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iMac PowerPC (Rev B) turns itself off

MrSmith

MrSmith

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 27, 2003
3,046
14
I've got a Rev B iMac PowerPC (16 months old) and today it's started turning itself off. It's done it 4 times now. Any ideas or pointers to known problems?
 
Some of the Rev Bs had problems with capacitors on the logic board bulging, which caused exactly this behaviour. Fix is a logic board swapout. Do you have Applecare on the Mac?
 
The bulging capacitors thing was a Rev A issue... but the Rev Bs seem to also suffer logic board and/or power supply issues. Mine's had 2 replacement power supplies and one logic board replacement so far... and yes, the turning itself off problem was the first symptom. Backup now while you still can.
 
You might try doing this. Hopefully that'll solve the issue.

There is a repair extention program for the faulty capacitor problem but it only covers the Rev. A machines. So if it's a hardware issue MrSmith, hopefully you purchased AppleCare. Otherwise, you might need to fork over some cash.
 
Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate your help. I've done the procedure in aquajet's link so I'll see how it goes (incidentally, I've had the fans racing as well). But no, no AppleCare. Any idea what kind of amount we're talking? Lower would be better for her-that-holds-the-purse-strings :(
 
I have the rev b iMac maybe a couple of months older than yours. It started to shut down as well. I took it in to an apple store for repair. They are going to run some tests and they ordered a new power supply and logic board to have the parts when they determine what the problem may be. The mac genuis thinks it is the power supply. I also have them looking into why the fan races all the time.
 
Looks at the Apple Discussions boards. There's a huge thread about it. There are numerous reports of people who bought their Rev B iMac, mostly around May 2005.

As of this moment, Apple is still not recognizing this problem, however I'm afarid sometime they will hav to do so because they are making fun of theirselves not recognizing the issue.

(I had this problem also with my iMac Rev B, it was repaired by replacing the power supply, the old one feeled very hot, my AASP told to me)
 
Update!

I just got my iMac back last night.
I had the logic board, power supply and LCD screen replaced. All seems well for now. Keeping my fingers crossed that everything is OK.
 
eyedoc_00 said:
I just got my iMac back last night.
I had the logic board, power supply and LCD screen replaced. All seems well for now. Keeping my fingers crossed that everything is OK.
Click to expand...
I hope so after that expense! Keep us up to date.

I reset my SMU per the instructions at aquajet's link. I did it once and it made no difference. The machine turned off 4 times during the day. So I did it again yesterday morning and the computer didn't sleep or the screen sleep all day! I have the computer and display set to sleep after 15 minutes in the Energy Saver panel. I'll see what happens today. I only know it's turning off because I leave it on all day and use 'connect to server' from work. At some time during the day I get a 'disconnected' message.
 
MrSmith said:
I hope so after that expense! Keep us up to date.

I reset my SMU per the instructions at aquajet's link. I did it once and it made no difference. The machine turned off 4 times during the day. So I did it again yesterday morning and the computer didn't sleep or the screen sleep all day! I have the computer and display set to sleep after 15 minutes in the Energy Saver panel. I'll see what happens today. I only know it's turning off because I leave it on all day and use 'connect to server' from work. At some time during the day I get a 'disconnected' message.
Click to expand...

I have applecare so it did not cost a penny. They told me it would have been $1,600 if not for applecare. At that price, I would have to get a new computer.

I tired resetting the SMU and it did not do anything. If you have applecare, I would take it in right away.
 
MrSmith said:
I do not. I am therefore sitting here with my legs tightly crossed...
Click to expand...

I got my fingers crossed for you. Hope all turns out well.

My luck with computers has never been good. Therefore, I allways buy an extended warranty. I could go no for hours about my last computer, Gateway. Took 9 months to get them to replace my computer that was under warranty. That is why I purchased a mac. I needed a computer and wanted an all-in-one design. My Gateway all-in-one was finally replaced with a tower system.
 
I, on the other hand, had my G3 PowerMac for six years and it ran perfectly until it was stolen last year. I, therefore, assumed I was lucky with them. :( Third time lucky, I suppose: Applecare from the next one.
 
It's about time they finally acknowledged this problem.

I can't find the EMC number on my iMac. It's not listed on the serial number label on the underside of the stand :confused:
 
dcv said:
It's about time they finally acknowledged this problem.

I can't find the EMC number on my iMac. It's not listed on the serial number label on the underside of the stand :confused:
Click to expand...

That's strange. I think an AASP can see if it's covered otherwise.
 
I found this support doc - it seems ALL 20" Rev B iMac G5s have the EMC number 2056 so in other words ALL 20" Rev B iMacs should be covered by this programme. I thought the wording on the Repair Extension programme page was a little ambiguous.
 
eyedoc_00 said:
Hopefully MrSmith sees this and can take advantage of this repair extension!
Click to expand...
I'm still here! Thanks for the information guys. My machine has reached the unplugged stage. Lucky I have two machines or I'd never have seen that linked article.
 
MrSmith said:
I'm still here! Thanks for the information guys. My machine has reached the unplugged stage. Lucky I have two machines or I'd never have seen that linked article.
Click to expand...

It's a November 2006 program, so it is definitely not running for more than 3 days, or so.
 
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