Powerbook G4 Battery problems

[evilworld84]

Hello,
i'm repairing a Powerbook G4 Aluminium (PowerBook6,1 (12")) but i have problems with the battery
Apparently the battery is ok, less than 400 cycles, but sometimes the laptop suddenly shutdown because the battery dies, even though seconds before the battery is at 90%.

how's that possible? I don't have the officiale power adapter but a compatible one and i don't know why sometimes the battery charge and sometimes it doesn't, i don't know if it's the power adapter broken or the battery or both.

Thanks for the help

 

[amagichnich]

Buy a new battery and try it with that one. I hope that solves your problem. If not, things get a bit more complicated. Besides... 400 is quite much I think. My iBook has 86 loadcycles and only 65% of capacity left. Or maybe the controller in your battery is defect or manipulated

 

[Dronecatcher]

Is the battery an Apple one or aftermarket? Cheap aftermarket batteries can have quality control issues.
Try removing battery and power plug and press the power button for ten seconds, reconnect battery and power plug and reset PRAM (hold down P, R,cmd and option keys til chimes three times). Then charge your battery to 100% and then use it til it dies - this will calibrate it as much as it can be and hopefully will then give you fair warning instead of just dying.
After this, if problem remains it could be cell damage in the battery or a problem with the charging circuit.

 

[evilworld84]

Is the battery an Apple one or aftermarket? Cheap aftermarket batteries can have quality control issues.
Try removing battery and power plug and press the power button for ten seconds, reconnect battery and power plug and reset PRAM (hold down P, R,cmd and option keys til chimes three times). Then charge your battery to 100% and then use it til it dies - this will calibrate it as much as it can be and hopefully will then give you fair warning instead of just dying.
After this, if problem remains it could be cell damage in the battery or a problem with the charging circuit.

the battery is made by Apple, and my powerbook g4 doesn't have a PRAM

 

[Intell]

Your Powerbook has PRAM, all Macs have PRAM. What yours doesn't have is a PRAM battery. Resetting the PRAM and PMU are still good troubleshooting steps to take.

 

[eyoungren]

the battery is made by Apple, and my powerbook g4 doesn't have a PRAM

Then you do not have a PowerBook, you have an iBook G4. PowerBooks have PRAM batteries. iBooks do not.

 

[evilworld84]

Your Powerbook has PRAM, all Macs have PRAM. What yours doesn't have is a PRAM battery. Resetting the PRAM and PMU are still good troubleshooting steps to take.

booting up the a holding down CMD+ALT+P+R didn't do anything, why?
[doublepost=1494359112][/doublepost]

Then you do not have a PowerBook, you have an iBook G4. PowerBooks have PRAM batteries. iBooks do not.

Powerbook G4 12'' Aluminium 867mhz doesn't have PRAM batteries.
this is what i found on iFixit

 

[eyoungren]

booting up the a holding down CMD+ALT+P+R didn't do anything, why?

When you use this keyboard combination you have to wait for the Mac to restart while holding down the keys until it does.

Most people keep holding the keys down until the Mac has restarted two or three times.

 

[evilworld84]

When you use this keyboard combination you have to wait for the Mac to restart while holding down the keys until it does.

Most people keep holding the keys down until the Mac has restarted two or three times.

it doesn't restart at all

 

[DeltaMac]

Shut off your PB
Then, press and release the power button. Immediately press and hold the Option-Command-P-R
Just for some attention to detail, be sure that your Option and Command are the left side keys, next to the space bar (Don't hold the CTRL key)
You should hear the boot chime. Keep holding the same 4 keys until you hear the boot chime two more times.

The battery on those older laptops has a suggested life of only 300 charge cycles, and an older laptop might even have an original battery that is miraculously clinging to life. 400 cycles would mean that it is living on the edge.
It's not easy to find replacement batteries, but you could search for a replacement at one of the good Apple parts sites

 

[evilworld84]

Shut off your PB
Then, press and release the power button. Immediately press and hold the Option-Command-P-R
Just for some attention to detail, be sure that your Option and Command are the left side keys, next to the space bar (Don't hold the CTRL key)
You should hear the boot chime. Keep holding the same 4 keys until you hear the boot chime two more times.

The battery on those older laptops has a suggested life of only 300 charge cycles, and an older laptop might even have an original battery that is miraculously clinging to life. 400 cycles would mean that it is living on the edge.
It's not easy to find replacement batteries, but you could search for a replacement at one of the good Apple parts sites

Nothing... it doesn't work ....

 

[DeltaMac]

Nothing... it doesn't work ....

Does your PBook start up at all now? (No keys, just a normal boot.)
If so, (again, no keys), do you hear a boot chime at all, ever?

 

[evilworld84]

Does your PBook start up at all now? (No keys, just a normal boot.)
If so, (again, no keys), do you hear a boot chime at all, ever?

Yes it starts up normally and i hear the booting sound, but always just one, i've installed os x tiger, i don't know if this could cause any problems

 

[DeltaMac]

You might have dead, or sticking keys on your keyboard.
You can try the same reset with a USB keyboard, if you have one.

And, you can test your keyboard by opening the International pref pane, then click Input Menu tab
turn on the Keyboard Viewer by X-ing the box.
Go to your menubar, and click on the flag icon, then choose Keyboard viewer.
You will see a virtual keyboard on the screen, which matches your built-in keyboard. Press then release each key, which will repeat on the virtual keyboard.
You will easily see any sticking (or dead) keys.

 

[evilworld84]

You might have dead, or sticking keys on your keyboard.
You can try the same reset with a USB keyboard, if you have one.

And, you can test your keyboard by opening the International pref pane, then click Input Menu tab
turn on the Keyboard Viewer by X-ing the box.
Go to your menubar, and click on the flag icon, then choose Keyboard viewer.
You will see a virtual keyboard on the screen, which matches your built-in keyboard. Press then release each key, which will repeat on the virtual keyboard.
You will easily see any sticking (or dead) keys.

i've just tried the virtual keyboard, all the keys work except for the enter key
I was using the powerbook without the power adapter connected and when the battery reached a certain point it died.
and now the battery doesn't charge correctly, i had to insert the plug several times

 

[ApolloBoy]

Powerbook G4 12'' Aluminium 867mhz doesn't have PRAM batteries.

It doesn't, the battery charges a capacitor that powers up the PRAM and if the battery runs completely dry, the PRAM gets erased. I fired up my 12" yesterday for the first time in a while and I had to reset the clock and wireless settings since the battery was totally dry.