So my T500's battery light is yellow and whenever I unplug it, it dies instantly. I would assume it was just the battery if I had been steadily losing battery life but this was instant. It held a 3 hour charge two days ago.

Any advice?

2/15/2011 11:54:51 AM

I wouldn't rule out failure just because it wasn't gradual. losing charge over time and inability to charge are two distinct and possible failures.

Know anyone else with a T500? Try swapping batteries as a test and see if the problem follows the battery or the laptop.

2/15/2011 12:05:22 PM

try pulling and replacing the battery while plugged into a wall. For my T40 the blinking yellow means software somewhere is holding up passing along charge. It could be for a variety of reasons (usually because it's failed or failing) but sometimes you can get lucky and get a few more charges out of it.

2/15/2011 12:37:09 PM

Sounds like my laptop battery (which was just dead). I ended up buying a "used" battery via Lenovo's warehouse store and it worked great and I could finally unplug my laptop from the wall again and use it the way it is intended haha. It's a 4 year old laptop and still running strong though so I can't complain about buying a replacement battery.

Actually, I'm about to do the same for my wife's 5 year old Lenovo laptop. Hers is still running ok (slower than mine) but the only problem is that the battery has failed in hers as well (battery light is always yellow or flashing yellow and it doesn't charge. dies as soon as you unplug).

2/15/2011 1:24:58 PM

Eactly what my lenovo 3000 did. I just bought a non OEM battery that replaced it for 30 bucks (9 cell too). Batteries suck and Lenovo sucks.

2/15/2011 1:43:18 PM

I have a dell 1705 that's about 5 years old and the battery did exactly what you are describing. At least with what I found out, sometimes if you run the battery down too low of a charge, the computer will refuse to recharge it. I found a trick from a friend who happens to be a part time Dell IT guy; basically to short circuit the connectors using a paper clip and trying to recharge in the laptop again. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Worked for me at least.

2/15/2011 1:52:00 PM

^and sometimes they explode when you do that

2/15/2011 2:11:17 PM

Quote :

"Batteries suck and Lenovo sucks"

/shrug. I've loved Lenovo. The main problem I've had when using their laptops since 2003 has been the batteries (which isn't uncommon among all laptops). Even then they seem to last a good 3 years before having to spend $30-40 to replace them.

2/15/2011 2:37:00 PM

It's not just Lenovo... I have HP and Dell batteries dropping like flies too. It's really the battery suppliers that have dropped the ball. Guys like Sony and Panasonic with their fire breathing batteries.

Besides, I believe it's all a conspiracy. They do it so you have to replace the battery after a few years. It's all part of the design.



BTW... it's also a luck of the draw. My T61p has gone through 3 batteries. But, my wife's X60 tablet has yet to go through a battery. Her laptop doesn't last as long as it used to, but it still holds a charge. My spare Dell Inspiron at home has gone through 2 batteries.

[Edited on February 15, 2011 at 3:10 PM. Reason : ... more]

2/15/2011 3:05:07 PM

Thanks, I guess I'll start looking for a replacement.

2/15/2011 5:33:32 PM

^careful with those eBay batteries - they're often cheap imports.

2/15/2011 5:57:34 PM

yeah. like I said, I'd seriously look at the Lenovo warehouse. I bought a "used" one (can't remember the term there) for like half price and I noticed it had never actually been used once I got it.

2/15/2011 10:32:04 PM