laptop batteries help

[tonya]

hi all,

i know this is for digcam info, but thought someone here might have a lead on a site for replacement batteries for my dell laptop.

thanks for any info

tony

[Tex]

Kahlon.com (http://www.kahlon.com)
Laptops for Less (http://www.laptopsforless.com)

[Rhys]

Actually, if you crack the old battery case apart, you'll discover that inside that there are a set of fairly ordinary lithium or NIMH batteries. There was a site (not sure of its name) which sold just the batteries. Many people have simply cracked open the old manufacturer's battery and replaced the dead cells with new and had a laptop that worked just as well and often better than before.

Don't listen to silly scare stories. If you get the batteries the right way around by taking care to notice the polarity and voltage then you shouldn't get much difficulty.

[TDT]

Follow what Rhys says and it's a good chance you'll void your warranty as well.

Take caution if you plan to mess with this yourself instead of just buying a new battery

[propwash]

Follow what Rhys says and it's a good chance you'll void your warranty as well.

Take caution if you plan to mess with this yourself instead of just buying a new battery

If your battery is still under warranty and it is dead, you might as well let them replace it under warranty. If it's dead and out of warranty, what do you have to lose by trying to replace the cells? If you break it, you're gonna have to buy a new one anyway.

[Rhys]

Follow what Rhys says and it's a good chance you'll void your warranty as well.

Take caution if you plan to mess with this yourself instead of just buying a new battery

By the time a laptop battery is dead, it's almost certainly out of warranty. Laptop batteries when looked after will last for years.

Besides, if it's a couple of years old then the battery will probably cost more than the secondhand value of the laptop. I ran mine off the mains and left the battery at home since everywhere I went had a convenient power supply anyway.

[tonya]

i have to say it again..... you people are great

rhys - yes the batts (i have two of them) are three years old and out of warrentee so if i can figure how to pry this sucker open, i will get some rechargeables for it.

it's not that they are totally dead, but they run down in like 15 minutes.

and tex thanks for the two sites..... if the cracking open doesnt work, i will break down and save a few bucks from one of these places.

thanks again,

tony

[Rhys]

i have to say it again..... you people are great

rhys - yes the batts (i have two of them) are three years old and out of warrentee so if i can figure how to pry this sucker open, i will get some rechargeables for it.

it's not that they are totally dead, but they run down in like 15 minutes.
tony

As long as you can hack a hole in the case big enough to extract the dead cells and insert live ones then you'll be fine. If worst comes to worst, you can always glue the new cells in with an epoxy resin based glue - once you know the "refurbished" battery works. It doesn't have to look pretty - it just has to work. By the time both of your newly refurbished batteries die again, the laptop will most likely be a museum piece!