I have a Battery repacking business in Queensland, Australia. Our experience has been that in about 5 out of 10 cases, the cells are OK, but the circuit board is faulty.
If you have a regulated power supply, and can correctly identify the positive and negative contacts on the battery (usually the first and last in the row of contacts) apply a small charging current no greater than 1/10 the capacity of the battery, (if the pack says for example, 10.8 volts 2600mAh, the charging current should be no more than 260 milliamps)for 30 to 60 minutes. The circuit board will sometimes switch back on as the voltage increases above the minimum. Sometimes it is necessary to open the pack and apply the current directly to the cells, bypassing the circuit board altogether.

I pulled the battery out and put it back in and the light comes on in the front for a bit and then turns off. The first time I took the battery out, it seemed to start taking a charge but then stopped after awhile. Very frustrating. I wish now that I would have used it alot more in the beginning so that I could have sent the whole thing back.

I contacted tech support to find out how to recalibrate thinking this might fix my problem, however in order to recalibrate the battery must be able to take a charge.

Any how for those that can still charge, here are the instructions for recalibrating.

How to recalibrate the battery on a Gateway Solo 2150!

1. Plug in the AC adapter.

a. Allow the battery to charge until the battery charge icon turns off, showing that the battery is fully charged.

b. After the battery charge light or the icon turns off, unplug the AC adapter.

2. Turn on or restart your portable computer.

3. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

4. In Control Panel, double-click the Power Management icon.

5. In the Power Management Properties dialog box, click the Power Schemes tab.

6. On the Power Schemes tab, in the Settings for Always On power scheme box, in the Running on batteries column:

a. In the Turn off monitor list, click Never.

b. In the Turn off hard disks list, click Never.

c. In the System standby list, click Never.

7. Let the battery drain until your portable computer reaches hibernation and turns off.

8. Plug in the AC adapter. Restart your portable computer.

9. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. In Control Panel, double-click the Power Management icon. In the Power Management Properties dialog box, re-enter your power savings settings to the desired level.

www.1001batteries.com sells an external battery pack for the Solo 2150. Because it is external, it operates completely independent from the internal charging circuit. It has its own charging circuit and its own low-power detector, all for $75. It comes with a 6-month free replacement warranty--the customer only pays for shipping.

Check out this link:

http://www.1001batteries.com/Lookup/MLP-036190.html

This is odd - the charging light for the battery just switched from the scary orange to the bright green!

www dot citynotebookcentre dot com dot au slash faq dot htm

First, it is easy for the person who's CMOS battery died to replace the internal coin battery. It is a standard coin. You simply have to take the case apart, remove the plugged in old battery, and replace with a new one. You may have to cut and resolder the plug end onto the new battery. (NOTE: If you are going to attempt this, you have to remove the keyboard to get at some of the case screws under it). Any reputable computer service store can do this for those not technically minded. If you would like, email me and I will put together a detailed description on case dissasembly.

I am currently working on a dead battry pack also. I do believe the posting is correct on using the batteries rather than the adapter all the time. These batteries need to be "recycled" in order for them to function at capacity. I found that the internal board is producing the charge voltage at the terminals, but my pack has lost it's calibration. The re-cal feature is not available on my 2150. There is no recal function associated with the BIOS. I think gateway should provide a new BIOS for the 2150's that haven't got BIOS capability to recalibrate. At least that would separate the actual bad bateeries from those who are just in need of recal. I am currently charging my pack with a regulated supply, and if it fires up the system, I will let it run until it dies and hopefully the internal charging circuit will come back to life. I will post my efforts later.

I am going to go to the Gateway site now and see if I can update the BIOS.

I disassembled the battery pack for the 2150. I found 4 dead cells out of the 12 in the pack. I am currently trying to find a source for these cells. I wrote Panasonic, and they will not sell them. They are claiming it is against the law to sell Li-ion cells to anyone who is not a licensed battery pack assembler. I believe this to be untrue, as a couple sites I checked into have Li-ions for sale as individual cells, just not with the same rating as the CGR18650HM cells in the pack.

Pls inform e-mail company can contact ?

There is a recalibration feature in BIOS on this model, but I've tried it and it doesn't seem to work, trying it again now (manual says this is a several hour process.

i have no vested interest in this site.

Yes, I'm another Gateway victim who has totally lost it and would not recommend Gateway to my worst enemy. I'm waiting for a replacement system to arrive from Gateway in the next couple of days. I explained to my semi-intelligent service rep that there are tons of unsatisfied people on the net with the same problem and that Gateway should do something. I have my attorney on call to handle my personal case with them if necessary. I was wondering if anyone has done anything in the class action department. Let me know via this board or email.

I'm going to send in my non-charging 2150 (it's still under warranty) and have them fix it or replace it.

I like GW, but it's frustrating to go through problems like this and have the Company tell you it's the batteries. It's definitely the charging circuit on the 2150's. Too many people with problems.

Good luck to others with the same problem.

In researching Lithium Ion technology, it appears that it’s a combination of ignorance of the battery chemistry requirements and computer engineers that did a bit too much in firmware.

First, a little primer on Lithium Ion charging. The initial charging mode is constant current. The batteries would pull too much current if charged at a given voltage (they would appear nearly shorted and overheat). After a threshold is reached where the current is limited by the charging voltage, the next charging phase is at ~4.2V constant voltage, until the cells reach a charging current of typically less than 50mA per cell. At this point, charging cuts OFF, and does not float. A periodic "topping off" cycle keeps the battery at near max charge.

The minimum cell voltage from most spec sheets I've seen ranges from 2.5V to 2.6V. NOT 3.0V! An error level that would be too conservative could sideline battery packs that are just fine.

It seems Gateway design engineers outsmarted themselves making battery management occur in firmware, rather than in a robust stand-alone circuit that simply "talked" to the CPU. Plug the AC adapter in, and if the battery needs a "top off" it gets one. If not, it would be left alone. Lithium Ion batteries specifically do NOT suffer from memory problems. So perhaps with the goal of "fancy" battery management, they created a protocol that results in damaged batteries, circuitry, or both.

Interestingly, I read somewhere that laptop batteries have a one-time "suicide circuit". If any parameter such as overcharging/temp/undervoltage occurs JUST ONCE, the pack is rendered permanently inoperable by the internal circuitry. This could mean that once a charger inside a laptop goes bad, it will simply activate this kill switch in every battery plugged into it from then on...

For those of you with actual bad cells in your packs, it is possible that the charging circuit inside the laptop was damaged by thermal overload. Analog devices, Micrel, etc., charge management chips carry admonitions against exceeding thermal dissipation of their devices, especially those that use an external pass element with no thermal shutdown provisions. A shorted battery pack could damage this circuit, and then the circuit could kill new battery packs from then on.

I have not read ANYWHERE the reasons for the strict official limitations on distribution of Lithium Ion “bare cells” that do not include safety circuits. I am assuming that overcharging/overheating may result in toxic or explosive results. Imagine your laptop ON YOUR LAP going off like a grenade due to failed charging circuits! I suppose the other reason may be economic. Sanyo is currently suing another battery manufacturer over patent infringement. Limiting availability of bare cells may allow distributors to keep prices artificially high ($200-$300).

I got tired of it and my partner and I went out and bought a couple of iBooks. My Solo lasted 40 minutes on a full charge at best. My iBook lasts 4 hours. Sweet.

From what I've read I beleive that some of the cells inside the battery pack are dead hence why i get about 10 mins of battery. It uses six US18650GR. I will need to get a meter on each one to confirm. I am told that if the voltage drops below a certain level then the battery will never charge, with the battery pack.

It may be possible to correct the problem by applying a small charge to the battery pack via a 9volt transistor radio battery. a bit like jump starting a car. The problem is how do you identify the positive and minus terminals on the battery pack. You could use a christmas light bulb or a volt meter.

But what was more exciting was the 48hr deep freeze option.

This one I'm going to personally try.

Ist you completely discharge the batteries. In the config change your power options and disable battery monitoring and turning off hard drives so that the computer dies, with no power.

Remove your battery pack. Seal inside a bag to help prevent moisture. Then place it into the freezer for 48hours.

Remove the battery pack from the freezer and ensure it is dry. Allow it to reach room temperature should take between 1 -2 hours then plug into the laptop and power up on the mains.

The unit should now recharge again as normal.

here is the link to the posting

http://bizforums.itrc.hp.com/cm/QuestionAnswer/1,,0xe65e0fe6d0f7d61190050090279cd0f9,00.html

Is it worth spending more money on a motherboard or is there a cheaper suggestion anyone might have.

Good luck to everyone who is finding a solution and i hope we will once read the solution on this place for our problems.

If the "Gateway Person" would be nice. He can get the right information for us.

The Dell battery packs have eight individual cells (normally Sony 18650 units) and these are wired up to the protection/ charge/ watchdog circuit in such a way that three voltages are available from the unit - using true ground and stepped ground connections. Two of the voltage ports are available at the main connector and so it seems feasible to restart any dead cells by careful (goggles and rubber gloves) use of a Li-ion voltage charger. The third set of cells however appear to have only internal connections and maybe the supply to the watchdog circuit in the battery.
If this set of cells drops beloe the nominal 3.6v through fault of the battery, or failure of the circuit govening their charge then the battery is rendered useless until its taken apart

I have not yet had a chance to check the rst of the circuit inside but can see a main fusebank IC of 5A rating providing through put from the outside world, as well as a Misubishi IC P/N M37515 which carrys out all the functions of the battery cycling and maintenance

Since voltages are apparent on all batteries that are within the dismantled pack that are more than the nominal 3.6V I assume the fault of this one lies with the circuit, however I would not believe its worth simply throwing it out until Ive had a chance to refresh the cells by other methods

I have been trying to purchase a replacement battery from Gateway for $99.00 and run straight into a brick wall.

I placed and order with them on 1/28/03. I still have not received my batteries.

I have called them at least 6 times now, and every time I get the same response. The parts are on backorder and you should have them in 2 weeks.

Well after the 3rd time hearing this I got real frustrated and wanted a little more than just they are on backorder.

Then I was told that the order I placed had the wrong part number and it needed to be cancelled and re-placed.

Anyways I have now had my order cancelled twice because of order entry errors at Gateway, and am on my 3rd try.

I was also told by Gateway that I was free to cancel my order at anytime and purchase them from somewhere else.

Nice Customer Service.

Has anyone else had any luck purchasing a replacement from them?

Other possible adresses are:
www.gross-center.de
www.fedcoelektonics.com

Good luck everyone..

I just received my new battery from Capital Data USA.

There is a paper with it that says you have to fully dis-charge and fulyy charge the battery several times to train the "smart" battery so it will give a good percent of battery charge.

I am training the battery by now.

Because i am not sitting by the laptop all day and night to follow these instructions it will take some time.

I let you now next week how it went.

Could someone please measure the voltage across the pins in the battery bay on the machine while it is being powered by its AC/mains power source?

The person who posted they measured the rated voltage across the cells but almost nothing across the battery pack terminals makes me think that it is a battery pack circuit problem.

You people have suffered enough, don't waste time and energy on the 'freezer trick'. I cannot imagine from a technical viewpoint how this could possibly help in any way.

Another point: Li-ion cells do not develop a 'memory'. They do not need to be 'cycled' or completely discharged before charging or 'trained'. They are the future and the only problem they exhibit is their current price tag, which will come down over time as the technology becomes ubiquitous.

If your company would send my company one of your 200 defective systems with a defective battery pack and, if possible, one of the working battery packs, I would be happy to take a look at the system and to try to determine the cause of this epidemic.

Let me know.

One more item: Do the battery packs that function properly, do so when placed in different machines?

If you haven't tried moving a 'good' battery pack from a 'good' machine to a 'bad' machine to see what happened, please do so and post your results here or email your results to me. This test would be helpful in the diagnosis of this problem.

Take care,

Does anyone know how to open up the LCD screen.

You can get it from;

http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/output.asp?ref=std&curPlatform=Notebook&curSystem=Solo%202300

It says it will do this;

It took quit a while but my new battery functions well..But all together the cost for this battery was high. almost $300,-.

But my laptop is usefull again.

Remark: Training a Li-ion battery isn't because of memory-effect, but to learn the computer to read the remain power of the battery.

regards,

Does anyone knows hot to replace the CMOS battery? how do you open the case to see the motherboard? any links?