging circuit is not being disabled when the
battery is fully charged even though the MaxiMiser battery info display
shows "0.00A" going into the battery. With 100% charge and using the AC
adapter I think this should be reported as "Battery-No Activity" with
the current, voltage and wattage fields blank. Sincerely,

I think it is the fault of ibm battery indicator system or the battery itself, I don't think the battery will be over charged because the battery has protecting system unless it is a bad one.
a simple way to detect whether it is fullly charged is : touch battery switching wall power on after cool down the battery, if it become hot, it do the charging process. but i don't suggest replacement IBM battery site like http://www.laptopbatteryshop.co.uk/l...teries/ibm.htm although items at low cost. and it is always the truth old laptops's suppor service can hardly be found.