I bought a Thinlpad R51 - 1836 BBU used and with no battery. I bought a new battery, installed it and the battery drained completely. I sent it back and got a new one and also bought a new power chord. The battery and new power chord worked fine for two months. Last week the battery drained completely again (while plugged into AC chord).

Again I bought a new battery (extended life this time) and bought a docking station. I am now faced with the new battery drains everytime I use it. The power chord does not charge it. The docking station does not charge it either. I would like some questons answered:

Is it normal for the pc to have to be ON for the battery to be charged?

Does anyone know if there is any indication that the power chord is plugged in while the battery is installed? When on AC only, it shows plug - When battery installed (on battery only or with AC chord) computer shows on battery power.

Do the external battery charger units really work? this may be my only way of recharging my battery if not through the pc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Gary

Hi gary

the PSU that plugs into the laptop, is it an original and does it supply the correct voltage and ampage, use the manufacturers website to determine this, i have seen many cheap PSU's cause battery problems on laptops.

the light configuration is different for makes of laptop having not had a thinkpad i cant answer that question, although im sure someone on here has.

regards

THe power supply is not IBM / Levono. I bought it off ebay. I did however check the voltage and amperage and it shows 16V DC and 4.5A on the bottom of the adapter - just like the bottom of the pc.

I checked the voltage with a meter and it shows a constant 16.25V DC output at 5.5Amps DC. I have purchased another power supply (my third) and will wait to see if it helps. I have also purchased an external battery charger to take the pc out of the equation. I am also contemplating a 90W power supply since the one for this PC is rated at 72W it may not be poweful enough to handle the pc drain and battery charge drain as well.

I know this is not normal so I am trying (outside the box) methods to find wht problem - or work around it.

The worst part is, if I spend another $100 to replace a battery or any other part, I have spent enough for a new laptop.