Compaq Recalls 55,000 Sony Notebook Batteries

Compaq Computer Corp. (New York), in cooperation with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, has announced a worldwide voluntary recall and replacement program for approximately 55,000 Sony (Tokyo) battery packs used in their Armada E500 and V300 notebook computers. The serial numbers for the defective battery packs are TCGK 00001- 10500, TCGK 20001- 21800, TCGK 40001- 83100 and TCHK 40001- 44700. The affected battery packs were distributed worldwide in note-books and as separate options, as well as for use as replacement spares.Mike Hockey, a Compaq spokesman, explained the flaw in the batteries, which were manufactured between June 2 and July 10, 2000. "In the manufacture of the batteries, a little pin that goes into the circuit board and is supposed to go into a piece of solder punctured the circuit board itself." This flaw causes the battery pack to overheat and release smoke, damaging the notebook computer. At present, only one failure has been reported, but Compaq is taking proactive measures to combat the problem.This is yet another in a series of recalls of flawed components by computer manufacturers, including IBM and, more recently, Dell. Compaq believes that their recall is in no way related to the Dell Computer Corp. recall; Dell was replacing 27,000 Sanyo products whereas the Compaq recall is for Sony batteries.Compaq customers affected by the recall will be eligible to receive two free battery packs for each recalled battery.