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iBook auto-sleeps with 1 hour left on battery

wordmunger

wordmunger

macrumors 603
Original poster
Sep 3, 2003
5,124
3
North Carolina
My iBook (in Panther) has an annoying habit. It will run the battery down to about 1 hour to 45 minutes left. Then it will auto-sleep, with no warning, and nothing wakes it up until I plug it in.

It seems like a calibration problem, but to calibrate the battery, shouldn't I do this exact thing -- run the battery until it auto sleeps? So in effect, I've been calibrating my battery when this happens.

But if I'm calibrating, then the next time I use the computer, the battery life should be adjusted correctly, right? But it's not -- the same problem keeps recurring.

The other battery problem I have is that sometimes I'll wake my fully-charged computer from sleep and then I'll get a warning that my battery is nearly dead. The little battery-meter will say that I've got, like 3 minutes left. Sometimes in a minute or two, the battery meter will readjust itself to 3.5 hours or something, but other times, it will auto-sleep and I'll need to wake it up again.

Anyone had either of these problems before? Any solutions?
 
E

eleveneastgate

macrumors 6502
Jan 23, 2005
284
0
New Battery?

Sometimes when I charge my iB it'll say I got around 3 hrs.

Use it for five minutes, it drops down to 1.5 hrs.

I think we both need to get new batteries... ;)
 
wordmunger

wordmunger

macrumors 603
Original poster
Sep 3, 2003
5,124
3
North Carolina
I still get a decent 2-plus hours on my battery, which is only a year old. it just seems like the charge indicator shouldn't be so neurotic.


eleveneastgate said:
Sometimes when I charge my iB it'll say I got around 3 hrs.

Use it for five minutes, it drops down to 1.5 hrs.

I think we both need to get new batteries... ;)
Click to expand...
 
I

iEdd

macrumors 68000
Aug 8, 2005
1,956
4
Tried resetting PMU?
You should be greatful for having a time meter at all :p This pismo infinitely says "calculating remaining...". Percentage is the only way... *sobs*
 
WildCowboy

WildCowboy

Administrator/Editor
Staff member
Jan 20, 2005
18,390
2,829
That's a dying battery...mine used to do that...would slowly run down to ~40%, and then go to sleep with no warning. Then it would happen at ~70%. Now it happens at 92%, about five minutes after I unplug it.
 
Will Cheyney

Will Cheyney

macrumors 6502a
Jul 13, 2005
701
0
United Kingdom
Download this awesome app - coconutBattery.
http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/

Upon loading it up you'll be presented with a similar window to this:
page2_3.png


Compare the original battery capacity to the current one. If it's low then you will need to replace the battery.
 
liketom

liketom

macrumors 601
Apr 8, 2004
4,190
66
Lincoln,UK
excellent app but my mac was bought in April ? i doubt it is really 19 months old ?
 

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wordmunger

wordmunger

macrumors 603
Original poster
Sep 3, 2003
5,124
3
North Carolina
Will Cheyney said:
Download this awesome app - coconutBattery.
http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/

Upon loading it up you'll be presented with a similar window to this:

Compare the original battery capacity to the current one. If it's low then you will need to replace the battery.
Click to expand...

That's cool, but unfortunately it requires Tiger. So what should I do with my $100 -- upgrade to Tiger or get a new battery?
 
Will Cheyney

Will Cheyney

macrumors 6502a
Jul 13, 2005
701
0
United Kingdom
I highly suggest getting Tiger. You never know, it may fix your problems. If your battery is knackered you generally know about it because it doesn't last very long on a single charge (as in <1 hour).
 
Jovian9

Jovian9

macrumors 68000
Feb 19, 2003
1,967
110
Planet Zebes
I had this problem with a 17" PowerBook back in March of 2004. My PB would get down to 20 minutes remaining and then go to sleep and would not wake back up unless charging/charged. Apple thought it was the battery and replaced it.....that did not solve the problem. It ended up being the logic board.
 
Will Cheyney

Will Cheyney

macrumors 6502a
Jul 13, 2005
701
0
United Kingdom
Oh dear...
I don't see how it can be logic board related though. I mean, if the computer keeps crashing or refuses to start up that's one thing - but working faultlessly until the battery starts to drain?
 
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