Dell Laptop Battery Recall

[Brian Lesser]

Originally Posted by coreyk

Apple Recalls 1.8 Million Laptop Batteries

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/te...ebatteryrecall

Adding onto this, part of the article just made me think, "no wonder"

Originally Posted by the article

Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., would not give any details about when it began getting reports of problems or when it began to investigate. “We discovered that some Sony batteries in previous models of PowerPC-based iBooks and PowerBooks do not meet Apple’s standards for safety and performance,” said Katie Cotton, Apple’s vice president of corporate communications.

[skimoose]

Originally Posted by Jay H 237

This isn't the first time for Dell. They had a previous battery recall about two years ago.

I also wonder if there's a possibility that other brands may be affected. A lot of these companies don't make thier own parts, that's where the suppliers come in. It's possible that who ever supplies batteries to Dell could also supply other makes. Dell may just have certain specs that they require (or don't) and that's where the difference comes in.

I think this has more to do with Dell's (or their vendor's) battery charging circuitry, than the battery manufacturer. I'm almost positive that the batteries in question are lithium ion type. These batteries are known for being very unstable to overcharging. The reason why some Dells are recalled and some are not is because the stock batteries are either NiCads or NiMh. Only the extra long life batteries are Li poly.

Just another reason why FIRST still uses robust lead acid gel cells for the main battery. Most of us have seen a couple of battery fires (or near fires) at FIRST competitions, can you imagine how many flaming batteries would be littering the playing field if we were using Li polys?