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Battery issues on a Thinkpad T470s (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 week ago by cyberwolfie@lemmy.ml to c/hardware@lemmy.ml

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I have a Thinkpad T470s running Linux Mint where the batteries suddenly stopped charging. The batteries are supposedly new (the laptop is a refurbished one) with battop showing a cycle count of only around 20 for both batteries when they stopped charging. The laptop is now running on mains only and will die once it is plugged out.

It seems as if it is the main battery (00HW022) that is defective, as battop first showed a voltage of around 5V, and then later did not register in battop at all. The secondary battery (01AV405) shows a voltage of 12.5V, but it is also not charging.

Locating local replacement batteries for the 00HW022 was a little more difficult than I expected with these machines. I have a replacement 01AV405, but I don't want to install it now as I suspect it is not the problem.

Can I remove just the 00HW022 and expect that the other battery can begin to charge again and allow the laptop to run on only that?
Is there a reason I would have a hard time finding a replacement 00HW022, or is that just a skill issue? Do they go under other names?
Is there any reason to believe that Linux is making things difficult here? I suspect that everything related to batteries is handled by the firmware and Linux is only reporting on diagnostic values and have nothing to do with the charging itself - is that correct?

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[–] nicgentile@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I would try this.
I'm sure Amazon would have them. Or Ebay. Not a fan of Amazon, but they are there for about 30 bucks a pop.
Check if you have upower installed and it is reporting accurately. Had a near similar issue and a upower install solved it for me.

[–] cyberwolfie@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago

Thanks, I'll try to do that tomorrow. Also never heard of upower, so will check that tomorrow.

Amazon and Ebay are not great options for me due to some toll rules where I live. Final prices tend to be quite a lot higher, and shipping takes ages. But of course if I am unable to locate them locally, it might be my only option. I did eventually find one from a producer called CoreParts - need to investigate whether they are legit.

[–] yuman@programming.dev 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

all aftermarket batteries are shit. one of the manifestations of shittyness is that once they're below a certain threshold, the battery controller won't charge them no more. you're advised to never let 'em drop below 20% of capacity. or else.

if returning the things is not an option, you can open them up, find where the cells are connected to the controller and charge them there with an external PSU of commensurate voltage; i.e. if the battery is rated at 12V, you charge em with 12V and say 0.5A whilst constantly monitoring the battery's voltage with an instrument. shouldn't take long, maybe coupla minutes. once it reaches 10-11V, disconnect, plug in to the laptop and it should start charging.

here's me charging a "dead" macbook battery; worked just fine afterwards.

https://defcon.social/@yuman/116680475876205754

[–] cyberwolfie@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago

I suspected that it might be the case. I have wanted for some time to setup a galvanostatic charge/discharge system at home for battery diagnostics, but haven't found the time yet to do so. Maybe this is the required nudge I need...