Optimus VI 15.6" Major Heat Spot

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Nelafanji

Member
Hey folks,

Normally I don't panic about Heat issues (It's a gaming laptop, it's going to heat up), but this was quite unusual and a first for me with this unit.

I turned my Optimus VI on about 20 minutes ago, and realised after a while it was continuously ramping up-and-down Fans to help dissipate heat. Taking care to feel the heat spot, it's emanating under the right hand-side exhaust vent (as you view the back of it), so underneath the left hand-side speaker (as viewing from the front). It could also could be noticeably traced to the centre back as well, near the Power supply input. The PSU was a bit toasty too, so I unplugged that.

I left it for a while for the temps to drop again. Re-inserting the power supply it didn't take long to reach 65 Celcius whilst monitoring with Speedfan, so it seems to be power related, thus I will avoid using the PSU for now.

I popped the back off the Laptop to check for any scorch/burn marks, and can't see anything myself. I do have some Photo's taken of it, see pics attached. (I don't even want to try de-attaching the Mobo, so I can't view the other side)

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What should my course of action be in this circumstance? It appears it will keep happening, and can't be sure whether it's PSU or the Laptop.

I can easily test an off-the-shelf 120watt 19v DC PSU with suitable Tip (and plus polarity) tomorrow, to confirm it's not just the PSU. Given the nature of the Laptop though, I would like to do this by the PC Specialist books, if there's anything I should do (or not do) before proceeding further.

Like many here, the Laptop is a big investment, and I don't want to upset the powers that be.

Thanks for your support in this matter,

Nelafanji
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Can you remove the battery and run it just on the PSU? It might be a failing battery that's sucking too much power from the PSU?
 
N

Nelafanji

Member
Ah, good thought.

I just run my Laptop for quarter of an hour idle (emulating the same conditions as before) without the battery, and it seems alright. Some heat near the power inlet, but it's feels a lot more normal, warmth expected from general operation.

With the batteries pulled out and just observing it for issues, I've realised it's merely 6 x 18650 Lithium cells!? A parallel array of 3 serial pairs or something, amazing.

The battery screws in to the laptop securely, yet there is some particles of white material found near the end of one of the cells; looks almost like a fine sugar. It could be internal remnants escaping from a problematic cell, assuming any of the compounds inside are white. It is focused around one end of a particular 18650 cell, and does actually look like it's seeped out the tight plastic cavity the cell is housed in.

My Laptop is stuck installing Windows Updates at the moment, but I'm not sure I want to re-insert this battery at this point anyway - it's quite convincing atm that it's the problem source.

Do I need to take this matter to official channels, via Email with PCS Support? Or I can give them a phone call.

Thanks for your help,

Nelafanji
 
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jerpers

Master
That sounds like a faulty or abused battery. The white powder is elctrolyte leaking from the battery and although not particularly dangerous will lower the batteries capacity. The leak could be due to the battery itself or something else went wrong causing the battery to fail. I's give PCS a call.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
I agree with jerpers, that really does sound like a failed battery. DO NOT PUT THAT BATTERY BACK IN YOUR LAPTOP. I would call PCS ASAP nd get a replacement battery.
 
J

jerpers

Master
It is highly likely the battery is the issue however it could potentially be something else. The batteries are designed with a failure point to prevent pressure build up in the event of a fault and the battery exploding. When you get your new battery, keep an eye out still for the hot spots as something has caused your battery to fail. Whether it is the battery itself or a problem with your charging unit or something else.
 
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Nelafanji

Member
I have a day off impending so I will see about calling them later to discuss the matter.

I will heed your advice; I will closely watch the temps initially with the new battery (if presumably issued), and if PCS decide not to issue me a new PSU I will be especially observant.

Also, indeed, I will not insert the Battery and use it again. Good job I don't actually need to carry it around for a few weeks! Mains operation is fine, for now.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
The key killer of modern Li-Ion batteries is heat, they will tolerate a poor charging regime quite well - so you do not need to fully discharge and fully recharge them periodically as we did with Ni-Cad. That said, all rechargeable batteries don;t like being discharged for long periods, so do put your Li-Ion battery on charge whenever you can. The key thing is to keep the battery cool, even when on charge. A fan-assisted laptop cooler can help keep the battery cool as well as the laptop!
 
N

Nelafanji

Member
Hey, thought I would finish off my thread, so slight resurrection.

Due to IRL stuff I had to arrange a Battery swap for today, but the day has come, it's been swapped and the new one is inserted. It's charged to 100% and there is no heat issue.

I'm not sure how I can take better care of it though then I have previously. I always keep it on a flat wooden/plastic surface, I hardly game on it so heat from the GPU is next to none. I have all the software loaded on, so I can control the Fans directly but leave it on automatic.

The run-up to the incident I had was preceded by it being left plugged in and charging for like over a week, occasionally booted up and used it too (so there was some re-charging, besides constant trickle-charging). But indeed, the PSU, charging circuit and nature of Lithium cells should handle this...

I can only assume I just got unlucky with a bad cell among many good ones.

I have noticed these 18650 cells are wrapped Blue instead of Orange now, so perhaps they are a different manufacturer. I can see they are printed with Samsung on these ones, and I don't know a lot about this specifically, but I believe Samsung are renown for good quality 18650's :)

Thanks for all your support here fellows,

Nelafanji
 
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