Alan Cox's ThinkPad battery explodes
By Cyrus Farivar 
posted Sep 22nd 2006 3:22PM
posted Sep 22nd 2006 3:22PM
Update: We traded emails with Alan Cox and have posted some of our questions and answers with him on the next page.
Were you in front of the laptop at the time? Where were you burned?
Thankfully I was about three to four feet to the left of it. Got some minor burns on one hand and down the other arm. Nothing serious enough to need the paramedic to do anything. Also a bit short of hair on one side of that arm now.
You said that the battery exploded shooting fragments everywhere -- how far did they go?
They took out an LCD display four feet away and hit the wall about the same distance. The LCD was about level with the laptop so it would have gone further. The fragments were hot enough they started small fires and melted the carpet.
Also btw - note the way the batteries exploded - forward and slightly downward. Not a nice thought if you had one on your lap at the time.
lol JCA.
I tested this camera for a client. I didn’t have the light running for more than 15 minutes. The battery lasted approximately 6 hours before recharging. The LCD, however, had a few dead pixels - never saw this before. Tried returning for exchange and had to put up quite a fight. Anyone else seen this? http://www.batterylaptoppower.com
my macbooks battery better hold up.
Hmmm... That looks like an older ThinkPad... I don't think IBM/ Lenovo have used battery packs in that style for quite a few years.
I doubt that we, the public, will ever get a full disclosure on this issue. It's all about the money folks.
Essentially most, if not all, laptops, cell phones, MP3 players, Blackberries, Palms; hell just about any portable device that you can talk on, listen to, view stuff, play on, schedule things, and combinations thereof use the same lithium-ion batteries that these exploding laptops use.
Imagine if Sony had to recall all the batteries it sold in every portable device that it batteries for. That's mighty expensive.
And that expensive part is why we won't get full disclosure on this issue.
Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the whole exploding l-ion batter thing only apply to multi-celled batteries? I thought these explosions happen because there's a difference in charge between the individual cells in the battery pack. With out the proper circuitry, the cell with a higher charge can back-drive the cell with little or no charge. Heat builds up and ka-blamo! This is why you don't see cell phones doing their best firecracker impression, most of them are single cell batteries (3.6v). Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to your cell phone. Your laptop, cordless tools, video cam, etc. might be another story.
I have a Thinkpad X31 and bought a replacement battery on eBay - I'm using it right now.. should I be worried?
/Moving it off my lap...
there is a serial number on the battery. Check that with the website to see if your battery is effected by the recall. Even if it isnt, i would refrain from using the laptop on your lap, just in case.
in the words of Homer Simpson:
"Damn You eBay"
Not that any laptop should explode, but keep in mind its an 8 year old model..
I have a Dell Latitude 510, should I be worried?
:)
Mark
Woah! How come noone puts their laptops on their LAPS! Well, if someone did, we definitely wouldnt hear of it ;-)
I can see suicide bombers strapping on laptop batteries or terrorists with a duffel bag full of batteries heading to the airport.
It's the terrorists, trying to kill us with our own technology!!!
AHH!! Sell everything!
In response to the cost of the recall, it's just like the opening scene from Fight Club. If the cost of the lawsuits is less than the cost of doing a recall, there's no recall.
On another note, is it really possible to go by a single day WITHOUT hearing another battery explosion, good god!
I'll bet all of those exploding batteries came from factories out of China. Most of them knockoffs or substandard in quality. The factories there really have no sense in quality control. We'll probably soon see Lenovo laptops with exploding batteries especially after selling a bunch of them to the US government by Lenovo. It's a giant conspiracy! ;)
I have a 600e with not one, but two batteries. :(
CRAZY!
I have an R-40 Think Pad. I have had it for 5 years and I use the original IBM/Lenovo batteries and have never had a problem.
I think you call this scare mongering - an unoffical component malfunctioning on an a device which is at least 6 years old is hardly newsworthy. If you buy an unoffical battery you should expect as much imho.
We know the reason for the recent sony cells malfunctioning and this is in no way connected, there is always a risk of li-ion cells rupturing (1 in 10000000 I think), the problem with the sony cells is that the odds are much higher due to the manufacturing error.
I have Thinkpad 600x with a refilled battery from http://www.batteryrefill.com - no problems yet (crossing fingers).
oops :)
"If you buy an unoffical battery you should expect as much imho."
So the penalty for trying to save a little money should be a fireball inside your house?
You shouldn't "expect" an explosion no matter what product you buy. Unless it's a case of TNT. Regular consumer products should not explode under any circumstances and there are strict regulations governing this type of thing. The producers of batteries with known defects that could lead to fire or explosion could be held criminally liable, not just liable for damages in civil court.
God I wish my work laptop had one of these crap batteries. What a sweet half-day that would be!
lol JCA.
Bloody 'ell... Glad I'm getting a different brand of laptop for my birthday ;)
Putting on tin foil hat....
Hmmm are all these batteries from the same manufacturer. It seems strange that all these batteries are blowing up now. Either this has happened before and we just didn't hear about it. Or major batteries are copying each other's designs and not changing anything.
Or someone is intentionally suppling bad parts to battery manufacturers or sabotaging the production lines.
We're doooooomed
Removing tin foil hat...
Seriously though, my mom was using her Powerbook that is part of the Apple recall and she dozed off with it on the bed. I had to show her some of the pics of what these things can do.
Seems like with the exploding uses of LiIon batteries in a lot of devices these days, something like this might be a very common occurance. Now, that iPod, your cellphone, your digital camera, etc. are all potential incendiary grenades. Comforting though, no?
Grey's Anatomy, great show, and looks great in HD..
Oops wrong thread.. :)
I believe there's a reason all the maufacturers are no longer selling these types of computers as laptops, rather calling them notebooks. I'm sure it's because of a lawyer somewhere...
Is there any possibility whatsoever that a computer virus could be causing these batteries to explode on all different kinds of laptops and batteries?
LENOVO needs to respond to this, and FAST. I spent 4k on a freakin laptop, I want to feel safe using the darn thing. Figure out if there needs to be a recall or not!
Alan Cox told us that it was an IBM ThinkPad 600, not a Lenovo.
yeah but Lenovo bought rights to the Think* brands so I'm pretty sure it's their deal now.
.. my ThinkPad is pre-Lenovo too. A glorious T42 :)
... with a SONY primary system battery.. which was replaced 3 times in the first year of ownership because the capacity kept dropping drastically.
I did report it to ebay and suggest that if this is occurring they may like to consider warning people. They essentially said "its not our responsibility" which is legally probably quite true.
so does that mean that eBay will be the next one to announce a recall?
Wow, that sucks to have your laptop go out like that because of an eBay battery. Look on the bright side though, at least it wasn't resting ever so snugly on your crotch at the time.
Doesn't it make people suspicious that all of these 'battery explosions' are happening now when we never heard about them before? Why now? Sunspots? Unfavorable alignment of the planets?
No, I expect these are simply copy-cat hoaxes by people going out of there way to blow up their old computers...hey, maybe they will get a fancy new laptop as a result of some kind of spuriously induced 'class-action' suit.
would a battery exploding damage the hard drive causing you to lose all your data? i've been wondering that for a while.
Cyrus, Can you ask Alex to post some close up pictures of the remaining two cells he took out of the pack. I we see the photos we can probably identify the make of pack. In particular w eneed to see any colored wrapper still intact on the battery and close up of the top on the battery. We will look at Alex's web site this weekend, then give you our thoughts.
Mark
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energies_per_unit_mass
The above URL has the energy densities per mass of many noteworthy chemicals. It lists TNT as having 6 times the energy density of Li batteries. Think about the active part of your battery (IE the part that's inside the hard plastic case and which doesn't count the electronics) as being 1/6 TNT.
New technological developments in Li battery design are continually increasing the energy density, this of course means that the potential result of things going wrong will be more spectacular.
We have a few of those Thinkpad 600's at work and none of the batteries hold charges any more, and they give off a funny smell. Better get rid of them ASAP.
Some of the more gullible around here will think that this was just a random accident.
What are the odds, I ask you, of this 'just happening' to a lead Linux kernel developer?
This battery came from Redmond, no doubt about it.
People on the web amaze me. Smart CHEAP, CHEAP people. I sell accessories and batteries for cellar phones.
I have tried to sell legitimate product on eBay at a TINY markup and you can not do it successfully. Batteries that COST $15.00 from the OEM are on eBAY for $.01.
And you complain about exploding batteries? PEOPLE ARE SO CHEAP AND SO GREEDY THAT THEY DESERVE TO LEARN WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BRING IN CRAP.
I try to offer NEW, OEM product for $1.99 and sales are slow, becuase my customer can buy JUNK from Asia for $.40.
BLAME YOURSELF. GET USED TO IT.
90% of the "Motorola" batteries on eBAY are FAKE.
A large percentage of the batteries you received from Verizon under their warranty (Assurion) are FAKE.
No one wants to pay for anything that is original, new and high quality.
If you would like I will post the results of a CHEAP aftermarket charger battery explosion that happened in my home.
1 Lithium Battery in your cell phone can EXPLODE and hurt you very badly (or your loved one, CHEAPO) or can start a fire in your home or car.
The public has no one to blame but themselves. The manufacturers know who and where the FAKES are sold and where they are coming from, but no one really cares.
Think about it:
Verizon orders 10,000 replacement phones from Assurion at $100.00
The battery normally costs $15.00 each from the manufacturer, for a new OEM unit.
Put a FAKE in that costs $2.00.
$13.00 * 10,000 = $130,000 PROFIT on that little order.
Assurion replaces more like 100,000 or more phones per month.
Now take that and mulitply by Cingular, Nextel, etc and so on....
No need to rob a bank when you can make MILLIONS selling FAKE batteries.
Now imagine, laptop batteries cost $100 retail... The cells themself (usually 6 @ $4.50 each) cost $25 to $45. Substitute in JUNK and you get the picture.
The legitimate vendors go out of business, they can not compete. You are left with, well, what you have....
Exploding batteries.
Stop complaining, buy something from a legitimate vendor, sealed in an original package, or support legitimate dealers.
When I was in first grade my Dad told me, "if it seems to good to be true, it probably is."
Get it?
Steve
just a test, don't mind me
I completely agree with Stephen. People should really try using their brain, and go with a vendor they know and trust. If you see a battery for $20 retail, then you find that very same battery for a dollar... Well, what would YOU think?
And shame on the major companies for ordering these low quality batteries, in particular.
Stephen was also correct when he quoted: "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."
The aliens have thrown the switch! This year they're exploding our laptop batteries. Next year it'll be the plasma in all those new TVs. Yikes! I'm puttin on my alu-minium hat I've kept in the closet since Scully left.
Mulder
Today is Thurs Sept 28th 2006:
I just heard that the IBM think pad has a battery recall. where can i find out what think pad it was. and where I can go to replace it.
Please respond. becouse I own one. Thanks for your help
Today is Thurs Sept 28th 2006:
I just heard that the IBM think pad has a battery recall. where can i find out what think pad it was. and where I can go to replace it.
Please respond. becouse I own one. Thanks for your help.
My think pad heats up to quit a temp, when I'm using it. and I have avoided using it. becouse of this heated thing going on.
good one what's next we have also experienced car batteries explod too. I hope the next rocket that goes up dosent have battery problems.
Well I've had a similar problems with "ebay batteries" with my sony vaio. In addition to taking out the laptop it took out part of my sofa as well. See pics here
http://fernhillpost.blogspot.com/2005/08/sony-vaio-fx170-2001-2005-rip.html
ebay was thoroughly unhelpful and their problem resolution site is a joke. So i'm sticking to OEM batteries from now on even if it is twice the price. Atleast that way I can go after the laptop manufacturer. Moral. Dont stinge on batteries people. If you dont burn enough good money on them now they might burn you later.
I just heard that the IBM think pad has a battery recall. where can i find out what think pad it was. and where I can go to replace it. http://www.laptopbatteriesinc.co.uk/ibm-laptop-battery-c-6.html
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