G4 Powerbook Battery Problem

[BriC]

I have a G4 Powerbook. I have to constantly have my computer plugged into the mains. If I unplug it my computer goes dead. It doesnt restart from the battery, and if it has been unplugged, on restart I get the message "your computers clock is set to a date before march 1st etc" The ring on my power supply is constantly "orange" and my battery status is always on 74%.

When I press the battery button, 4 out of the 5 green lights show up. However when my computer is not plugged in, these lights dont show up.

Do i have a dead battery? or is my battery just not charging?

Please help/ any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

BriC

 

[tweakers_suck]

How old is your computer/battery? Have you been able to recalibrate the battery lately? How many charge/discharge cycles has the battery undergone? There are a few free apps out there that report stats on your battery. Have you looked into them?

Batteries don't last forever. If your battery is a few years old and you use your computer untethered a lot , then you probably need a new battery.

 

[BriC]

How old is your computer/battery? Have you been able to recalibrate the battery lately? How many charge/discharge cycles has the battery undergone? There are a few free apps out there that report stats on your battery. Have you looked into them?

Batteries don't last forever. If your battery is a few years old and you use your computer untethered a lot , then you probably need a new battery.

The battery is 2 years old. How do you recalibrate a battery???

Im running 10.3.9. I can't run the battery down as as soon as I disconnect the AC power my computer dies. I guessed I may need a new battery but didnt want to pay £90 out if there was a problem with logic board etc.

I have downloaded Capacity Meter and the following results are shown.
https://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=40242&stc=1&d=1139172326

I am a complete techno phobe when it comes to computers so any advice in "dumbed down" jargon would be really appreciated.

Thanks

 

[tweakers_suck]

Another app you should run is called Coconut Battery. Go to versiontracker.com and download. I think that app lets you see how many cycles your battery has undergone. These batteries are good for about 300 cycles then you need a new battery.

As for how to calibrate, go to Apple's support web page for your powerbook.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284

I really think you need a new battery. If you look at the results in your attachment, your battery capacity is only 935 out of 4600 amps. I'm not surprised the computer needs to be plugged in to worrk. Time for a new battery.


Good luck.

 

[BriC]

Hi I have just put my friends battery into my machine and its working a -ok!!

So I need a replacement battery. Has anyone bought a non-apple battery? I have seen afew on eBay, just wondering if they were any good??

 

[Jovian9]

There was some online site that recently advertised PB G4 batteries (3rd party) that supposedly last longer than Apple's. I'll try to find the link. Anyone else here remember what I'm talking about? I think it was originally listed in the Mac Bytes section of MacRumors.

 

[Seasought]

The battery is 2 years old. How do you recalibrate a battery???
Thanks

If you still have your Powerbook manual it's in there. If you don't, you can download the PDF version of the manual from here.

If you've never recalibrated your battery (and given the symptoms you've mentioned) getting a replacement battery seems logical to me.

 

[BriC]

Thanks so much. One other thing? How do I locate my Model number?? I have been on eBay and they sell replacement batteries for certain models ie M8760LL/A, M9183LL/A, M9007,

How do I find which one mine is???

Ive tried "about this mac" but its not there.Just get a number starting with UV33

My current battery is a A1060. Does an A1022 battery replace this???

thanks

 

[mongoos150]

Third party battery manufacturers can have shady products, I've heard stories of batteries leaking mercury into computers before...I would spend the extra ~$20 and buy an Apple branded battery, you know it will be a quality battery and if you have problems you can have it replaced. With eBay you are pretty much screwed. It's not worth saving a small amount of cash.

 

[tweakers_suck]

Other World Compuring sells third party batteries from Newer Technologies that have more capacity than stock Apple batteries. I've never used them, but I do buy from OWC a lot (macsales.com). I trust that site more than I would eBay.

 

[BriC]

Unfortunately I live in the UK and OWC dont ship to Europe. Its either spend £90 ($158) on an Apple battery or get a replacement one like this for £55 ($96). What a dilema
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6844799207&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:UK:1

 

[glovehel]

capacity at 1184%

hope i'm not to late here, but i'm having the same sort of problems with my battery. it's been an issue for almost a year, but i'm finally looking into a solution.
my hard drive died and when i got the new one i did not calibrate the battery. since then it has only given about 5 minutes of power and takes a long time to recharge.
i'm operating osx 10.3. i tried shift+ctrl+option+power. no luck.
i downloaded capacity meter, but it is saying that my capaciy is over 1000%. help!
thanks!

 

[iumeda]

battery dead after 4 months

I am experiencing the same exact problem as described above (battery shows 100% but dies as soon as power cable is unplugged and will not start up without power plugged in). My Powerbook is only 4 months old. Before this the computer has periodically shut itself off in a very similar way and would start up with the dialogue box about the clock being reset to 1970.

I figure that Applecare will replace this seemingly faulty battery. The problem is that I'm in Kolkata, India right now and for the next few months. There is a service place here but I don't know what they will do.

 

[FarSide]

Try the "energy settings" - optimized power saving......

My Powerbook Battery is 29 Months old. 230 Cycles. 46% of the original capacity

Someone has a clue about the clockspeeds of Powerbooks, when performance is set to minimal ?

 

[PBG4]

mine is like this after 70 cycles.. but about 11 months of use of the powerbook
i did calibrate once a month.. isnt this is going down to fast? or the wear is about right?
cuz if its going down this fast that means i will def. need a new battary next year...
i heard if you are using your computer by the powercore, remove the battary will help?