My PowerBook won't charge

The little light at the plug-in doesn't come on any more. My battery is dying. Is this something that can be repaired? This PB is about 6 years old. Is there any way to get everything off it if I can't get it to charge any more?
Thank you for any help!

If you just need a replacement battery, OWC is one source, which we've used and can recommend. You didn't say which model you have, so scroll down to Powerbooks and choose your model to see what they have: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/powerbook/batteries/
If you need another power adapter, you can see some choices at http://eshop.macsales.com/search/powerbook+power+adapters
Your system will work without a battery as long as the power adapter works. However, if there is another issue, like a bad DC-in card or logic board, those would have to be replaced for the system to continue to work.
Worst case, if the electronics died, you could remove the hard drive, assuming it's working, put it into an external case, and pull the contents off to another computer.

Similar Messages

G4 powerbook won't charge

QUESTION I have an elderly G4 Powerbook. The battery has always been poor so I have used it powered from the mains. I have not used it for several weeks and when I opened it, plugged it in and tried to switch it on nothing happened. I left it "on charge" for a couple of days but it still won't start. When I press the check button on the battery just one light comes on flashing very quickly.
Anyone any ideas?
Peter

Try removing the main battery and leaving the G4 on the mains for a couple of days. The problem is likely the internal backup battery. The internal is (well, was when new) rechargeable and, if you pull the main battery, all the current goes to the backup. It is possible (but no sure thing) that having the main one removed will allow a bit of charge to bump up the backup.
Many PBs now have dead or weak backup batteries. New ones are only available for the latest models and then only for the 17-inch version. People sell used ones but, to me, buying a used battery is like buying used chewing gum!
To add insult to injury, replacing one requires a partial teardown that is beyond the average user's tolerance level or skill set.
If you wish to keep using this computer you will probably have to buy a new main battery. I have a 17-inch 1Ghz PowerBook from 2003 and it has a relatively new Apple battery I bought shortly before Apple discontinued that battery. Even with a known-good main battery, the dead backup battery will not allow the G4 to start with a fully discharged main battery. I have to wait a few minutes until a little current gets to the main one before it starts
The only place I would trust for a new battery is Other World Computing (macsales.com) because they have a solid return policy and excellent customer support. We don't know which PBG4 variant you have but this page has their listings for G4 Powerbooks if you scroll down a bit:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Apple/Laptop/Batteries
Note that the cost is not trivial, so I think you will be weighing the cost of a new main battery that may not fix the issue completely against the cost of a newer computer.

My Powerbook won't charger nor power on...

So about a week ago, my original apple power adapter finally died out on me. My computer stayed on and worked normal with the battery in, but my battery is the original one so it doesn't hold a long charge, just abut seven minutes. The computer finally died, and sat for a week until my new charger arrived. I plugged it in and nothing happened. I let it sit for a few hours and nothing happened. It would not power on at all. NOTHING. I goggled a few things and tried to reset the... I forget what is called. I want to say the PMU? (control + command + option & power button for 5 seconds) first it worked! and powered on, but when it got to the welcome screen where you log into the user, it went to sleep. But because I couldn't get it to wake up, I took the battery out and let the whole computer die. Now it won't even turn on at all. I'm wondering if I just need to let the internal battery charge? (which is what its doing as I type this) or is it a bigger issue? The computer worked perfectly fine when the charger died. the computer just died like normal when the battery went out... but if it is something more, will I be able to get all my information out ? such as files and music? I'm a college student and I had a very important paper stuck inside, how can I remove it? Should I buy a new battery and try that? please help.
my powerbook is the powerbook G4 15" alum..

First, what you've described is a power problem, not one which would affect your files, papers, or music. Your data should be safe on the internal hard drive. If the system, for some reason, can't be made to work, you can always take the hard drive out, put it into an external enclosure and read it from another system. So don't lose sleep over your data.
Next, there are 4 basic components (4.5 if you count the PRAM battery) that affect the power: the power adapter, the DC-in card, the battery, and the logic board. So, how do you know the new power adapter is working? Is the ring around the end that plugs into the power book orange or green or something else? If the power adapter is good, and the DC-in card and logic board are good, you can run the system without a battery. Have you tried that?
If your confident the new power adapter is good, and the system won't run, the DC-in card could have died or the logic board could have a glitch. Unfortunately, there's no test, so you have to replace components until it's fixed. When I had a Powerbook stop charging, the Apple store, after determining the power adapter and battery were good, replaced the DC-in card, which didn't fix the problem, then replaced the logic board, which did fix the problem.
Do you know anyone else with Powerbook, so you could verify that the new power adapter does work? Or borrow a battery to see if a charged battery makes a difference?

Powerbook won't charge OR run on Good Batteries despite PRAM & PMU resets

Hi All, I own 4 Macs including 2 G4 1,67ghz 15" Powerbooks. I can't get one of the units to CHARGE or run OFF GOOD batteries.(Batteries charge fine on the other unit). I have tried the following:
1) PMU and PRAM NVRAM resets (Open Firmware)
2) Used the same power chord on both units. Both run fine off the power chord.
3) When I do the PMU reset, I need to reset the DATE/TIME preferences.
4) In System Profiler, the unit recognizes both batteries, one at 99%, the other @ 87%
5) Computer works fine so long as it's plugged in and the AC connection is maintained.
6) Cleaned the battery contacts o the machine
When I take the power chord and battery off the GOOD unit as if I'm doing a PMU reset and hook either the battery or power chord back on it also needs a DATE/TIME preference reset. I SEEM to recall both units always doing this, but I do have a faulty memory. The good unit holds the Date/Time with the battery installed.
The simple questions : Do the need for Date/Time resets with the batteries out of both units mean bad PRAM batteries on both computers?
The harder question: Any ideas/suggestions as to what might be wrong with the bad unit? I'm guessing ? that the PRAM alone is not the issue since the GOOD machine starts up fine despite a potentially??? bad PRAM battery.
I realize the logic board might be an issue, however the machine runs fine with AC power. I did take the computer apart to replace a faulty logic board awhile back but can't remember if the problems manifested immediately and as a consequence of that since I put the unit on a shelf and didn't use it again for 6 months or so. Is there anything besides the logic board that might be faulty/disconnected preventing the computer from utilizing battery power.
Again, it SEES a perfectly fine battery. It just can't use the battery.
Thanks for any and all input. I appreciate it.
Curtis

I happen to have two G4 1.67Ghz 15" PB's sitting in front of me too .... However, to answer your question ... If you remove the power and you remove the battery, and, when you put the power or battery back in and restart the system, and it resets the date to 1969 or some other ancient date, then yes, the PRAM battery is bad.
Now, the bad unit. There are 4 components to charging circuit: power adapter, dc-in card, battery, and logic board. With two systems, you've verified that power adapter and battery aren't contributors. The fact that it runs off wall power suggests the DC-in card is good. That leaves the logic board. Sadly, there isn't a test of any of these, so you have to do it by process of elimination. One of our PBs stopped charging a couple of years ago, and at the Apple store they said they start from least expensive and move up from there when it comes to diagnosing power issues.
The least expensive way to fix the logic board is to take it to the Apple store. For $350 or so (costs around 2X if done in store), assuming the case isn't banged up, they can ship it to the Apple Depot, who will replace whatever it takes to bring the system up to close to new. Comes back with a 90 day warranty. On the system we used this for, they replaced the logic board and battery, and it's worked fine, except it's recently developed the bad memory slot. For it's use, 1GB is OK, so it's not a big deal, although a bit disappointing (likely used a refurbished board that tested well at that moment in time).
Good luck!

Powerbook battery not charging

The battery on my powerbook won't charge up - despite resetting the Power Management Unit (...I never knew you could pick off the keyboard before). Any advice on next things to try?
Thanks

This line:
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5893
and this one:
Cycle count: 60
indicate that the battery is healthy. However, the voltage, at 15961, seems high. However I can't compare to my PB17 right now because my daughter borrowed it.
Maybe someone who has their PB handy can compare their numbers.
If the battery is healthy and the a/c adaptor seems to be working, that leaves the internal power circuitry as a suspect.

Powerbook G4 won't charge battery or run with power adapter plugged in.

My Titanium Powerbook G4 will not charge the battery or run with the power adapter plugged in. When plugged in the power adapter doesn't change to amber showing its charging. Instead it has a green light that flashes off and on. I thought it was a defective power adapter but when its plugged in to another powerbook its seems to be working properly. I reset the PMU but that didn't help. I have been unable to find anything that would tell me what a flashing green means.
Powerbook Titanium G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Hi, Marshall. With no power being supplied to the Mac for several months, not only has your main battery gone flat (and may never again be able to take a charge), but your internal backup battery has also gone flat. A Tibook with a dead backup battery generally will not start up at all, even with AC power connected.
Try this: remove the main battery and leave the AC power adapter connected overnight in an attempt to recharge the backup battery. If the Powerbook won't start in the morning under AC power, the backup battery is shot, has lost the ability to be charged, and must be replaced.
If the PB starts up in the morning on AC power, set the date and time correctly, shut the computer down, insert the main battery, and allow 48 hours with AC power connected in an attempt to charge the main battery. Then disconnect the AC adapter and try to start up under battery power. If that doesn't work, and no lights or only one flashing light appear when you press the power-indicator button on the battery, you'll have to replace the main battery.
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

PowerBook G4 won't charge battery

Hi all
My last-generation PowerBook G4 won't charge its battery. It will run fine off of its power adapter, but it won't attempt to charge the battery, which the system states as having a 0% charge.
I don't think it's the battery; the last time I ran the PowerBook off the battery a few weeks ago, the battery was still holding a charge for over an hour. The battery has been used for 179 cycles; iStat Pro describes the battery health as being 87% (this may be wrong, of course, since it is also describing the battery as charged). The PowerBook just isn't trying to push a charge to the battery.
I only use my PowerBook every so often; usually it spends its time off, and not plugged in. Last time I found the battery had completely drained, to the extent that the clock has lost its time, so I put it on to charge, and left it. The next time I tried to use it was when I realised it wasn't charging. The notebook hasn't taken a knock that I'm aware of (at least, a new one), so I'm not sure why this is suddenly happening.
Any help or ideas would be appreciated. I don't want to waste time and money dropping £100 on a new battery if the issue lies with the PowerBook itself.
Cheers!
(PowerBook specs: 1.67GHz PB G4, 2GB RAM, Mac OS X 10.4.11)

Well, I left the laptop unplugged (and with the battery out - not that it would've made a lot of difference, since it doesn't currently have enough juice to highlight ANY of the charge indicator LEDs) for and hour and a half, booted the machine, and the clock kept its time. I'm not sure what that proves at this point, if anything.
As for the charging circuit, well the computer still isn't charging the battery (the main battery, not the PRAM battery). From your suggestions, the socket seems fine, maybe a touch lose, but then it's not exactly new, and my old adapter used to be worse. The only similar charger I have to hand is an adapter from an iBook that's about a year older, so I'm not sure the wattage will match. That said, surely since the adapter is actually powering the computer, it won't be the adaptor or the DC-in board, since I assume they are also responsible for getting the power to the computer itself?
I assume (and I am assuming here) that it is either a knackered battery or logic board. This machine has already had its logic board and DC-in board replaced, for what its worth, back when it was only 5 weeks old (probably irrelevant).
Thanks for your help thus far!

PowerBook 5300 won't charge

my old PowerBook 5300 won't charge the other day I got it to boot by wiggling the cable but if it moves a little bit it doesn't charge anymore. The battery still holds a charge but once it's dead it's almost impossible to get it charged.

This is not an unusual problem with notebook computers. The solder joints at the DC-in jack work loose. Anyone with basic soldering skills could resolder the pins. You can find disassembly guides, for example, at ifixit.com. Repair instructions regarding this very issue on the PowerBook 5300 can also be found on the Internet.
Jan

PowerBook constantly alternates between charger and battery & won't charge

One my PowerBook G4 15" is no longer charging the battery. Since I have twin laptops, I checked that all batteries and chargers worked properly. The recalcitrant Powerbook recognizes that the charger is plugged in but will not start without a battery. So I swap the battery for a full one, charged with the other laptop and I can boot up. Now the computer indicates that it is running from the battery then quickly goes into power adapter mode, yet won't charge, back to battery after 2 seconds, back to adapter after another 2... on and on and on, dimming the screen up and down and draining the battery quickly. I did reset the PMU and the PRAM according to instructions read on this forum, to no avail.
Suggestions greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Welcome to the Apple discussions.
There are only 4 components in the charging circuit: Power adapter, battery, dc-in card, and logic board. It sounds like you're sure the power adapter (you did swap power adapters to confirm that?) and battery are functioning. That leaves DC-in card and logic board. It's possible that there's a dc-in card issue where it's not letting enough power through ... is the female jack on the side of the Powerbook loose? You could compare it to your working Powerbook. If not, then more likely it's a logic board issue. Take it to Apple, have them send it to the Apple repair depot, and if your case is in good shape, they'll replace the logic board for around $325, which is less than half the rate if they did the work in the store. We recently had charging problems, and sent it to the depot, and they replaced the old battery too at no additional charge.

1 Year old Battery Won't Charge

Hello,
I've had this battery for about a year and it has been working great until now. I think the battery is still good, but the computer is having a problem charging it. The light is green after chargeing for a few minutes. At the moment, the battery is at 2% but won't charge longer than 10 minutes. I thought this might be a battery calibration issue, but after running the battery down, it still won't charge longer than 10 minutes. Does anyone else have this problem and is there anything I can do to fix it.
Thanks

alan link-
If you had asked the question about whether you can use your iBook without a battery HERE instead of at the store, you would get a different story. It is different from the one you had and different from the one the Genius gave you.
The official Apple line has always been that iBooks and PowerBooks depend on the battery to buffer fluctuations in voltages. These fluctuations are common on power lines, and can also be caused by problems in the AC Adapter, such as fraying of the cord (which is very common). Because the battery is an integral part of this buffering, Apple does not recommend using an iBook or PowerBook [or probably a MacBook either, but I have not experience with those] without the battery in place.
From a practical perspective, most will run for short periods without the battery. That may be OK for bench testing and fixing up a broken iBook. The longer you run your iBook with no battery in place, the higher the likelihood that it will suffer damage from not having a battery to help buffer fluctuations in power.

AC adapter bad? Powerbook won't run without battery

I think my powerbook (G4 aluminum, purchased Dec 2005) AC adapter is bad--the powerbook won't boot up without the battery (which, thankfully has not been recalled!).
I did check the AC issues listed in this Apple doc:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302461
The light on the adapter is green, the battery charge indicator menu states "Charged." However, none of the 5 lights on the battery are lit when the AC adapter is plugged into the computer and an outlet.
I have both AppleCare and ProCare--would a replacement AC adapter be covered under either plan?
P.S. the logic board was replaced in this powerbook last week by Apple because the computer would not boot up, there was a loud "fan" sound and one beep every 3 seconds.
Anyway, help!
powerbook G4 ( Dec 2005) - ARRRGHH! Mac OS X (10.4.7) and ibook G3 (10.3.9) -- never any problems!

I appreciate your advice! I agree that I should take in the powerbook for another round of repairs. However, I want to get some idea of the possible causes of this problem before returning it. Here's why:
[warning: venting ahead]
I am not taking it back to the nearest Genius Bar because of the poor, indifferent service there. Specifically: first guy guesses that the logic board needs replacement, and says the contents of my hard drive are not "protected," then tries to sell me ProCare, which has some kind of hard drive back up deal included. Since I hadn't backed up in months, I bought the Procare contract.
The next day, a different local Genius tells me that the hard drive could not be recovered, it was the cause of the computer crash, and just the hard drive will be replaced at the factory, and it will take 2 weeks.
Two days later, another Genius calls to say my computer's ready for pick up. They replaced the logic board, and the hard drive is fine--untouched. Hurrah.
I used my Procare status to get a Genius appointment to pick up the computer. Yet another Genius doesn't want to listen to my complaints about the "hard drive disaster Genius." I make him turn on the computer [battery power] to make sure the hard drive is OK (yes). I am then shooed out the door.
This is why I don't trust the local Geniuses to examine my computer again. The second nearest Apple store is 25 miles away, so I guess I'll go there for future repairs.

Powerbook won't run off of battery - requires PMU reset to power up with AC

Like everyone else posting here, my powerbook won't run from the battery. I have two batteries, one that came with the computer 3 - 4 years ago and a newer one that I purchased about 1 year ago. When I am plugged into AC using iStat Nano the newer battery shows cycles 173, health 89%. The older battery show cycles 0 and health 100% (go figure!). Both batteries just say 'calculating' on the tool bar battery meter. The light around the AC adapter plug always shows green as if the batteries are fully charged.
Here is where my post differs from the others. Once I shut down the computer I can't power it up again with reseting the PMU. I've tried reseting NVRAM and deleting and re-establishing the powermanagement plist as suggested elsewhere on this forum to no avail.
Is the PMU something that can be replaced? How is it related to DC-IN? I've read elsewhere here that is another problem that could cause these symptoms. Has anyone had these two components repaired and did it fix the problem? How much did it cost?
Thanks in advance for any information you can give men.

I had the same experience. I have 10.4.10 on the cloned drive but the battery is still not charging. I decided to take a closer look at the battery updater instructions and discovered that even though I am at 10.4.11 on my Powerbook the BatteryUpdater.bundle was at revision 1.1.3 and hadn't been updated since Jan 6, 2006. So I downloaded the BatteryUpdate that is posted at the top of this forum and installed it. It has made no difference in the operation of the computer. The AC adapter still isn't charging the battery although the green ring light is on which usually indicates the battery is charged. furthermore, when I go back and look at the date and version number on the BatteryUpdater.bundle they haven't changed. Who knows what the update actually changed! There is no mention of it running in the software update log. My system profiler says:
The battery is installed
Full charge Capacity 3890
Remaining Capacity 0
Cycle Count 173
AC adapter cannot charge battery: YES
By the way, my battery is a replacement battery.
I have just about exhausted all my option other than taking it into an Apple repair store and I'm not sure at this point I want to give Apple any more of my money. I am going to live with it the way it is for a while in the hopes that someone will post a fix for the problem. Good luck with your investigation. If you find out anything else please post it here as I will check back on a regular basis. If I find out anything else I will do the same. Nice working with you.

Battery won't charge - yet another

Recently, I decided that I would start using my Lombard again out of the house. It works fine on the AC adapter.
First thing I did was replace the small PRAM battery. Then I noticed my old batteries would not charge(they were both over 5 years old). So I reset everything, all the usual stuff. Nothing.
So I bite the bullet a go buy and new battery. It wont charge in OS X or 9.
I rebooted(reset PRAM) several times. Switched to OS 9 and used the Battery Reset application. No luck. I guess this is a common condition of our old Lombards.
JPL mentions in a previous post that there are 4 cards that affect battery charging.
Elizabeth English, "G3 laptop battery won't charge up", 07:01pm Oct 27, 2005 CDT
charge card
PMU board
power supply card
logic board
Has anyone replaced any of these (except the logic board)? I am curious as to ball park prices. I dont think the logic board replacement price could be justified. But if the other cards are reasonable maybe.
I am really thinking that it may be time for a new Powerbook.

Hi JPL,
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
The machine does recognize that there is a battery(in both bays). I have tried a few battery measurement apps(x-charge and capacity meter) and they both see the battery. But they both say that the battery is not charging. Also no X in the menu bar.
It had a tiny bit of charge when I bought it. (as indicated by the lights on the side). Butt wont run the Lombard not even for a second.
I should clarify "storage" situation. I had been using the Lombard every so often but on AC only. Because the other 2 batteries had died and I assumed they just died because of the natural life that all batteries have. It is possible that the charging issue has was there before. I wasn't sure that I wanted to invest anything more into the Lombard so I had waited to buy a new battery.
It is possible that it is defective. It is an Apple M7318 battery. I had been told by a few other dealers that these batteries were no longer available and they could order in a 3rd party battery. So when I found a dealer with an Apple battery I went right down and bought it. They are a reputable dealer.
I even asked the guy a few times. Is it new? And he said yes.
Unfortunately I don't know anyone with a Lombard or Pismo any more.
One final note.
Capacity Meter "tells" me that the battery condition is very poor. And that capcity is 0/4600. I assume that means milliAmps. Does that mean the battry is dead?
T.

Battery won't charge - intermittent

Noticed this problem recently. The orange light is on but my battery won't charge. Although the battery is old (55 months) Coconut says capacity 100%, charger connected but that the battery is not charging. Intermittent charging does occur when powerbook swithched on. The power adaptor seems intact. Have reset PVRAM. Tried most other solutions I have seen and nothing working. Any suggestions?

Hope John Mitchell doesn't mind if I piggyback on his thread.
I just noticed a similar problem on my Powerbook G4 12". It's more than 3 years old and I recently installed Leopard. I pretty much leave it plugged in most of the time; in fact, I think it's been a few months since I used the battery.
Anyway, the AC adaptor light stays green but the battery won't charge. I tried taking out the battery and putting it back, unplugging the adaptor for 60 seconds, checking the adaptor and "duckhead" plug and resetting the PMU. None of them have made a difference.
Curiously, I keep getting a message on restart that says my internal clock is set to prior than Mar., 2001 but when I went to Sys. Prefs, that wasn't the case.
Also, a couple of times, such as right after resetting the PMU, the orange light came on before I restarted but then it went to green and the battery won't charge.
Is my battery just old and I need to get a new one?

Battery won't charge, 11 months old

My battery won't charge and I've only had it for 11 months. Does anyone know what the problem could be or if Apple has a warrenty on it. I've really enjoyed MAC; however, after this I'm not sure about purchasing their new powerbook.

If the battery is defective, it should be covered under the one year warranty.
Did you try resetting the power manager?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449

My PowerBook won't charge

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