From: Jon Glass (jonglass_at_usa.net)
Date: Sun Feb 23 2003 - 13:06:36 PST
When I bought my Newton, it came with a battery that wouldn't take a charge.
Based on someone's advice on this list, I tried a slightly different trick,
and the battery has been working fine ever since. Here's what I did:
Insert the battery, and then plug it in. Wait a couple of seconds, and then
unplug it for a few seconds. Repeat the process about a half-a-dozen times.
After the last time, leave it plugged in, and see if it takes longer to
charge. It should finally take longer than a few minutes, and when you take
it off of power, it should keep its charge. If this works, then your battery
is ok, and you should do fine.
I'm not a battery expert, but if I recall correctly, the reason this works
is because of the recharging circuitry and the logics of the circuitry. It
seems that the Newton recharges batteries, based on battery temperature. If
you try charging a battery and its temperature doesn't start increasing
after a few seconds, it assumes a dead battery and shuts off the charging
process. A perfectly good battery can be so discharged that it takes too
long for the temp to reach the point that the charging circuit can recognize
it, thus shutting off charging. By plugging and unplugging it, you are
bypassing that auto-shut-off sequence. You give it a chance to charge to the
point that the charger recognizes that it is charging, and then it completes
the process. Since the battery was so discharged, however, it will take a
few cycles for it to return to normal power. Give it a try and see if it
works.
-- -Jon Glass Krakow, Poland <mailto:jonglass_at_usa.net> -- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries List FAQ/Etiquette/Terms: http://www.newtontalk.net/faq.html Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
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