laptop batter light blinks when charging

[Marks256]

So i just bought a batter off of ebay for my gateway 4026gz laptop, as my old one died.

I haven't left feedback yet, as when i charge it, the new batter will stop charging at ~85%, and then the charging light will blink...

The batter lasts for about an hour then.

Any ideas about what is wrong? I tried googling it, but a bunch of dell crap came up...

 

[3v0]

I just did the same for my sub GHz dell.

My instructions sheet said to charge and discharge the battery up to 4 times to obtain full capacity. Mine stops at 96%.

 

[shokjok]

It's blinking to indicate a charging condition. You may not be able to use it when charging, risking charger failure or compromising the battery. If your charger has a specific connector, it may not be usable for other equipment.

 

[Marks256]

Ok. So i should discharge and charge it again a few times?

 

[Sceadwian]

Lithium batteries right? I will say this once, never buy lithium batteries off ebay. No matter what any other person's positive experiance says, just don't do it. Used or unused lithium batteries have a finite lifespan from the date of their creation, and it's extremely low compared to any other battery chemistry (for large capacity batteries at least, coin cells are different). Many lithium batteries on e-bay are overstocks from bulk purchases that were likely made a couple years ago, the chemistry is already aged at that point and you can never recover that lost charge capacity even if the pack is still hermetically sealed from the factory. Any way you look at it it's a crap shoot unless you can get a guaranteed date printed on the battery itself that certifies it's date of creation. There's a good chance that the battery you just bought has the same or similar date stamp as the old one, even unused it's worth about as much as your old battery. Good luck finding websites that let you decode the date stamp, everyone is different and the manufacturer is going to be less than useless.

 

[Krumlink]

MY laptop from DELL also charges to about 96-97%. It lasts about 2.5-3 hours but it is low power count. We just leave it on the AC power anyways.

 

[3v0]

Lithium batteries right? I will say this once, never buy lithium batteries off ebay.

EDIT:Mine was through Amazon. I avoid Ebay if I can get a reasonable deal elsewhere.

If the number I am looking at is the date-code it shows the battery to be 10 months old. It is charging to 96%. 4460 mAH 14.8V.

Had I purchased the battery from dell it would have cost about 3X, more then this laptop is worth to me.

 

[Marks256]

Lithium batteries right? I will say this once, never buy lithium batteries off ebay. No matter what any other person's positive experiance says, just don't do it. Used or unused lithium batteries have a finite lifespan from the date of their creation, and it's extremely low compared to any other battery chemistry (for large capacity batteries at least, coin cells are different). Many lithium batteries on e-bay are overstocks from bulk purchases that were likely made a couple years ago, the chemistry is already aged at that point and you can never recover that lost charge capacity even if the pack is still hermetically sealed from the factory. Any way you look at it it's a crap shoot unless you can get a guaranteed date printed on the battery itself that certifies it's date of creation. There's a good chance that the battery you just bought has the same or similar date stamp as the old one, even unused it's worth about as much as your old battery. Good luck finding websites that let you decode the date stamp, everyone is different and the manufacturer is going to be less than useless.

I realized this when i purchased it. If you ask me, 1 hour of batter life is better than 20 minutes from the original battery...

The battery wasn't sold new. it was a used battery. the auction said the laptop died, and they had a batter for it. It really doesn't bother me. I will be getting a new laptop in about a year anyway, so it really doesn't matter. I just wanted to be able to use my lappy when it is lightning or the power is out.

 

[Marks256]

I think 3v0 may be right. Linux shutdown my laptop due to low battery life, so i booted it back up and went into bios so it won't shutdown due to low battery.

It has been running for over half an hour now...

I did the same thing yesterday. I gained 10% battery life by doing it once, so i will do it a few more times.

 

[Marks256]

I've gained half an hour of batter life! Yay!

It is now at 1 hour 23 minutes @ 90% charge (1 hour 30 minutes at 92%)

And the light no longer blinks. Just an update.


Edit: Totally worth the 40 bucks. now i can actually USE my lappy!