T61 and prior T series ThinkPad Laptops

[#1]

Hi,

I had purchased a T61 in May last year. I purchased extra battery to get more juice for my machine (the ones that protrude at the back). I had almost 5-6 hours of backup when the battery was new. I maintain my batteries well and till last week I had 4 hours of backup, but suddenly one morning the battery went dead. The indicator is blinking yellow and battery went from 4 hours to 0 in a single day. I checked with recall program tool, and I am not a part of it, but I am sure that something is wrong with my battery and it is not natural decay of the battery. I have tried unplugging and putting the battery back in. The power manager gives message "A battery error has occured"

Battery Details:

Cycle Time: 157

Bar Code:1ZEA684FVX9

FRU part: 42T4530

Can someone help me on what options do I have? I called up customer care and they said I am out of warranty since April, so they cant do anything. But I am sure going from 4 hours to 0 in 1 day is not natural death of the battery.

Thanks,

Ricky

[#2]

Thank you so much for the link  to the Lenovo battery recall.

Even though my T60 battery was NOT listed (the numbers were very close, but not a match) after downloading  and running the battery utility, Lenovo says my unlisted battery IS qualified, then going through the rest of the steps, (email address, name, shipping address, etc.,--- GOOD HEAVENS! They say they will send a replacement!!!

HINT-HinT

I encourage anyone with T60's or 61's to run the utility, particularly if they now have a 9 cell extended life battery.

I'm guessing Lenovo might have widened their net to include more batteries than is listed. To all I would encourage; RUN THE UTILITY! [as provided at the Lenovo link in the first post, this thread] .

This is very good news to me, since I was considering sending the battery to a rebuilder, but was uncertain if the internal "widget" that controls charging rates and/or maximum charge was working properly.

The battery I have  won't take a charge at all, unless fully discharged---which is a big no-no with Lithium Ion, so I was concerned that this particular battery very well might NOT be rebuildable. From noodling around the net for info, I had already long ago decided that rebuilding with fresh Li-Ion cells was the way to go, since Li-Ion batteries (cells) are only good for a couple of years after manufacture. Which means that New Old Stock (NOS) isn't worth much. What is needed are FRESH cells. The rebuilders can do it for just a few dollars more ---with FRESH cells---than one could buy the cells themselves, and do it oneself.

Doing it oneself is possible, but a little bit risky. Scratch that---can be outright dangerous if one were to allow solder or a soldering iron to contact the wrong terminals, at the wrong time. Boom! Explosion.

Guessing a bit more here, I'd bet that I will not get an extended life, 9 cell battery as a replacement for the 9 cell which I have now. Probably only the standard 6 cell will arrive (if it does at all).

If I cross my fingers just right (hoping for a 9 cell) will they be affected by such ju-ju, way over in China? Ok, no breath holding. I couldn't hold it the four weeks Lenovo says to wait for arrival, anyway.

[#3]

Hi,

I tested the link and my battery is not listed and it says I am not eligible. However I have the exact same problem and symptoms and same error messages in Power Manager.

What is even more surprising is that the FAQ mentions that not all batteries in the qualifying FRU part numbers are eligible as only few may have defects. It is totally possible (and has happened to me) that other (my) FRU part series has the same problem and battery went to 0 from 4 hours in one day.

This leaves users like me in dismay on no support options with a defective battery in hand. I had purchased this extra battery from lenovo to have longer battery life and now I am left with a unusable battery. Help!

Thanks,

Ricky

[#4]

My battery is FRU 93P5032 (not included in the recall) and I am having the exact same symptoms as the ones that are being recalled. My battery went from giving me 6 hours one day to completely dead the next day. I have a X61 tablet that was purchased about 1.5 years ago and my battery only has 160 cycles.

According to this thread:

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-Tablet-ThinkPad-Laptops/Why-is-battery-FRU-93P5032-not-included...

as of 10/22/2009, 11 people have had the same problem with this FRU 93P5032.I suspect this FRU is a victim of the same problems that are in the recall list.

[#5]

There is no 'real' recall.

[#6]

I have gotten some strange messages with my T60p about the battery (FRU# 42T4511, Serial# 21231).  It said that it was not an authentic Thinkpad Battery.

Thanks,

Vince

T60p CTO 8740

[#7]

Hello,

I have a T61-- 8891 CTO type, and I have the same battery issue. My battery FRU is 42T4619, and it is still under warranty. So I was wondering whether I could get it replaced by Lenovo or not.  If it can be replaced, do I need to send the whole machine to Lenovo or just the battery.

Than you,

Hao

[#8]

Hello to everyone.

T-61p with battery as identified by Lenovo Power Manager:

FRU 42T4569 (Sony)

S/N 1156

Went bad just after warranty.  Battery does work and will charge to 100% but if I disconnect  the power cord from the AC, it will drain in under 5 mins.  So, I might as well carry my desktop.

Just sad that Lenovo, who was/is aware of so many bad batteries and with different FRU's, does not allow people to replace it even though their warranty has expired (within reason of course).

I purchased in full with AMEX so I am in the process of filling a claim and have them pay for the new battery since they extend my warranty for another year.

First Lenovo product.  Heard so many good things about the 'quality' and 'durablity' of their 'BUSINESS' laptops but so far, not impressed!

Robert

P.S.  Insult to Injury Lenovo does not have ANY of replacement batteries for my machine in stock.

FRU #'s 42T4623, 42T4569 and 42T4777.

This just gets better and better!

[#9]

Robert:

Did you run the battery diagnostic program at the beginning of this thread to see if your battery is covered (I believe it extends beyond the original warranty, up to a point).  I don't know if this program is being updated to include other FRUs on an ongoing basis.

[#10]

There is already a separate thread on this forum about other T61 batteries affected with the same symptoms: Fully charged but blinking orange light and no power at all unless plugged in.  My battery is a T424511 and apparently NOT covered for replacement (though I cannot figure out why not...same problem as the others)  IT is a Sanyo battery made almost 2 years ago today...and now a useless paperweight that turns my laptop into a desktop...

Joshua