[ltp] Battery dying

Rob Mayoff linux-thinkpad@www.bm-soft.com
1 Nov 2001 22:32:48 -0600


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+---------- On Nov 1, Thomas Hood said:
> PMO.  I just bought a new battery in July, and already it's dying
> just as my last battery did.  When charging, after it charges to
> about 20% it jumps up to "100%", and when I run on battery it
> only runs down to about 85% before dropping suddenly to 5%.
>
> Is this a firmware bug, or what?

I have found that the battery life on my 770Z is greatly shortened if I
keep both the battery and the AC adapter connected when the battery is
at 100%.  The visible symptom is just as you described: the battery
jumps to 100% from some lower value when it's charging.  When it's
discharging, it jumps to 5% from some higher number.

I bought a new battery and wrote a Tcl/Tk script that monitors the
battery level.  When the battery reaches 100%, it prompts me to either
remove the battery or the AC connection.  The script is attached.


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