I finally stopped throwing out old laptop batteries right away

I was talking to a retired engineer named Frank at the local repair cafe last Saturday. He said, 'A lot of those 'dead' batteries just have one bad cell, the BMS locks them out for safety.' He showed me how to check the individual cell voltages on a 2015 MacBook Pro battery pack with my multimeter. Sure enough, three cells were still at 3.7V, but one was at 0. It totally changed how I look at battery replacement jobs now. Has anyone else had luck reviving packs like this, or is it more trouble than it's worth?

3 comments

3 Comments

terry_bailey3526d ago

Frank at the repair cafe is spot on. I opened up an old Dell battery last month, same deal. One cell was totally dead but the other five were fine. @taraw16 is right that it's a mixed bag though. I got it working but the pack swelled up a week later. Felt like a waste of time. Still, knowing how to check the cells is a good skill to have.

perry.nancy3d ago

Remember my buddy tried that with his laptop battery last year. He got it to turn on for a day or two and was so pumped, but then the whole thing puffed up like a pillow. Had to toss it in the battery bin at Best Buy. I mean, it's cool to learn how they work, but idk, maybe it's just not worth the risk most of the time.

taraw1627d ago

Ever tried fixing a battery pack yourself? I've had mixed results but it's worth a shot.