How do I perform a laptop battery recovery?

Unfortunately, after a certain period of time (from one year to five, depending on the operating conditions), the battery of any laptop starts to lose its capacity catastrophically. As a result, you can not even dream about any hours of work: if you can read the text for half an hour, then it's already good. It would seem that the program to restore the laptop battery is not needed. After all, what prevents using an obvious solution lying on the surface - to replace the battery? The answer is simple, just like the question itself: the high cost of an energy source for a laptop interferes. The user, who managed to find a new battery for his model at a price less than a third of the entire portable computer, can be considered a lucky one. The result is predictable: if the laptop is used only at home as a replacement for a personal computer, then it is only operated from the network "until better times" (usually to obsolescence), and if mobility is required, then you have to spend considerably.

However, there is another solution - this is the recovery of the laptop battery. Service centers can not be considered, as this, again, costs, and no one will guarantee a used battery. However, this is quite understandable. Therefore, each laptop can try to restore the laptop battery . Argument: The battery will either work, or not, and it can not be used without restoring or replacing it. As they say, there is nothing to lose.

Recover the laptop battery starting with the preparation of tools. You will need: a multimeter (the cost of budget models dropped to $ 4), a sharp knife, a bulb with a power of 21 W and a voltage of 12 V (automotive), a low-power soldering iron, and superglue.

We remove the battery from the laptop. Its body does not provide for dismantling, so it is necessary to walk along the seam connecting two halves with a knife. If you can not open immediately, then we call for patience and try again.

After the "autopsy" inside you can see a block of small battery cells connected in series (and you thought the battery was solid?).

Further recovery of the laptop battery is to determine the type of items. It can be nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) or lithium-ion (Li-Ion) technology. Further actions are different. Consider the procedure for NiMH.

It happens that the laptop does not turn on at all from the battery. The problem can be in the charge controller. To find out the reason, consider the number of battery cells in the battery pack and multiply by 1.2 - this allows you to determine the voltage level. To the terminals (+ and -) of the battery pack, solder a 21W bulb and a multimeter switched to a voltage measurement mode of at least 20V, check the value on the leads. The light bulb provides a load, a voltage drop, a direct measurement will not produce results. If the value obtained is approximately equal to the calculated value, then the battery problem in the controller malfunction. If significantly lower, then disconnect the chain of battery cells and check the voltage on each one separately. Batteries with an excessively low value should be replaced (usually commercially available batteries with a capacity of 2100 mA). Before assembling the chain, all components are reduced to a single value of the residual charge (load-light bulb to each).

Then a light bulb and a power supply are connected in parallel to the terminals of the battery pack with polarity in mind (the power supply itself is suitable). This is necessary to raise the voltage level to 1.1 V, otherwise the controller will "reject" the battery. With the help of super-glue we assemble the case.

Now you need a program for the laptop battery. Its work is to calibrate - the controller determines the minimum and maximum capacitance values, and also outputs the batteries to the nominal level. For example, Imtec Battery Mark.