Quick discharge even with new batt.

[jaws]

Hello all,
I have a VPR Matric 120-180B5 and i cannot get a battery to last longer than 20 minutes. I bought a brand new one, charged it and the little power meter on the battery indicates 100%. Battery gets down to 0 in 20 minutes or less.

Laptop runs fine during that 20 minutes and runs great on AC. I have taken it apart to see if any shorts could be found. I have even bench tested it out of the case and all apart. Battery still dies pretty quickly.

Any thoughts or ideas anyone? Out of warranty and I dont want to spend $400 for a new mobo if I can fix it myself. Is there some other tests I can run or things to look for?

Thanks gang.

best regards,

jeff

[rdmarsiii]

I think there is something in the bios that resets the battery. Im not sure though, I got mine yesterday, and I cant turn it on because the dude forgot to send the ac adaptor. The battery on it is dead too.

[theEND]

just wanted to let you know that my 200A5 has the same problem (battery discharges in under 15 mins). i've also heard about several other vpr notebook users with the same problem. there is a battery recalibration function in the bios menu but that is quite useless. however it does claim to know what the current capacity of your battery is.

as a side note, i requested a replacement battery from vpr back in november (when it was still covered by the warranty) and they have been stalling on it since.

i have a question regarding your new replacement battery: did it perform badly from the first use or did battery life deteriorate over a period of time? i'm just wondering if the life was 20 mins right from the start, which would indicate that the problem lies in how the computer draws power from the battery rather than a fault within the battery itself.

[jaws]

Thanks for the response. The original battery when I got the thing would only last 15 minutes tops. I talked to the person I bought the laptop from and they said 'use calibration' or 'get a new battery'. I did both. Calibration is useless cause that isnt the problem. THe new battery took 3 weeks and when I got it, the first time it lasted 27 minutes, the next time was 24 minutes and then recently it stays around 20 minutes.

I have taken the laptop apart and found that after the battery dies, there is a choke that is very very warm between the regulator board and the battery supply. It is only hot for battery usage and I think there is something somewhere in the system drawing too much current. The choke doesnt get that hot on AC power.

I dont have a schematic or diagnostic diagram for the laptop and have just done some testing. It is really the only problem with the laptop. I have tried removing the modem and wifi card and battery still at 20 minutes.

I dont know what else to test or try. Looked over the regulator board but i dont see anything obvious.

Thanks again for the reply. At least I am not the only one and I am so tired of hearing 'use the calibration - it fixes everything'.
8-)

-jeff

[rdmarsiii]

I just got mine, and I dont even know how to get to the calibration. Anyways, the battery only lasts for 5 minutes...

[Graphixman]

My original battery lasted 3 hours when new, and I was of course quite satisfied with that. Now the laptop is just over a year old, and only lasts 45 mins tops on battery power. Done the calibration thing, and that only served to shorten the span further. :censored Would love to find a good deal, on a new battery.