Is my mobile phone battery bad?

[David Sewell]

My phone switches off a lot and I have to charge it up, but the battery
indicator on the display always shows as fully charged. Would the battery
definitely be at fault? How can I test it ? (it has four contacts - and is
3.6v ni-nh) I have test equipment.

Thank you,

David

 

[Mike W.]

Chances are the battery is moving in relation to the contacts that allow the
circuit to be broken momentarily. Take the phone to your provider and see if
they will replace it. I have two friends at work that went through the same
thing.

 

[David Sewell]

Hi Mike,
If the battery contact was lost for a short time then I should loose the
time on the display, but I don't unless I purposely remove and replace the
battery. I have found a forum where someone details putting the battery in
a freezer for several days then recharging it. I am giving this a try as I
tend to not use the phone for extended periods and think this may have
caused the problem.
Thank you,
David

 

[Mike W.]

Are you talking about a cordless phone for home use, or a cell phone? I get
the feeling you are talking about a cordless. I have never seen a cell phone
that loses anything when the battery is removed.
If the battery indicator always shows a full charge, then there are a couple
of possibilities:
1) The battery is discharging very quickly. (replace the battery)
2) There is some internal fault with the phone itself. (repair or replace
entire phone)

It won't hurt anything to try freezing the battery as you suggest, but I
doubt it accomplishes anything. Good luck.

 

[David Sewell]

As my subject heading i.e "mobile" in my part of the world this means what
you call "cell" phone...

 

[Arto Rantala]

My phone switches off a lot and I have to charge it up, but the
battery indicator on the display always shows as fully charged.
Would the battery definitely be at fault? How can I test it ? (it has
four contacts - and is
3.6v ni-nh) I have test equipment.

If it only switches off when you make a phone call, it's probably because of
a dead battery. The battery indicator only shows the voltage of the battery
which can stay high, but as the battery ages, it can no longer give much
current and when you make a phone call, the phone tries to draw more current
than the battery can sustain, the battery voltage sags and the phone shuts
down. If the phone doesn't shut down as easily when you've just charged it,
then it's most definitely due to a bad battery.

If, however, the phone just switches off randomly or when you shake it or
twist the battery, then you probably just have bad contacts. Try cleaning
them all with alcohol or somesuch. On some phones also bending the contacts
outwards can help.

 

[Andy Cuffe]

My phone switches off a lot and I have to charge it up, but the battery
indicator on the display always shows as fully charged. Would the battery
definitely be at fault? How can I test it ? (it has four contacts - and is
3.6v ni-nh) I have test equipment.

Thank you,

David

It's certainly possible for a bad battery to cause this. When a
battery reaches the end of its life, the charge remaining indicator
can get very unreliable. It can go from fully charged to not enough
to power the phone before the indicator is updated.
Andy Cuffe

[email protected] <-- Use this address until 12/31/2005

[email protected] <-- Use this address after 12/31/2005

 

[CRaSH]

As my subject heading i.e "mobile" in my part of the world this means
what you call "cell" phone...

In my part of the world it's customary to say "thank you" when someone tries
to answer a question you posted, not respond with snippy retort...

 

[David Sewell]

In my part of the world it's customary to say "thank you" when someone tries
to answer a question you posted, not respond with snippy retort...

My original post included a heart felt "Thank you". Thanks for pointing out
the lack of thanks in the above. Was just a forgetful oversight on my part.
Regards,
David

 

[Dave D]

My phone switches off a lot and I have to charge it up, but the battery
indicator on the display always shows as fully charged. Would the battery
definitely be at fault? How can I test it ? (it has four contacts - and is
3.6v ni-nh) I have test equipment.

Thank you,

David

Is it a Nokia by any chance? I've seen a few of these with those symptoms,
caused be faulty components in the phone, but it could equally be a bad
battery.

Dave

 

[David Sewell]

It's a Sagem mw930. So I guess it's ancient in most peoples eyes. Anyways, I
have completed the freeze, thaw and recharge process as mentioned by myself
on this thread. Fingers crossed! Waiting for a normal battery run down.
Thanks,
David