Batteries: Dell Latitude LS Portable Computers User's Guide

	About the Batteries		First Low-Battery Warning
	Using the Battery		Second Low-Battery Warning
	Charging the Battery		Detecting Battery Problems
	Charging a Hot Battery		Battery Disposal
	Replacing the Battery		About Battery Power
	Battery Charge Gauge		Turning On the Computer

About the Batteries

Your computer includes a 4-cell or 6-cell lithium ion battery that provides power when an electrical outlet is not available. The battery is installed on the underside of the computer and forms part of the bottom of the computer. Lithium ion batteries are longer lived than conventional batteries and do not require replacement as often. You do not need to drain a lithium ion battery completely before recharging it.

Do not place spent batteries with common household waste products. See Battery Disposal for more information.

Keep the following information in mind when you are running your computer from the battery:

A fully charged 6-cell, 34-watt-hour (WH) battery provides approximately 2 hours of battery life; a fully charged 4-cell, 23-WH battery provides approximately 1 hour of battery life.Actual performance varies, depending on which power management features are enabled and which application programs you are using.
The integrated battery charge gauge lets you check the charge status of an installed or uninstalled battery at any time.
The battery’s self-test capability alerts you to battery conditions such as low charge.

NOTE: If the battery is totally drained the alert functions will not operate.

You can charge the battery whenever you like without fear of reducing its charge capacity.
A battery has a life span of up to 350 full charges and 2000 partial charges, provided it is charged at normal room temperature.

NOTICE: The batteries are designed to work only with Dell Latitude LS portable computers. Do not use the Latitude LS batteries with other computers, and do not use batteries from other computers with the Dell Latitude LS.

Using the Battery

The battery is partially charged when you receive it. Dell recommends that you charge your battery to full capacity before using it to power the computer.

If you are powering the computer from a battery, try to conserve battery power. A number of factors affect battery operating time:

Power conservation features that you use
Type of display and microprocessor installed

Brightness setting of the display
Use of storage media
Number and type of external devices and type of PC Cards that you use

NOTE: You can extend battery life by removing PC Cards when they are not being used.

Kinds of application programs that you run
Capacity of the memory module installed (the higher the capacity, the more power used)

When you activate suspend mode (known as standby in the Microsoft® Windows® 98 operating system), the computer can remain in suspend mode on battery power for approximately one week (if the battery was fully charged before activating suspend or standby mode).

If you are going to store the computer, disconnect all devices and turn off the computer. Remove the battery when you store your computer for an extended period of time. A battery will drain when not in use during prolonged storage. After a long storage period, recharge the battery fully before you attempt to run your computer from battery power.

NOTE: To extend battery life, store batteries at room temperature.

Charging the Battery

Each time you connect the computer to an electrical outlet or install a battery in a computer that is connected to an electrical outlet, the computer checks the battery's charge. The AC adapter charges the battery (if needed) and then maintains the battery's charge.

NOTE: For maximum battery performance, charge the battery only at room temperature.

The battery status indicator (see Figure 1) turns orange while the battery is charging and then turns green when the charge cycle is complete. It takes about 1.5 hours to completely charge the battery, whether the computer is turned on or off.

Figure 1. Battery Status Indicator

1	Battery status indicator

NOTE: You can leave the battery in the computer as long as you like. The battery's integrated circuitry prevents the battery from overcharging.

Charging a Hot Battery

If your battery is hot from being used in your computer or being in a hot environment, take note of the following precautions:

A hot battery will not charge when you connect the AC adapter to the computer. This safety feature is important because charging a hot battery shortens the battery’s life span and may damage the battery and the computer.
If the computer is not allowed to return to room temperature, the battery stops charging before it reaches its full capacity.

Replacing the Battery

To replace a battery in the battery bay, perform the following steps (see Figure 2).

NOTES: If necessary, print these instructions for reference before proceeding.

Dell recommends that you turn the computer off before replacing the battery.

If you want to replace the battery while the computer is running, you must first connect the computer to an electrical outlet or enter suspend (or standby) mode or suspend-to-disk (S2D) mode. You cannot replace the battery while the computer is running on battery power.

If the computer is docked, undock it. (See the documentation that came with your docking device.)

NOTICE: If you choose to replace the battery with the computer in suspend (or standby) mode, you have up to 2 minutes to complete the battery replacement.

Connect the computer to an electrical outlet and then preserve your data in one of the following ways:

Place the computer in suspend (or standby) mode.

Press <Fn><Esc> (or <Scroll Lock><Esc> on an external keyboard if the External Hot Key option is enabled in the system setup program).

(For Windows 95 only) Place the computer in S2D mode.

Press <Fn><a> (or <Fn><q> on a French keyboard). When the green power indicator turns off, go to step 3.

Remove the battery from the battery bay.

Close the computer display and turn the computer over. Slide the battery bay latch to the unlock position (seeFigure 2), causing the battery to pop up slightly on one side. While keeping the latch in the unlock position, pivot the battery up and out of the bay. Release the latch.

Figure 2. Removing a Battery

batt_rem.gif (17989 bytes)

Position the new battery as shown in Figure 2, and lower the outside edge of the battery into the battery compartment.

Four small tabs on the battery fit into four slots in the side wall of the computer.
Press the battery firmly into place, flush with the surrounding surface.

Make sure that the battery latch is completely closed before turning the computer right-side up.
If you put the computer into suspend (or standby) mode or S2D mode in step 2, press the power button to resume normal operation.

Battery Charge Gauge

The battery charge gauge, located on the battery and accessible on the underside of the computer,consists of four indicators and a test button. Each indicator represents 25 percent of full charge. If only one indicator lights up, recharge the battery before using it.

To check the charge level, press the battery test button (see Figure 3). The appropriate number of indicators lights up for a few seconds to indicate the amount of charge remaining in the battery.

Figure 3. Battery Charge Gauge

1	Battery charge indicators (4)
2	Battery test button

NOTES: A charge indicator that blinks rapidly indicates a temporary failure or a potentially recoverable failure such as overheating. Allow the battery to cool for several minutes before checking the charge level again.

If the battery has permanently failed or completely discharged, no charge indicators will light when you press the battery test button. If you install a failed or completely discharged battery in the computer and the battery status indicator turns red, the battery has failed. If the battery status indicator turns red, allow the battery to charge overnight and check it the next day. If the battery is fully discharged, it takes a much longer time than usual to recharge it.

To purchase a new battery, call Dell or access the Dell World Wide Web site at http://www.dell.com. Dispose of the old battery properly.

Percentage of Charge

The battery charge gauge uses its four indicator lights to show the percent of charge remaining in the battery:

If one indicator lights up, the battery has 1 to 25 percent of its charge remaining.
If two indicators light up, the battery has 26 to 50 percent of its charge remaining.
If three indicators light up, the battery has 51 to 75 percent of its charge remaining.
If four indicators light up, the battery has 76 to 100 percent of its charge remaining.

First Low-Battery Warning

The first low-battery warning—consisting of a battery warning icon that appears on the screen and a triple beep from the speaker—occurs when you have about 20 minutes of battery life left under current conditions and the computer is not connected to an electrical outlet.

NOTICE: When you receive a low-battery warning, save your work immediately. Then replace the battery or connect your computer to an electrical outlet.

Second Low-Battery Warning

The second low-battery warning consists of a triple beep from the speaker, with the computer entering suspend(or standby) mode immediately after the beep if Battery Low Suspend is enabled in the system setup program. If Battery Low Suspend is disabled, a low-battery icon appears on the display screen. This warning occurs when you have about 15 minutes of battery life left under current conditions and the computer is not connected to an electrical outlet.

After the second low-battery warning, if no further input/output (I/O) activity occurs within a few seconds, the computer enters S2D mode. If the computer has no S2D file, it enters suspend (or standby) mode, in which it can preserve data for several hours.

If the computer is already in suspend (or standby) mode when a final low-battery warning occurs, the computer enters S2D mode immediately. If S2D mode has been disabled, the computer reenters suspend (or standby) mode.

NOTICE: To avoid losing data and possibly corrupting data areas on your hard-disk drive, save your work immediately after a second low-battery warning. Then connect your computer to an electrical outlet, or place the computer in suspend (or standby) mode. If the battery runs completely out of power, the computer turns off without properly closing any open files.

Detecting Battery Problems

A battery problem may prevent the battery from being charged to its full potential and can lead to unpredictable operation. To obtain a new battery, call Dell or access the Dell World Wide Web site at http://www.dell.com.

To avoid installing a defective battery in your computer, first check the battery's charge, indicated by the battery charge indicators on the battery itself, by pressing the battery test button (see Figure 3).

NOTE: If the battery has 0 (zero) percent charge, you cannot use the battery test button to check the battery's capacity. The battery charge indicators will not light if the battery is completely drained.

Battery Disposal

CAUTION: Do not puncture or incinerate the battery.

NOTE: To purchase a new battery, call Dell or access the Dell World Wide Web site at http://www.dell.com.

Your computer system uses both a lithium-ion battery pack and a nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) coin cell battery. For instructions about replacing the lithium-ion battery pack in your computer, see "Replacing the Battery." The NiMH battery is a long-life battery, and it is very possible that you will never need to replace it. However, if this battery ever needs to be replaced, the procedure must be performed by an authorized service technician.

Do not dispose of these batteries along with household waste. Contact your local waste disposal agency for the address of the nearest battery deposit site.

About Battery Power

You automatically conserve battery power each time you connect the computer to an electrical outlet. The battery is even being recharged when you use AC power. The battery's life expectancy is largely determined by the number of charges it receives, so use an electrical outlet to run the computer whenever possible.

You can customize power management by individually controlling the computer's power conservation features. These features reduce power consumption by monitoring application programs and computer devices for inactivity and slowing down or stopping some of the computer’s internal devices.

NOTES: When you use power conservation features, you often trade some of the performance of the computer for increased battery operating time. For example, if you turn off the hard-disk drive, you may experience a delay the next time the computer tries to access the hard-disk drive.

Other power conservation features, such as suspend (or standby) mode, stop almost all system activity. They allow you to maximize power conservation when your work is interrupted.

Experiment with power conservation features to achieve the optimum power conservation for your work environment.

Turning On the Computer

To turn on the computer, press the power button.

NOTES: If your computer's operating system is "locked up"—that is, it does not respond to commands—press and hold down the power button for at least five seconds to turn off the computer.

If the operating system locks up and does not respond to the power button, you can restart the computer using the reset switch on the bottom of the computer. To do so, straighten a paper clip and press it into the reset switch access hole for about one second.

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