On 14/08/2011 22:06, John Williamson wrote:
Roger Mills wrote:
How can I tell whether the problem lies with the battery or with the
internal charger? Are there any clues in what I have written above? I
don't mind buying another new battery but, if the charger is duff, I
will have wasted my money.

I usually run it on mains anyway, so it's not a total disaster if I
can't make the battery work - but one does tend to expect a laptop to
have its own built-in UPS!

TIA.
I'm 99% certain that the batteries have died due to old age. The
behaviour of the charging LED suggests that the charging circuitry is
okay. Most Lithium based batteries I've had in laptops have died after
no more than four years. I killed one in a few months by just leaving
the laptop plugged in permanently.

Thanks. What would the charging LED do if the charger was duff?


Two simple ways to make certain, test the battery in another machine,and
try a working battery in yours. Of course, this does have the
disadvantage of needing access to a machine that is known to be good.

Not an option, unfortunately. I don't have access to another machine
which uses the same type of battery - and the only way of getting a
working battery is to *buy* one - which is what I'm seeking to avoid
until I'm sure that the charger is ok!
--
Cheers,
Roger
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