YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

tingo · 2016-10-08 05:57:27

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Topic: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

Ok, so I have a Novena laptop, from the Crowd Supply crowdfunding.
Now the battery doesn't charge (the laptop dies when I remove the charger).
Senoko stats says

ch> stats
Manufacturer:       Texas Inst.
Part name:          bq20z95
Firmware version:   0x150
Charge FET:         off
Discharge FET:      on
State:              battery failure
Time until full:    65535 minutes
Time until empty:   65535 minutes
Chemistry:          LION
Serial number:      0x0001
Cycle count:        14
Battery health:     100%
Charge:             82%
Max capacity:       8022 mAh
Design capacity:    7321 mAh
Temperature:        23.3 C
Voltage:            11922 mV
Current:            0 mA
Average current:    0 mA
Target voltage:     0 mV
Target current:     0 mA
Number of cells:    3 cells
Cell 1 voltage:     4007 mV
Cell 2 voltage:     3978 mV
Cell 3 voltage:     3938 mV
Cell 4 voltage:     0 mV
Charge status:      0x0
    Charging allowed?   yes
    Can suspend?        no
    Can precharge?      no
    Can maintenance?    no
    Temperature limit?  no
    Temperature limit?  no
    Can fastcharge?     no
    Pulse charging?     no
    Pulse disable CHG?  no
    Cell balancing?     no
    Precharge timeout?  no
    Fastcharge timeout? no
    Overcharge OV?      no
    Overcharge OC?      no
    Overcharge?         no
    Battery empty?      no
Alarms:
    TERMINATE CHARGE ALARM
Charge state:
    Battery initialized
    Battery discharging/relaxing
No errors detected
No safety alerts
Safety status:
    Permanent failure condition

and info says

ch> info
Kernel:       3.0.0dev
Compiler:     GCC 4.9.2
Architecture: ARMv7-M
Core Variant: Cortex-M3
Port Info:    Advanced kernel mode
Platform:     STM32F10x Performance Line Medium Density
Board:        Senoko STM32F1
Build time:   Aug 12 2015 - 17:13:27

Is this anything I can fix with some of the "magic" commands in the battery threads in this forum?
Or should I get a new battery?
I'm a bit worried about it saying battery failure, but all three cells looks like the voltage is ok.

Torfinn

rolandturner · 2016-10-08 19:47:36

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

I don't know how to solve your problem, but isn't it a little odd that the Maximum Capacity exceeds the Design Capacity?

https://rolandturner.com/

tingo · 2016-10-09 02:28:42

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

Yes, and the odd things in the output is one of the reasons why I am worried. Hopefully I will get some advice in this thread.

Torfinn

chris4795 · 2016-10-11 04:14:16

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

Hello!

I seem to recall having a similar issue, what happened was the individual cells are not charged evenly (if you look they are almost 100 mV difference). There should be a way of balancing the cells charge (I forget if it was through just normal charging or is I needed to do a special command).

Try just charging it up overnight and coming back to it.

tingo · 2016-10-11 23:30:11

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

Well, the problem is that it will not charge as it is (it has been connected to a charger for several days now). Given that it says "permanent failure" I think I will have to issue a pfreset command. But I'm no expert on this.
Questions:
a) is it safe to issue a pfreset command?
b) do I need additional commands, or will the pfreset command work on its own?

Torfinn

chris4795 · 2016-10-12 21:21:47

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

a) It should be safe to do the pfreset command
b) sometimes you have to do the "gg it", I would issue that command too.

tingo · 2016-10-13 04:01:52

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

Ok, I tried the 'gg pfreset' command:

ch> gg pfreset
Resetting permanent failure flags... ok.

But it didn't seem to have any effect, stats still says:

ch> stats
Manufacturer:       Texas Inst.
Part name:          bq20z95
Firmware version:   0x150
Charge FET:         off
Discharge FET:      on
State:              battery failure
Time until full:    65535 minutes
Time until empty:   65535 minutes
Chemistry:          LION
Serial number:      0x0001
Cycle count:        14
Battery health:     100%
Charge:             78%
Max capacity:       84850 mWh
Design capacity:    81260 mWh
Temperature:        24.2 C
Voltage:            11880 mV
Current:            0 mA
Average current:    0 mA
Target voltage:     0 mV
Target current:     0 mA
Number of cells:    3 cells
Cell 1 voltage:     3989 mV
Cell 2 voltage:     3967 mV
Cell 3 voltage:     3923 mV
Cell 4 voltage:     0 mV
Charge status:      0x0
    Charging allowed?   yes
    Can suspend?        no
    Can precharge?      no
    Can maintenance?    no
    Temperature limit?  no
    Temperature limit?  no
    Can fastcharge?     no
    Pulse charging?     no
    Pulse disable CHG?  no
    Cell balancing?     no
    Precharge timeout?  no
    Fastcharge timeout? no
    Overcharge OV?      no
    Overcharge OC?      no
    Overcharge?         no
    Battery empty?      no
Alarms:
    TERMINATE CHARGE ALARM
Charge state:
    Battery initialized
    Battery discharging/relaxing
No errors detected
No safety alerts
Safety status:
    Permanent failure condition

I also tried 'gg it'

ch> gg it
Starting ImpedenceTrackTM algorithm... Ok

that didn't help either, stats still says "Permanent failure condition".
Anything else I can do?

Torfinn

chris4795 · 2016-10-13 21:36:18

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

The other thought I have is to do a reflash of the gas gauge:

https://github.com/pelrun/novena-gg-tools

You just need to compile the tools and run the command shown there.

After you do that, I would recommend a "gg reboot" then a "gg it".

As a further thought, you can try reflashing the senoko firmware, but it doesn't seem like that is the issue.

tingo · 2016-11-13 01:06:39

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

I just had a thought: am I supposed to disconnect the battery when doing pfreset or any of the other commands?
I haven't done that - the battery has been connected the whole time.

Torfinn

xobs · 2016-11-16 13:52:20

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

The gas gauge is powered off of the battery. If you disconnect it, you won't be able to communicate with it. This is the source of the problem where we can't swap out batteries without "jumpstarting" it with an AC cable.

tingo · 2016-11-18 16:09:22

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

Is this "jumpstarting" procedure described somewhere? (my Novena is currently running of AC, since the batteri doesn't work the way it is supposed to).

Torfinn

chris4795 · 2016-11-18 22:37:03

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

There is a button on the Battery Board called "Prime". That "jumpstarts" the gas gauge.

xobs · 2016-12-03 15:59:38

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

"jumpstarting" just refers to plugging in an AC cable. The "Prime" button will boot the Senoko MCU as long as it's held down, but it won't boot the gas gauge.

tingo · 2017-03-25 03:37:28

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

Ok, so I finally found time for this again. I disconnected the battery (molex, then taps). After havin done that, I ran 'upower -d' and got

tingo@kg-novena:~$ upower -d
Device: /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/battery_sbs_0_000b
  native-path:          sbs-0-000b
  power supply:         no
  updated:              Fri 24 Mar 2017 08:24:03 PM CET (94 seconds ago)
  has history:          no
  has statistics:       no
  battery
    present:             no
    rechargeable:        no
    state:               unknown
    warning-level:       none
    energy:              0 Wh
    energy-empty:        0 Wh
    energy-full:         0 Wh
    energy-full-design:  0 Wh
    energy-rate:         0 W
    percentage:          0%
    icon-name:          'battery-missing-symbolic'

Device: /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/line_power_senoko_ac_supply
  native-path:          senoko-ac-supply
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Fri 07 Oct 2016 10:26:04 PM CEST (14511573 seconds ago)
  has history:          no
  has statistics:       no
  line-power
    warning-level:       none
    online:              yes
    icon-name:          'ac-adapter-symbolic'

Device: /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/DisplayDevice
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Thu 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 AM CET (1490383537 seconds ago)
  has history:          no
  has statistics:       no
  unknown
    warning-level:       none
    icon-name:          'battery-missing-symbolic'

Daemon:
  daemon-version:  0.99.1
  on-battery:      no
  lid-is-closed:   no
  lid-is-present:  yes
  critical-action: PowerOff

which at least looks sane, battery disconnected and all.
But, running 'upower -d' a few minutes later, I now get:

tingo@kg-novena:~$ upower -d
Device: /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/battery_sbs_0_000b
  native-path:          sbs-0-000b
  vendor:               Texas Inst.
  model:                bq20z95
  serial:               0001
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Fri 24 Mar 2017 08:30:03 PM CET (6 seconds ago)
  has history:          yes
  has statistics:       yes
  battery
    present:             yes
    rechargeable:        yes
    state:               pending-charge
    warning-level:       none
    energy:              76.51 Wh
    energy-empty:        0 Wh
    energy-full:         85.01 Wh
    energy-full-design:  81.26 Wh
    energy-rate:         0 W
    percentage:          91%
    temperature:         24 degrees C
    capacity:            100%
    technology:          lithium-ion
    icon-name:          'battery-full-charging-symbolic'

Device: /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/line_power_senoko_ac_supply
  native-path:          senoko-ac-supply
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Fri 07 Oct 2016 10:26:04 PM CEST (14511845 seconds ago)
  has history:          no
  has statistics:       no
  line-power
    warning-level:       none
    online:              yes
    icon-name:          'ac-adapter-symbolic'

Device: /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/DisplayDevice
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Thu 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 AM CET (1490383809 seconds ago)
  has history:          no
  has statistics:       no
  battery
    present:             yes
    state:               unknown
    warning-level:       none
    energy:              76.51 Wh
    energy-full:         85.01 Wh
    energy-rate:         0 W
    percentage:          91%
    icon-name:          'battery-missing-symbolic'

Daemon:
  daemon-version:  0.99.1
  on-battery:      no
  lid-is-closed:   no
  lid-is-present:  yes
  critical-action: PowerOff

Huh? I checked - the battery is still disconnected.
Is it supposed to behave this way?

Torfinn

tingo · 2017-03-30 03:58:07

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

Update: I left the battery disconnected for a few days (busy with other things), it still reads 12.1 volts with a multimeter.
After connecting it, I tried stats again:

ch> stats
Manufacturer:       error 0xFE000000
Part name:          error 0xFE000000
Firmware version:   error 0xFE000000
State:              error 0xFE000000
Time until full:    error 0xFE000000
Time until empty:   error 0xFE000000
Chemistry:          error 0xFE000000
Serial number:      error 0xFE000000
Cycle count:        error 0xFE000000
Battery health:     error 0xFE000000
Charge:             error 0xFE000000
Max capacity:       error 0xFE000000
Design capacity:    error 0xFE000000
Temperature:        2184.5 C
Voltage:            error 0xFE000000
Current:            error 0xFE000000
Average current:    error 0xFE000000
Target voltage:     error 0xFE000000
Target current:     error 0xFE000000
Number of cells:    error 0x1000000
Cell 1 voltage:     error 0xFE000000
Cell 2 voltage:     error 0xFE000000
Cell 3 voltage:     error 0xFE000000
Cell 4 voltage:     error 0xFE000000
Charge status:      0x5555
    Charging allowed?   yes
    Can suspend?        suspended
    Can precharge?      no
    Can maintenance?    yes
    Temperature limit?  no
    Temperature limit?  yes
    Can fastcharge?     no
    Pulse charging?     yes
    Pulse disable CHG?  no
    Cell balancing?     in-progress
    Precharge timeout?  no
    Fastcharge timeout? yes
    Overcharge OV?      no
    Overcharge OC?      yes
    Overcharge?         no
    Battery empty?      yes
Alarms:
    TERMINATE CHARGE ALARM
    OVER TEMP ALARM
    REMAINING TIME ALARM
Charge state:
    Battery discharging/relaxing
    Battery fully discharged
STATUS ERROR CODE: 0x5
Unable to read safety alerts
Unable to read safety status
ch>

it doesn't look bet\ter.

Torfinn

tingo · 2017-03-30 03:59:37

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Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

Next up, I tried to reset things:

ch> gg pfreset
Resetting permanent failure flags... Error: 1000000
ch> gg reboot
Rebooting the gas gauge chip... Error: FE000000
ch> gg it
Starting ImpedenceTrackTM algorithm... Error: 0xFE000000

So is my senoko board broken?

Torfinn

YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

Posts: 16

1 Topic by tingo 2016-10-08 05:57:27

Topic: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

2 Reply by rolandturner 2016-10-08 19:47:36

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

3 Reply by tingo 2016-10-09 02:28:42

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

4 Reply by chris4795 2016-10-11 04:14:16

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

5 Reply by tingo 2016-10-11 23:30:11

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

6 Reply by chris4795 2016-10-12 21:21:47

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

7 Reply by tingo 2016-10-13 04:01:52

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

8 Reply by chris4795 2016-10-13 21:36:18

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

9 Reply by tingo 2016-11-13 01:06:39

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

10 Reply by xobs 2016-11-16 13:52:20

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

11 Reply by tingo 2016-11-18 16:09:22

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

12 Reply by chris4795 2016-11-18 22:37:03

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

13 Reply by xobs 2016-12-03 15:59:38

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

14 Reply by tingo 2017-03-25 03:37:28

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

15 Reply by tingo 2017-03-30 03:58:07

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

16 Reply by tingo 2017-03-30 03:59:37

Re: YABT - is this battery fixable, or dead?

Posts: 16