Battery problem on Dell Latitude D-610

Dell tells me I need a new motherboard for my laptop because I have the "system cannot communicate with battery" problem.

I paid $250 for the laptop at Dell auction but maybe it's a piece of junk if it needs a new motherboard after only a month.

So now I'm thinking - forget about new motherboard, everything else works fine.

I'm looking into external battery chargers since I ended up buying a new laptop battery. Can I use a universal back up battery as an external battery for my laptop.

I happen to have some big honkin brand new batteries for a backup system, and I'm wondering if I can figure out a way to use them for laptop power??