Bad Battery or Charging system?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

In article <2jkstqF11fiqrU1@uni-berlin.de>,
Glen Corlin <lmo01-nospam@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Hello all. I have a Dell Inspiron 4000 that is about 3 years old. I recently
>moved overseas, and shipped the laptop in my household goods. By the time I
>got it and unpacked it (about 6 months) the battery was stone cold dead. It
>will not recharge now. I have left the computer on for days with the battery
>installed, but it just will not recharge. So, how do I determine whether the
>battery is bad (it was a refurbished battery supplied by Dell when the
>original one went bad shortly after purchasing the computer) or if it's
>really the recharging system, without buying a new battery until I know for
>sure?
>Many thanks!

The chemicals used to manufacture a lithium ion battery pack have a useful
life of 3 years once fabricated. A "refurbished" battery pack may be
comprised of cells having uncertain date of manufacture. I'd first suspect
the battery pack.