Tags: | averatec | laptop | repair | lithium ion | battery |

2007-09-21 22:59

A New Laptop is Tempting, but A Repair is So Much Cheaper

After a very tempting visit to Best Buy and Circuit City this evening, I have decided upon the more practical and less expensive approach of fixing my current laptop, rather than buying a new one. A few minutes ago I ordered a replacement averatec 3360 power jack (part number AV41225) off of ebay for $15 with shipping - and once I have it installed I will likely order a new laptop battery as well. As I posted a few months ago my power jack broke, and since then I've attempted to fix it twice, but both times the fix has been only temporary. Once again the cord is now only fitting loosely in the jack, and it is raining down chaos on the battery, which now only lasts until about 75% capacity before it dies completely. One of the sales guys at Circuit City mentioned "refreshing" a lithium-ion laptop battery, and in the last hour I have learned more about li-ion batteries than I ever thought I would know - and the bad news is I have been quickly killing mine by letting it run out of power completely repeatedly. A few more useful tips that I didn't know include,

"Your notebook battery will deteriorate over time whether you use it or not..."

"Lower temperatures slow down the self-discharge (loss of charge while disconnected) and aging process of the elements within your battery... Leaving your battery connected while on AC power causes the internal temperature of the battery to rise."

"The Lithium-Ion batteries used in notebooks are rated to handle between 300 and 800 charge/discharge cycles."

"A series of partial discharge cycles are better for Li-Ion batteries than a single full discharge."

"Calibrate your battery with a full discharge every 30 charges to help the battery's fuel gauge remain accurate. Run the battery down to the automatic cut-off point of your notebook before recharging."

"If you will be on AC power for an extended period of time, you can prolong your battery's lifespan by removing it and putting it into prolonged storage."

(source)

This guide to li-ion battery use has enlightened me, and I will likely have a different use pattern for my new battery once I get it. If I'm lucky, I can hold onto this laptop and get good use out of it until the next iteration of Windows software is released in a couple of years. If nothing else, I can at least wait and be a late-adopter for Windows Vista, and hopefully all of the software incompatibilities and other issues that I have with the OS will be resolved by then. While it is very tempting to get a nice new shiny laptop, I think for now I will sit on my money and wait for the perfect deal instead. Unfortunately, I have to once again (for the third time) open up my laptop and get at the power jack board in order to finish the repair - but at least this time I plan to take pictures to share as a reference on how to gain access to the innards of an averatec 3360 in a later blog post. How long have you had your laptop? How often do you think it is prudent to get a new system? Anything else cool about li-ion batteries that I should know?

- Kevin
Kevin (at) Upcsite (dot) Net

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