Vostro A860 doesn't charge past 82%

I've had my laptop for only 2 weeks (I bought it brand new), and I've never had this problem before. Starting today, my battery wouldn't charge past 82%. It charges fine until it reaches 82%. Then, it just suddenly stops charging. After looking at an advanced battery monitor, I saw that the charge rate after hitting 82% was 0 mW (no charge...). Is this a battery monitor calibration problem? Or a battery problem? I've only had my laptop for 2 weeks...

Help please! Thanks in advance

 

You should discharge the battery FULLY and recharge it. The best way to do it is in the BIOS (if you have the option). The other way is to use the Dell software to discharge and recharge. And finally, if the above two are not available to you, you should run it on battery until it DIES without any Windows power management to take it into suspend or hibernate. Make sure the battery goes down to ZERO.

Recharge it and it should be fine.

 

hi ,New batteries are shipped in a discharged condition and must charged before use. I generally recommend an overnight charge (approximately twelve hours). Refer to your user's manual for charging instructions. Rechargeable batteries should be cycled - fully charged and then fully discharged - 2 to 4 times initially to allow them to reach their full capacity. (Note: it is perfectly normal for a battery to become warm to the touch during charging and discharging). If you do so,it still don't work well,please replace another new battery.

 

Dell never sends completely discharged batteries. I have owned many Dell laptops and not once has the battery come fully discharged. The same is true for some other manufacturers. They need to test the laptop and the QA requires a full battery charge-up. Your point about the charge/discharge cycle is valid though. Need to do that a few times before optimal conditions are met.

Your post is barely disguised spam since you are a brand new user.

 

What is your "advanced battery monitor"? What does the BIOS tell you about the charge level when your monitor tells you that the battery has stopped charging?

 

The monitor I'm using is BatteryBar Pro (v3.1 build 59).

Btw, is your BIOS the setup menu you can enter when you boot up? (Sorry, I'm not very good with this stuff.. )

 

The BIOS is the setup menu you can enter on boot by hitting F2. There should be a menu that will show your battery's charge and charging status. I've never used BatteryBar Pro, so I can't vouch for the reliability or unreliability of the program.

 

Uhh.. when I go to BIOS, the battery charge indicated is the same I see in BatteryBar Pro AND in the Vista Battery Icon. It also says "the battery is working normally" (or something like that) in the BIOS.

 

Okay, I just recalibrated my battery, and the problem is still there (won't charge past 82%)

 

I just noticed that when the battery gets to around 70% charge, the charge rate slows down to around 9100 mW. After hitting 82%, the charge rate goes to ZERO.