12" PowerBook G4 Battery

dubhe said:

My old PB battery lasted about 4 years, then it was replaced under the Apple recall. The new one lasted about a year before starting to last less time, and now only lasts about 12 minutes! I have tried conditioning but to no avail. The battery was used 50% of the time and therefore did not spend weeks and weeks connected to the mains. Is this a fault with the battery or PB? I can get a new one on eBay for £25 but do not want to if the same thing is going to happen. Anyone else experienced this problem?

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Sounds like the PB to me. I got a recalled battery with my 12", and never had a problem with the original nor the replacement.

dubhe said:

The battery still takes a few hours to charge, it is just the discharge rate that is so short. I don't really understand how it can be draining so quickly.

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Sounds like a logic board issue to me. I too got a replacement under recall for my 12" PBG4 and neither battery
really gave me issues.

What are the number of recharge cycles you have on it? Do you have an apple store nearby that can take a look for you?

Download Coconut Battery and post a screen shot of what it says for us. I don't think a logic board issue would lead to 12 minutes of battery life, odds are the battery is shot, not the computer.

iToaster said:

Download Coconut Battery and post a screen shot of what it says for us. I don't think a logic board issue would lead to 12 minutes of battery life, odds are the battery is shot, not the computer.

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+1 that. There is probably a higher chance of a battery going dead than a logic board acting up.

Agreed!

I too got my battery replaced during the recall and this battery has gotten worse much faster than the old one!!!

My old battery under the recall would hold a charge for 4 hours sometimes... now this new battery is less than 1 hour at times, and it's not very old.

It sometimes goes from 20% capacity to 5%-1% instantly!

I'll coconut battery it tonight and give you all the low down.

macnvrbck said:

I too got my battery replaced during the recall and this battery has gotten worse much faster than the old one!!!

My old battery under the recall would hold a charge for 4 hours sometimes... now this new battery is less than 1 hour at times, and it's not very old.

It sometimes goes from 20% capacity to 5%-1% instantly!

I'll coconut battery it tonight and give you all the low down.

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what do you think?

powerbook recalled battery

my girlfriend just happened to have a very similar issue as the one you guys are stating.... The battery that came with the computer lasted 2 1/2 years... then it was recalled and she sent it back and received the 'new' battery from apple.

This 'new' battery has only lasted a little over a year (although the cycle count is something like 430).... Before we knew that the battery has seen better days, we took it to the apple store to find out what the problem was with the battery. The genius stated that usually the battery really starts to degrade at around 200-250 cycle count.

she's having other issues with her 12" powerbook so she just got a new black macbook, so i'll be taking over the powerbook and buying a replacement battery and power adapter (already did through powerbookmedic) and also upgraded the ram in it from 512 to 1gb. hopefully all of these replacement parts help make this little puppy go again!

dubhe said:

Battery or logic board?

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Battery is most likely the culprit. Coconut battery reports low capacity, and the battery has short runtimes. A battery which degrades prematurely is certainly not unheard of. Also, I've never personally heard of a logic board problem which manifests itself in this way.

Ok, so is there anything you can do for a battery that doesn't hold a charge?

Mine is at 64%.

rjphoto said:

Ok, so is there anything you can do for a battery that doesn't hold a charge?

Mine is at 64%.

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You replace it.