• battery check on Linux/Ubuntu

    From Adam@21:1/5 to All on Fri Apr 14 21:57:47 2023
    New battery for Lenovo ThinkPad T430 (from eBay)...

    Genuine 9Cell 0A36303 Battery For Len ovo ThinkPad T430 T530 W530 L430 L530 70++
    https://i.postimg.cc/5t4TJNGm/IMG-0194.jpg
    [Label says P/N is 45N1007 but...]


    Internal ID says the model is 45N1023 (which conflicts with P/N on label)...

    xerus@ThinkPad-T430:~$ upower -i $(upower -e | grep 'BAT')
    native-path: BAT0
    vendor: SANYO
    model: 45N1023 <<<< 45N1023 ?!?!?
    serial: 1160
    power supply: yes
    updated: Fri 14 Apr 2023 06:26:45 PM PDT (2 seconds ago)
    has history: yes
    has statistics: yes
    battery
    present: yes
    rechargeable: yes
    state: discharging
    warning-level: none
    energy: 26.83 Wh
    energy-empty: 0 Wh
    energy-full: 94 Wh
    energy-full-design: 94 Wh
    energy-rate: 15.532 W
    voltage: 10.502 V
    time to empty: 1.7 hours
    percentage: 31%
    capacity: 90.0957%
    technology: lithium-ion
    icon-name: 'battery-good-symbolic'
    History (charge):
    1681522005 31.000 discharging
    History (rate):
    1681522005 15.532 discharging

    xerus@ThinkPad-T430:~$


    Is this normal?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Adrian Caspersz@21:1/5 to Adam on Mon Apr 17 08:04:37 2023
    On 15/04/2023 05:57, Adam wrote:

    New battery for Lenovo ThinkPad T430 (from eBay)...

    Genuine 9Cell 0A36303 Battery For Len ovo ThinkPad T430 T530 W530 L430
    L530 70++
    https://i.postimg.cc/5t4TJNGm/IMG-0194.jpg
    [Label says P/N is 45N1007 but...]

    Internal ID says the model is 45N1023 (which conflicts with P/N on
    label)...

    xerus@ThinkPad-T430:~$ upower -i $(upower -e | grep 'BAT')
    native-path: BAT0
    vendor: SANYO
    model: 45N1023                <<<< 45N1023 ?!?!?
    serial: 1160
    power supply: yes
    updated: Fri 14 Apr 2023 06:26:45 PM PDT (2 seconds ago)
    has history: yes
    mal?

    Fake battery. "Genuine" is a Chinese brand name ...

    --
    Adrian C

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Adam@21:1/5 to Adrian Caspersz on Mon Apr 17 10:57:29 2023
    On 04/17/2023 12:04 AM, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
    On 15/04/2023 05:57, Adam wrote:

    New battery for Lenovo ThinkPad T430 (from eBay)...

    Genuine 9Cell 0A36303 Battery For Len ovo ThinkPad T430 T530 W530 L430
    L530 70++
    https://i.postimg.cc/5t4TJNGm/IMG-0194.jpg
    [Label says P/N is 45N1007 but...]

    Internal ID says the model is 45N1023 (which conflicts with P/N on
    label)...

    xerus@ThinkPad-T430:~$ upower -i $(upower -e | grep 'BAT')
    native-path: BAT0
    vendor: SANYO
    model: 45N1023 <<<< 45N1023 ?!?!?
    serial: 1160
    power supply: yes
    updated: Fri 14 Apr 2023 06:26:45 PM PDT (2 seconds ago)
    has history: yes
    mal?

    Fake battery. "Genuine" is a Chinese brand name ...


    FALSE advertising? Consequence of outsourcing.

    For Brand, the eBay listing specified..."Len ovo Battery"

    45N1023 costs less than 45N1007. So, they're taking a cheaper battery
    model and slapping on a label for a higher-cost model to sell at a
    higher price but lower than OEM?

    The "Genuine" battery charges fine but the fit is almost too tight. Not
    sure how long it will last though. My old 45N1007 is dated 2012.

    What to do? Return? Where to buy?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Adrian Caspersz@21:1/5 to Adam on Mon Apr 17 23:57:36 2023
    On 17/04/2023 18:57, Adam wrote:

    On 04/17/2023 12:04 AM, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
    On 15/04/2023 05:57, Adam wrote:

    New battery for Lenovo ThinkPad T430 (from eBay)...

    Genuine 9Cell 0A36303 Battery For Len ovo ThinkPad T430 T530 W530 L430
    L530 70++
    https://i.postimg.cc/5t4TJNGm/IMG-0194.jpg
    [Label says P/N is 45N1007 but...]

    Internal ID says the model is 45N1023 (which conflicts with P/N on
    label)...

    xerus@ThinkPad-T430:~$ upower -i $(upower -e | grep 'BAT')
    native-path: BAT0
    vendor: SANYO
    model: 45N1023                <<<< 45N1023 ?!?!?
    serial: 1160
    power supply: yes
    updated: Fri 14 Apr 2023 06:26:45 PM PDT (2 seconds ago)
    has history: yes
    mal?

    Fake battery. "Genuine" is a Chinese brand name ...


    FALSE advertising?  Consequence of outsourcing.

    For Brand, the eBay listing specified..."Len ovo Battery"

    45N1023 costs less than 45N1007.  So, they're taking a cheaper battery
    model and slapping on a label for a higher-cost model to sell at a
    higher price but lower than OEM?

    The "Genuine" battery charges fine but the fit is almost too tight.  Not sure how long it will last though.  My old 45N1007 is dated 2012.

    What to do?  Return?  Where to buy?


    To be fair, unless you paid a silly price equivalent to a Lenovo
    original, you may as well stick with it and see what pans out?

    The circuit board that balances charging voltages between individual
    cells might be a clone engineered not to burst into flames (or not!) or
    it might even be a genuine board recycled from an original, to play
    nicely with whatever firmware locks Lenovo have built into the laptop.

    Likewise cells can be new or recycled. You just don't know.

    However, with your new-to-you cell - first give it a full charge and
    discharge cycle and look for signs of localised heating, strange smell
    etc... For the first few times don't leave it charging unattended - but
    then again the newspapers are not filled with daily horror stories of
    disasters folks have had. Some, but not really everrrrry day. Do ya'
    feel lucky, punk? :-)

    On the other hand, daily horror stories abound with poor quality mains
    power adaptors....

    I've have three T400 laptops on very cheap eBay batteries that I trust
    only for two hours of use, they otherwise spend life on permanent charge
    and no flames. Bought the batteries in 2019, which is good going.

    These guys - https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/coolgo2014

    upower read back SANYO 92P1137 (which matches originals) with a now
    remaining capacity of 96.95% (which is pure fantasy!)

    I think the thing with eBay and amazon sellers if you are going to try
    and save some money with purchasing a "pattern/OEM" part, is to
    deliberately go somewhere that plainly advertises that the part is NOT original, but compatible.

    ( BTW, OEM doesn't mean that that manufacturer is an original source for
    the same product that is officially supplied. No manufacturer would risk
    being caught doing that behind their customer's back. )

    I had this purchasing experience with 3D glasses for a Sony TV. I could
    find some very convincing looking packaged products looking like the
    real deal for some small discount, or something entirely different
    looking for much less.

    Wanting not to take a hit on a rubbish fake, or an overpriced original
    from a Sony dealer (a pair costing 1/3 the price of the TV!), I just deliberately went the compatible way. Also read reviews. And the glasses
    worked well enough for me.

    --
    Adrian C

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Adam@21:1/5 to Adrian Caspersz on Mon Apr 17 16:31:20 2023
    On 04/17/2023 03:57 PM, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
    On 17/04/2023 18:57, Adam wrote:

    On 04/17/2023 12:04 AM, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
    On 15/04/2023 05:57, Adam wrote:

    New battery for Lenovo ThinkPad T430 (from eBay)...

    Genuine 9Cell 0A36303 Battery For Len ovo ThinkPad T430 T530 W530 L430 >>>> L530 70++
    https://i.postimg.cc/5t4TJNGm/IMG-0194.jpg
    [Label says P/N is 45N1007 but...]

    Internal ID says the model is 45N1023 (which conflicts with P/N on
    label)...

    xerus@ThinkPad-T430:~$ upower -i $(upower -e | grep 'BAT')
    native-path: BAT0
    vendor: SANYO
    model: 45N1023 <<<< 45N1023 ?!?!?
    serial: 1160
    power supply: yes
    updated: Fri 14 Apr 2023 06:26:45 PM PDT (2 seconds ago)
    has history: yes
    mal?

    Fake battery. "Genuine" is a Chinese brand name ...


    FALSE advertising? Consequence of outsourcing.

    For Brand, the eBay listing specified..."Len ovo Battery"

    45N1023 costs less than 45N1007. So, they're taking a cheaper battery
    model and slapping on a label for a higher-cost model to sell at a
    higher price but lower than OEM?

    The "Genuine" battery charges fine but the fit is almost too tight.
    Not sure how long it will last though. My old 45N1007 is dated 2012.

    What to do? Return? Where to buy?


    To be fair, unless you paid a silly price equivalent to a Lenovo
    original, you may as well stick with it and see what pans out?

    The circuit board that balances charging voltages between individual
    cells might be a clone engineered not to burst into flames (or not!) or
    it might even be a genuine board recycled from an original, to play
    nicely with whatever firmware locks Lenovo have built into the laptop.

    Likewise cells can be new or recycled. You just don't know.

    However, with your new-to-you cell - first give it a full charge and discharge cycle and look for signs of localised heating, strange smell
    etc... For the first few times don't leave it charging unattended - but
    then again the newspapers are not filled with daily horror stories of disasters folks have had. Some, but not really everrrrry day. Do ya'
    feel lucky, punk? :-)

    On the other hand, daily horror stories abound with poor quality mains
    power adaptors....

    I've have three T400 laptops on very cheap eBay batteries that I trust
    only for two hours of use, they otherwise spend life on permanent charge
    and no flames. Bought the batteries in 2019, which is good going.

    These guys - https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/coolgo2014

    upower read back SANYO 92P1137 (which matches originals) with a now
    remaining capacity of 96.95% (which is pure fantasy!)

    I think the thing with eBay and amazon sellers if you are going to try
    and save some money with purchasing a "pattern/OEM" part, is to
    deliberately go somewhere that plainly advertises that the part is NOT original, but compatible.

    ( BTW, OEM doesn't mean that that manufacturer is an original source for
    the same product that is officially supplied. No manufacturer would risk being caught doing that behind their customer's back. ).

    I had this purchasing experience with 3D glasses for a Sony TV. I could
    find some very convincing looking packaged products looking like the
    real deal for some small discount, or something entirely different
    looking for much less.

    Wanting not to take a hit on a rubbish fake, or an overpriced original
    from a Sony dealer (a pair costing 1/3 the price of the TV!), I just deliberately went the compatible way. Also read reviews. And the glasses worked well enough for me.


    Thanks, I've been keeping an eye on it via Power Statistics. I don't
    keep laptop plugged in, only when alerted battery is LOW. Then, laptop
    is plugged in to FULL and disconnected. Seems like this should be so
    easy to implement automatically so user doesn't have to do it manually. :-)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Adam@21:1/5 to Adam on Mon Apr 17 20:55:01 2023
    On 04/17/2023 04:31 PM, Adam wrote:
    On 04/17/2023 03:57 PM, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
    On 17/04/2023 18:57, Adam wrote:

    On 04/17/2023 12:04 AM, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
    On 15/04/2023 05:57, Adam wrote:

    New battery for Lenovo ThinkPad T430 (from eBay)...

    Genuine 9Cell 0A36303 Battery For Len ovo ThinkPad T430 T530 W530 L430 >>>>> L530 70++
    https://i.postimg.cc/5t4TJNGm/IMG-0194.jpg
    [Label says P/N is 45N1007 but...]

    Internal ID says the model is 45N1023 (which conflicts with P/N on
    label)...

    xerus@ThinkPad-T430:~$ upower -i $(upower -e | grep 'BAT')
    native-path: BAT0
    vendor: SANYO
    model: 45N1023 <<<< 45N1023 ?!?!?
    serial: 1160
    power supply: yes
    updated: Fri 14 Apr 2023 06:26:45 PM PDT (2 seconds ago)
    has history: yes
    mal?

    Fake battery. "Genuine" is a Chinese brand name ...


    FALSE advertising? Consequence of outsourcing.

    For Brand, the eBay listing specified..."Len ovo Battery"

    45N1023 costs less than 45N1007. So, they're taking a cheaper battery
    model and slapping on a label for a higher-cost model to sell at a
    higher price but lower than OEM?

    The "Genuine" battery charges fine but the fit is almost too tight.
    Not sure how long it will last though. My old 45N1007 is dated 2012.

    What to do? Return? Where to buy?


    To be fair, unless you paid a silly price equivalent to a Lenovo
    original, you may as well stick with it and see what pans out?

    The circuit board that balances charging voltages between individual
    cells might be a clone engineered not to burst into flames (or not!) or
    it might even be a genuine board recycled from an original, to play
    nicely with whatever firmware locks Lenovo have built into the laptop.

    Condition: New

    It's doesn't say "refurbished" or "recycled".


    Likewise cells can be new or recycled. You just don't know.

    However, with your new-to-you cell - first give it a full charge and
    discharge cycle and look for signs of localised heating, strange smell
    etc... For the first few times don't leave it charging unattended - but
    then again the newspapers are not filled with daily horror stories of
    disasters folks have had. Some, but not really everrrrry day. Do ya'
    feel lucky, punk? :-)

    On the other hand, daily horror stories abound with poor quality mains
    power adaptors....

    I've have three T400 laptops on very cheap eBay batteries that I trust
    only for two hours of use, they otherwise spend life on permanent charge
    and no flames. Bought the batteries in 2019, which is good going.

    These guys - https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/coolgo2014

    upower read back SANYO 92P1137 (which matches originals) with a now
    remaining capacity of 96.95% (which is pure fantasy!)

    I think the thing with eBay and amazon sellers if you are going to try
    and save some money with purchasing a "pattern/OEM" part, is to
    deliberately go somewhere that plainly advertises that the part is NOT
    original, but compatible.

    ( BTW, OEM doesn't mean that that manufacturer is an original source for
    the same product that is officially supplied. No manufacturer would risk
    being caught doing that behind their customer's back. ).

    I had this purchasing experience with 3D glasses for a Sony TV. I could
    find some very convincing looking packaged products looking like the
    real deal for some small discount, or something entirely different
    looking for much less.

    Wanting not to take a hit on a rubbish fake, or an overpriced original
    from a Sony dealer (a pair costing 1/3 the price of the TV!), I just
    deliberately went the compatible way. Also read reviews. And the glasses
    worked well enough for me.


    Thanks, I've been keeping an eye on it via Power Statistics. I don't
    keep laptop plugged in, only when alerted battery is LOW. Then, laptop
    is plugged in to FULL and disconnected. Seems like this should be so
    easy to implement automatically so user doesn't have to do it manually.
    :-)


    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Paul@21:1/5 to Adam on Tue Apr 18 08:10:40 2023
    On 4/17/2023 11:55 PM, Adam wrote:
    On 04/17/2023 04:31 PM, Adam wrote:
    On 04/17/2023 03:57 PM, Adrian Caspersz wrote:

    The circuit board that balances charging voltages between individual
    cells might be a clone engineered not to burst into flames (or not!) or
    it might even be a genuine board recycled from an original, to play
    nicely with whatever firmware locks Lenovo have built into the laptop.

    Condition:    New

    It's doesn't say "refurbished" or "recycled".

    The design is pretty simple.

    + ----- cells ----- - (there could be a BMS PCB disc, preventing certain things)

    (bus) --/-- EEPROM based
    coulomb counter chip ---- (old ones also had status LEDs on the pack and a status button)
    serialized

    The coulomb counter, not only does it keep track of watt-hours
    remaining, it also has a set of coefficients which estimate
    how the cells age.

    A competent battery pack design, puts the correct coefficients
    in the coulomb counter chip. After 200 charges, the pack has
    5% less capacity, and the coulomb counter "deducts the damage"
    from readings, to give a more true indication of charge remaining.
    So maybe instead of "90 minute remaining", it says "85 minutes remaining".

    The laptop is responsible for filling the cells, and "charge termination".
    The charging process monitors only pack voltage and current flow,
    to conclude when a cell is full. Charging does not rely upon
    coulomb counter integrity. If you took a hacksaw, and cut off
    the coulomb counter, charging would continue to work properly.

    From a safety point of view, whether the coulomb counter is
    there, is accurate or inaccurate, does not matter. The charge
    management chip, knows all and sees all. The charge management
    chip, is responsible for not setting fire to your house.

    The coulomb counter is your "fuel gauge", and helps you manage
    your usage behavior with regard to data integrity. Some packs,
    when they get old, the pack "flattens" so quickly, the fuel
    gauge is not able to give an accurate indication that something
    should be done. And the file system could receive a dirty
    shutdown (not a big problem for EXT4, but maybe a problem
    for your lost work).

    When a Chinese guy builds a pack (fake or otherwise), he may use
    the correct part number for the coulomb counter chip. But whether the
    actual cell wear characteristic matches the coefficients in the
    fuel gauge, who knows. It's possible the time remaining is
    not accurate. While occasionally fully draining the pack, and
    fully filling the pack, can help "calibrate it", this does not
    necessarily correct any coefficients which estimate wear rates.

    Were these things done, just to make the pack "complicated" ?
    Probably :-)

    The coulomb counter, is supposed to be a better method, than
    "just watching the battery voltage". That's why the method
    exists. The fuel gauge equation is rather complicated, when
    all parameters are in usage.

    A pack design could be ruined, by providing 700mAH cells
    instead of the 10000mAH promised, so there is that aspect
    of pack design. I do not know how your new pack, would
    compare to the runtime of the original pack. It might be
    just 66% of the original. This is where the luck of the
    draw comes in, on pack purchase. "Did I get Panasonic cells?"
    or did I get the cheapest cells the market could provide ?

    If the chemistry changed, from Lithium Cobalt to Lithium
    Iron Phosphate, that would be bad, since the laptop charger
    chip *assumes* a certain chemistry. At least the cell
    chemistry had better be a close match, if you expect
    to get more than a month out of the pack.

    *******

    This is one reason my UPS does not have a battery today (dead).
    I bought a "branded" spare from the computer store. It
    lasted three years. Three cells of six cells, failed short
    circuit. This is obviously a fabrication error, and the
    pack wasn't even remotely close to being correct. The original
    pack lasted 11 years, and did not fail short. All cells working,
    but just knackered on plates (no functional capacity left). The
    original pack and the charger, behaved well with respect to
    one another. The replacement was a shambles. Shambolic. I
    only caught it in time, because I checked chassis temperature
    and I could feel heat. An SPS UPS should remain ice cold when not
    being on-battery. As soon as I felt heat one day, it was time to take
    it apart. A check with a multimeter, showed how close I was
    getting to a disaster.

    Who do I trust now, for a replacement battery pack for the thing ?
    Does the Pope make battery packs ? Is there an honest person
    left in this world ?

    Paul

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bobbie Sellers@21:1/5 to Paul on Tue Apr 18 10:43:53 2023
    On 4/18/23 05:10, Paul wrote:
    On 4/17/2023 11:55 PM, Adam wrote:
    On 04/17/2023 04:31 PM, Adam wrote:
    On 04/17/2023 03:57 PM, Adrian Caspersz wrote:

    The circuit board that balances charging voltages between individual
    cells might be a clone engineered not to burst into flames (or not!) or >>>> it might even be a genuine board recycled from an original, to play
    nicely with whatever firmware locks Lenovo have built into the laptop.

    Condition:    New

    It's doesn't say "refurbished" or "recycled".

    The design is pretty simple.

          + ----- cells ----- -  (there could be a BMS PCB disc, preventing
    certain things)

        (bus) --/-- EEPROM based
                    coulomb counter chip ---- (old ones also had status
    LEDs on the pack and a status button)
                    serialized

    The coulomb counter, not only does it keep track of watt-hours
    remaining, it also has a set of coefficients which estimate
    how the cells age.

    A competent battery pack design, puts the correct coefficients
    in the coulomb counter chip. After 200 charges, the pack has
    5% less capacity, and the coulomb counter "deducts the damage"
    from readings, to give a more true indication of charge remaining.
    So maybe instead of "90 minute remaining", it says "85 minutes remaining".

    The laptop is responsible for filling the cells, and "charge termination". The charging process monitors only pack voltage and current flow,
    to conclude when a cell is full. Charging does not rely upon
    coulomb counter integrity. If you took a hacksaw, and cut off
    the coulomb counter, charging would continue to work properly.

    From a safety point of view, whether the coulomb counter is
    there, is accurate or inaccurate, does not matter. The charge
    management chip, knows all and sees all. The charge management
    chip, is responsible for not setting fire to your house.

    The coulomb counter is your "fuel gauge", and helps you manage
    your usage behavior with regard to data integrity. Some packs,
    when they get old, the pack "flattens" so quickly, the fuel
    gauge is not able to give an accurate indication that something
    should be done. And the file system could receive a dirty
    shutdown (not a big problem for EXT4, but maybe a problem
    for your lost work).

    When a Chinese guy builds a pack (fake or otherwise), he may use
    the correct part number for the coulomb counter chip. But whether the
    actual cell wear characteristic matches the coefficients in the
    fuel gauge, who knows. It's possible the time remaining is
    not accurate. While occasionally fully draining the pack, and
    fully filling the pack, can help "calibrate it", this does not
    necessarily correct any coefficients which estimate wear rates.

    Were these things done, just to make the pack "complicated" ?
    Probably :-)

    The coulomb counter, is supposed to be a better method, than
    "just watching the battery voltage". That's why the method
    exists. The fuel gauge equation is rather complicated, when
    all parameters are in usage.

    A pack design could be ruined, by providing 700mAH cells
    instead of the 10000mAH promised, so there is that aspect
    of pack design. I do not know how your new pack, would
    compare to the runtime of the original pack. It might be
    just 66% of the original. This is where the luck of the
    draw comes in, on pack purchase. "Did I get Panasonic cells?"
    or did I get the cheapest cells the market could provide ?

    If the chemistry changed, from Lithium Cobalt to Lithium
    Iron Phosphate, that would be bad, since the laptop charger
    chip *assumes* a certain chemistry. At least the cell
    chemistry had better be a close match, if you expect
    to get more than a month out of the pack.

    *******

    This is one reason my UPS does not have a battery today (dead).
    I bought a "branded" spare from the computer store. It
    lasted three years. Three cells of six cells, failed short
    circuit. This is obviously a fabrication error, and the
    pack wasn't even remotely close to being correct. The original
    pack lasted 11 years, and did not fail short. All cells working,
    but just knackered on plates (no functional capacity left). The
    original pack and the charger, behaved well with respect to
    one another. The replacement was a shambles. Shambolic. I
    only caught it in time, because I checked chassis temperature
    and I could feel heat. An SPS UPS should remain ice cold when not
    being on-battery. As soon as I felt heat one day, it was time to take
    it apart. A check with a multimeter, showed how close I was
    getting to a disaster.

    Who do I trust now, for a replacement battery pack for the thing ?
    Does the Pope make battery packs ? Is there an honest person
    left in this world ?

       Paul

    How about the maker of the charger?

    Recently I read online that batteries, Lithium were being assembled with the wrong tape leading to early failures.

    bliss

    --
    bliss dash SF 4 ever at dslextreme dot com

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Adam@21:1/5 to Adam on Thu Apr 20 06:47:32 2023
    On 04/20/2023 06:43 AM, Adam wrote:
    On 04/18/2023 05:10 AM, Paul wrote:
    On 4/17/2023 11:55 PM, Adam wrote:
    On 04/17/2023 04:31 PM, Adam wrote:
    On 04/17/2023 03:57 PM, Adrian Caspersz wrote:

    The circuit board that balances charging voltages between individual >>>>> cells might be a clone engineered not to burst into flames (or
    not!) or
    it might even be a genuine board recycled from an original, to play
    nicely with whatever firmware locks Lenovo have built into the laptop. >>>
    Condition: New

    It's doesn't say "refurbished" or "recycled".

    The design is pretty simple.

    + ----- cells ----- - (there could be a BMS PCB disc, preventing
    certain things)

    (bus) --/-- EEPROM based
    coulomb counter chip ---- (old ones also had status
    LEDs on the pack and a status button)
    serialized

    The coulomb counter, not only does it keep track of watt-hours
    remaining, it also has a set of coefficients which estimate
    how the cells age.

    A competent battery pack design, puts the correct coefficients
    in the coulomb counter chip. After 200 charges, the pack has
    5% less capacity, and the coulomb counter "deducts the damage"
    from readings, to give a more true indication of charge remaining.
    So maybe instead of "90 minute remaining", it says "85 minutes
    remaining".

    The laptop is responsible for filling the cells, and "charge
    termination".
    The charging process monitors only pack voltage and current flow,
    to conclude when a cell is full. Charging does not rely upon
    coulomb counter integrity. If you took a hacksaw, and cut off
    the coulomb counter, charging would continue to work properly.

    From a safety point of view, whether the coulomb counter is
    there, is accurate or inaccurate, does not matter. The charge
    management chip, knows all and sees all. The charge management
    chip, is responsible for not setting fire to your house.

    The coulomb counter is your "fuel gauge", and helps you manage
    your usage behavior with regard to data integrity. Some packs,
    when they get old, the pack "flattens" so quickly, the fuel
    gauge is not able to give an accurate indication that something
    should be done. And the file system could receive a dirty
    shutdown (not a big problem for EXT4, but maybe a problem
    for your lost work).

    When a Chinese guy builds a pack (fake or otherwise), he may use
    the correct part number for the coulomb counter chip. But whether the
    actual cell wear characteristic matches the coefficients in the
    fuel gauge, who knows. It's possible the time remaining is
    not accurate. While occasionally fully draining the pack, and
    fully filling the pack, can help "calibrate it", this does not
    necessarily correct any coefficients which estimate wear rates.

    Were these things done, just to make the pack "complicated" ?
    Probably :-)

    The coulomb counter, is supposed to be a better method, than
    "just watching the battery voltage". That's why the method
    exists. The fuel gauge equation is rather complicated, when
    all parameters are in usage.

    A pack design could be ruined, by providing 700mAH cells
    instead of the 10000mAH promised, so there is that aspect
    of pack design. I do not know how your new pack, would
    compare to the runtime of the original pack. It might be
    just 66% of the original. This is where the luck of the
    draw comes in, on pack purchase. "Did I get Panasonic cells?"
    or did I get the cheapest cells the market could provide ?

    Bought two so-called 45N1007 batteries from the same seller, guess I'll return at least one and look for another with better cells.

    Since they're push-selling lithium (like drugs), there ought to be more
    tests or ways to EXPOSE the good from the lesser lithium products.

    One way to fight back may be to post results of...

    $ upower -i $(upower -e | grep 'BAT')

    on reviews.



    If the chemistry changed, from Lithium Cobalt to Lithium
    Iron Phosphate, that would be bad, since the laptop charger
    chip *assumes* a certain chemistry. At least the cell
    chemistry had better be a close match, if you expect
    to get more than a month out of the pack.

    *******

    This is one reason my UPS does not have a battery today (dead).
    I bought a "branded" spare from the computer store. It
    lasted three years. Three cells of six cells, failed short
    circuit. This is obviously a fabrication error, and the
    pack wasn't even remotely close to being correct. The original
    pack lasted 11 years, and did not fail short. All cells working,
    but just knackered on plates (no functional capacity left). The
    original pack and the charger, behaved well with respect to
    one another. The replacement was a shambles. Shambolic. I
    only caught it in time, because I checked chassis temperature
    and I could feel heat. An SPS UPS should remain ice cold when not
    being on-battery. As soon as I felt heat one day, it was time to take
    it apart. A check with a multimeter, showed how close I was
    getting to a disaster.

    Who do I trust now, for a replacement battery pack for the thing ?
    Does the Pope make battery packs ? Is there an honest person
    left in this world ?

    Paul


    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Adam@21:1/5 to Paul on Thu Apr 20 06:43:14 2023
    On 04/18/2023 05:10 AM, Paul wrote:
    On 4/17/2023 11:55 PM, Adam wrote:
    On 04/17/2023 04:31 PM, Adam wrote:
    On 04/17/2023 03:57 PM, Adrian Caspersz wrote:

    The circuit board that balances charging voltages between individual
    cells might be a clone engineered not to burst into flames (or not!) or >>>> it might even be a genuine board recycled from an original, to play
    nicely with whatever firmware locks Lenovo have built into the laptop.

    Condition: New

    It's doesn't say "refurbished" or "recycled".

    The design is pretty simple.

    + ----- cells ----- - (there could be a BMS PCB disc, preventing certain things)

    (bus) --/-- EEPROM based
    coulomb counter chip ---- (old ones also had status
    LEDs on the pack and a status button)
    serialized

    The coulomb counter, not only does it keep track of watt-hours
    remaining, it also has a set of coefficients which estimate
    how the cells age.

    A competent battery pack design, puts the correct coefficients
    in the coulomb counter chip. After 200 charges, the pack has
    5% less capacity, and the coulomb counter "deducts the damage"
    from readings, to give a more true indication of charge remaining.
    So maybe instead of "90 minute remaining", it says "85 minutes remaining".

    The laptop is responsible for filling the cells, and "charge termination". The charging process monitors only pack voltage and current flow,
    to conclude when a cell is full. Charging does not rely upon
    coulomb counter integrity. If you took a hacksaw, and cut off
    the coulomb counter, charging would continue to work properly.

    From a safety point of view, whether the coulomb counter is
    there, is accurate or inaccurate, does not matter. The charge
    management chip, knows all and sees all. The charge management
    chip, is responsible for not setting fire to your house.

    The coulomb counter is your "fuel gauge", and helps you manage
    your usage behavior with regard to data integrity. Some packs,
    when they get old, the pack "flattens" so quickly, the fuel
    gauge is not able to give an accurate indication that something
    should be done. And the file system could receive a dirty
    shutdown (not a big problem for EXT4, but maybe a problem
    for your lost work).

    When a Chinese guy builds a pack (fake or otherwise), he may use
    the correct part number for the coulomb counter chip. But whether the
    actual cell wear characteristic matches the coefficients in the
    fuel gauge, who knows. It's possible the time remaining is
    not accurate. While occasionally fully draining the pack, and
    fully filling the pack, can help "calibrate it", this does not
    necessarily correct any coefficients which estimate wear rates.

    Were these things done, just to make the pack "complicated" ?
    Probably :-)

    The coulomb counter, is supposed to be a better method, than
    "just watching the battery voltage". That's why the method
    exists. The fuel gauge equation is rather complicated, when
    all parameters are in usage.

    A pack design could be ruined, by providing 700mAH cells
    instead of the 10000mAH promised, so there is that aspect
    of pack design. I do not know how your new pack, would
    compare to the runtime of the original pack. It might be
    just 66% of the original. This is where the luck of the
    draw comes in, on pack purchase. "Did I get Panasonic cells?"
    or did I get the cheapest cells the market could provide ?

    Bought two so-called 45N1007 batteries from the same seller, guess I'll
    return at least one and look for another with better cells.

    Since they're push-selling lithium (like drugs), there ought to be more
    tests or ways to EXPOSE the good from the lesser lithium products.


    If the chemistry changed, from Lithium Cobalt to Lithium
    Iron Phosphate, that would be bad, since the laptop charger
    chip *assumes* a certain chemistry. At least the cell
    chemistry had better be a close match, if you expect
    to get more than a month out of the pack.

    *******

    This is one reason my UPS does not have a battery today (dead).
    I bought a "branded" spare from the computer store. It
    lasted three years. Three cells of six cells, failed short
    circuit. This is obviously a fabrication error, and the
    pack wasn't even remotely close to being correct. The original
    pack lasted 11 years, and did not fail short. All cells working,
    but just knackered on plates (no functional capacity left). The
    original pack and the charger, behaved well with respect to
    one another. The replacement was a shambles. Shambolic. I
    only caught it in time, because I checked chassis temperature
    and I could feel heat. An SPS UPS should remain ice cold when not
    being on-battery. As soon as I felt heat one day, it was time to take
    it apart. A check with a multimeter, showed how close I was
    getting to a disaster.

    Who do I trust now, for a replacement battery pack for the thing ?
    Does the Pope make battery packs ? Is there an honest person
    left in this world ?

    Paul

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)