Battery Issue? Powerbook G4

[AmdEmAll]

Working on someone's Powerbook G4 12" and im 99% sure the battery needs replacement.

It will not charge at all.. doesn't even begin to charge.

In coconutBattery it shows:

Current Battery charge: 50 mAh
Maximum Battery charge: 65490 mAh???

Battery-Loadcycles: 97
Age of Mac 110 months
Charger connected: yes
Battery charging: No

What threw me off was the weird reading for max battery charge.. just want to make sure its not something wrong with the charging circuit or something else.

What do you think, just replace battery?

 

[Eug]

Wow, blast from the past.

Try resetting the PMU.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1431

 

[AmdEmAll]

Wow, blast from the past.

Try resetting the PMU.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1431

I reset PMU & PRAM and still not charging

 

[mmntech]

Crikey, I didn't even know they made a 12'' PowerBook G4. I had the very last 12'' iBook.

On a laptop that old, especially if it was well used, there's a high probability that the battery is pooched. They don't last forever. The original battery is supposedly 4400 mAh if that helps. I found them online for $85 for a brand new one.
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/Aluminum-G4-12-Li-Ion-Rechargeable-Battery-p-16665.html

Not sure if it's worth it though. The entire laptop probably isn't worth that much. I have seen PATA SSDs on NewEgg, which seem to have come down in price. They're comparable to SATA ones now. They're from some no-name manufacturer though, so not sure how good they are.

What are you using this relic for anyway?

 

[AmdEmAll]

I do computer repair on the side and my neighbor wants this fixed up and also a slightly newer Powerbook G4 15".. For his kids to browse the internet I guess. I'll just get one of the ebay $16 batteries and see if this fixes the issue. Just weird its saying not even 100 power cycles.. seems low to already be bad but maybe it wasn't used that much.

Crikey, I didn't even know they made a 12'' PowerBook G4. I had the very last 12'' iBook.

On a laptop that old, especially if it was well used, there's a high probability that the battery is pooched. They don't last forever. The original battery is supposedly 4400 mAh if that helps. I found them online for $85 for a brand new one.
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/Aluminum-G4-12-Li-Ion-Rechargeable-Battery-p-16665.html

Not sure if it's worth it though. The entire laptop probably isn't worth that much. I have seen PATA SSDs on NewEgg, which seem to have come down in price. They're comparable to SATA ones now. They're from some no-name manufacturer though, so not sure how good they are.

What are you using this relic for anyway?

 

[Eug]

Just be aware that there's no guarantee it's the battery (although it could be).

Also, personally I think a G4 iBook/PowerBook is too slow in 2014 even for a kid's computer. You can't really even watch YouTube, and you can barely surf on them these days, partially because of the speed, and partially because the browsers are out of date.

I know, because I have a 1.07 GHz G4 iBook, an 800 MHz iMac, a 1.25 GHz iMac, a 1.7 GHz Cube, and a 450 MHz Cube. They're relics.

They're better off with refurb'd Nexus 7 tablets or something like that.

 

[AmdEmAll]

Just be aware that there's no guarantee it's the battery (although it could be).

Also, personally I think a G4 iBook/PowerBook is too slow in 2014 even for a kid's computer. You can't really even watch YouTube, and you can barely surf on them these days, partially because of the speed, and partially because the browsers are out of date.

I know, because I have a 1.07 GHz G4 iBook, an 800 MHz iMac, a 1.25 GHz iMac, a 1.7 GHz Cube, and a 450 MHz Cube. They're relics.

They're better off with refurb'd Nexus 7 tablets or something like that.

I agree.. this guy won't listen though.. thinks they are great.

 

[Eug]

I just had this issue happen to my G4 iBook. However, after resetting the PMU and PRAM 3-4 times, and unplugging the power a few times, and rebooting a few times, it seems to be working again.

Hmmm... I just hope the charging components aren't getting flaky and dying.