Replacement iBook G3 battery not recognised - non Apple brand

Question

Hi World
Try this conundrum for size...
I bought 'new' (non-Apple) battery on Ebay and my iBook does not appear to recognise it. i.e amber charge light does not illuminate - it stays green. I've done a PMU reset, Battery Rest 2.0, Restarted the iBook etc etc - nothing seems to work. The only reason I want a new battery is to avoid resetting the date every time I restart the iBook - I never travel with it and it's always powered from the mains electricity.
For information - the original (dead) Apple battery happily illuminates amber - but obviously can not store a charge.
I have also received a replacement for the intial new battery and it is still showing the same response i.e. no amber glow
Is there a printed circuit in these batteries that is needed to say 'hello' in an exact way and therefore allow charging to occur? If so, if I were to extract the new cells from my new battery and somehow wire them into the old Apple case, would that work? (I have read about spot soldering and it sounds a bit daunting)
Any answers gratefully appreciated
Any answers

Answer 1

FIRST: You wrote "Is there a printed circuit in these batteries that is needed to say 'hello' in an exact way and therefore allow charging to occur? If so, if I were to extract the new cells from my new battery and somehow wire them into the old Apple case, would that work? (I have read about spot soldering and it sounds a bit daunting)"
I think these batteries do contain some electronic circuitry, but I don't know whether that's the source of your problem (read on). In any case, with many years of technical work under my belt, I would be reluctant to attempt the cell transfer you suggest -- batteries have a way of being more dangerous than people think, as there's a fair amount of energy stored there.
But, on to your problem. You might nott want to say, but I'd be interested in the source of these batteries, as I'm in the middle of a "new" battery experience that has some similarities:
For reasons I won't go into, I have four iBooks in my possession -- and all had batteries in various states of decrepitude (some wouldn't take a charge at all, some would take different amounts of charge at different times, all were essentially useless). BUT ALL WERE RECOGNIZED BY THE COMPUTER.
So I purchased, on-line, two new batteries and they were delivered quickly. BOTH of them worked immediately and perfectly in TWO of the four computers, but went totally unrecognized in the other two computers. After considering the possibilities, I concluded that the problem might well be a very small misalignment of the connectors in the computers that didn't work with the connectors on the new batteries. (I'm talking about the plastic-shrouded 6-pin connectors, one in the computer and one on the battery, that engage when you install the battery). There is precedence for this kind of issue, as I have seen reports on the web of people resorting to cardboard shims to improve the engagement of the connectors. But, in my case, there simply is not room for any such shims, and nudging the battery one way or the other (a tiny distance) didn't make them work.
I had unrelated internal work to do on one of the two computers that didn't recognize the batteries.
While I had it apart, I replaced the battery charger board, which incorporates one of the mating connectors. (+I didn't suspect the electronics of that board, rather the physical positioning of the board as secured in the computer case, or of the connector on the board+.) The result was that this computer now worked with one of the new batteries but continued not recognizing the other new battery.
What this comes down to, I think, is a physical tolerance issue -- probably with the lateral positioning of the connectors, either in the computer, or on the battery, or a combination of both. It could also have to do with the connector condition. The connector in the computer is obviously (usually) as old as the computer itself; the connector on the battery is . . . who knows? Although the battery is said to be new, the battery manufacturers may somehow make use of old battery cases (and connectors). Most if not all connectors rely on some spring tension in the contacts to keep the contacts mated, and the contacts can also be affected by corrosion -- and deterioration of older connectors is simply a real possibility.
Would be really interested in what approach you take and the results. Please post back.
There seem to be a lot of sources for these batteries on-line, but it's possible they all come from a small number of outfits (or even just one outfit) that builds (or rebuilds) them. If, ultimately, all the battery cases (with the connector) come from just one source, then the problem might be likely to show up no matter what your source (or the name on the battery, etc.) If I'm correct on this, then it's going the be a gamble as to whether a battery purchased from another source will solve the problem.
But, what choice is there? I think your best bet might be to return that second battery and then buy another one from . . . ? (somebody different). Or maybe someone who follows this forum can name a recent supplier with which there has been no problem whatsoever.
Message was edited by: osimp