A battery problem, or a system problem?

[user1690]

Hey guys, you may have seen my topic mentioning my recent purchase of an iBook, but i've just recently noticed it seems to have a problem either with the battery, or perhaps the system itself.

I noticed this when i unplugged the system, instantly the battery low warning came up and the system went to sleep. Odd i thought, so i plugged it in and woke the system up and clicked the battery icon at the top and selected to show percentage, it showed 2% and i knew that couldnt be right as i'd had it plugged in for well over 3 hours. So i decided to pay close attention to the battery icon, and the charge indicator on the charger and i noticed something else. Heres how the charger indicator appears to be functioning now: Green (4seconds) Orange (12 seconds) Green (4seconds) Orange (12.... you get the point. Also, i downloaded CoconutBattery and the battery appears to have COMPLETELY exceeded its factory capacity! CoconutBattery reports the original capacity to be 4400mAh, whereas its current capacity is alot higher. Here, take a look for yourself!

http://i.imgur.com/GbbTS.jpg (EDIT: Tags removed, image showed up REAL BIG )

Anyone got any idea whats going on? Should i replace the battery, or the charger? I preferably dont want to end up wasting money on a part that may not solve the problem, but i guess i dont have a choice, or do i?

Any info is appreciated.

Note: This is a iBook G4 with a 1.2GHz PowerPC G4 Processor, 256MB Built-In RAM and a 30GB ATA Hard Disk

EDIT: And i have tried PRAM, NVRAM and PMU reset's. None seem to have solved this issue.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

That is normal for iBook, or old batteries, I had a 2004 iBook which had about the same capacity once, though it had much more load cycles, around 1000 or so, but the battery wouldn't hold for more than 20 minutes.
Maybe calibrate it properly.

______________________________________________________
This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
Apple Notebook Battery FAQ by GGJstudios
______________________________________________________​

Btw, to make screenshots see that link.
And you can use the TIMG instead of the IMG tag, by adding a T in front of the IMG and /IMG tags > TIMG and /TIMG.

 

[user1690]

That is normal for iBook, or old batteries, I had a 2004 iBook which had about the same capacity once, though it had much more load cycles, around 1000 or so, but the battery wouldn't hold for more than 20 minutes.
Maybe calibrate it properly.

______________________________________________________
This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
Apple Notebook Battery FAQ by GGJstudios
______________________________________________________​

Btw, to make screenshots see that link.
And you can use the TIMG instead of the IMG tag, by adding a T in front of the IMG and /IMG tags > TIMG and /TIMG.

Just a thought here, if the capacity of my battery is now apparently 65329mAh, doesnt that mean that its either:

A.) Going to take a very, very long time to charge.
B.) The battery is damaged, or has been misused by the previous owner.

The battery does appear to charge everytime the charger goes to orange, but like i said above the charger seems to quickly change from green to orange to green to orange (over and over...) Could that mean this battery is due for a replacement? The operating system itself doesnt seem to indicate i need to replace the battery, but then i assume it wouldnt if it thinks the capacity is 65329mAh.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

It is B), as the original battery capacity of the iBook was around 4400 mAh, the 15" MBP has 6500 mAh and the 17" MBP has almost 13000 mAh.
The battery is just wonky, and it is old. Either get a replacement or live with it.

 

[user1690]

It is B), as the original battery capacity of the iBook was around 4400 mAh, the 15" MBP has 6500 mAh and the 17" MBP has almost 13000 mAh.
The battery is just wonky, and it is old. Either get a replacement or live with it.

New battery it is then.... Oh well guess i should have known batteries dont last forever.

 

[Goftrey]

New battery it is then.... Oh well guess i should have known batteries dont last forever.

yeah, plain and simple old, tired battery

I recommend looking at iBook G4 batteries aswell, they fit G3's and they're cheaper, I got one for my G3 when I had one

 

[user1690]

yeah, plain and simple old, tired battery

I recommend looking at iBook G4 batteries aswell, they fit G3's and they're cheaper, I got one for my G3 when I had one

Yeah, got my eye on one at eBay. Might buy it right now...

Thanks for all the info guys! Guess it was simply a worn out battery

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Yeah, got my eye on one at eBay. Might buy it right now...

Thanks for all the info guys! Guess it was simply a worn out battery

Can you show us the link to the eBay auction, just out of curiosity?

 

[user1690]

Can you show us the link to the eBay auction, just out of curiosity?

Sure can!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190463732436?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Sure can!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190463732436?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Wow, I remembered the mAh correctly. You do have a 12" iBook, don't you? If so, that battery will work, but know, that it is not an original Apple battery, just a copy from some other manufacturer, the seller doesn't list.
Maybe contact Apple or an Apple Authorised Repair Centre to ask for an original Apple battery, as some don't have good experiences with third party batteries.

 

[user1690]

Wow, I remembered the mAh correctly. You do have a 12" iBook, don't you? If so, that battery will work, but know, that it is not an original Apple battery, just a copy from some other manufacturer, the seller doesn't list.
Maybe contact Apple or an Apple Authorised Repair Centre to ask for an original Apple battery, as some don't have good experiences with third party batteries.

I wouldnt have thought Apple, or any AARC (or AART) would still have iBook batteries? And yes, 12" iBook.

 

[Cardigan]

Just out of curiosity, um, doesn't that computer seem a bit slow these days? Here I am thinking a Core 2 Duo is unbearably slow. What do you use it for?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Just out of curiosity, um, doesn't that computer seem a bit slow these days? Here I am thinking a Core 2 Duo is unbearably slow. What do you use it for?

A C2D is unbearably slow? What do YOU use your computer for?
I still have a 2009 MBP with a 2.8 GHz C2D CPU and 8 GB RAM and can work quite good with it in Avid Media Composer, Adobe After Effects, LightRoom and Photoshop and several other demanding applications.
Unless you need your CPU at full throttle all the time, a C2D is still quite good, thus a G4 iBook might be more than enough for the needs of the OP.

 

[user1690]

A C2D is unbearably slow? What do YOU use your computer for?
I still have a 2009 MBP with a 2.8 GHz C2D CPU and 8 GB RAM and can work quite good with it in Avid Media Composer, Adobe After Effects, LightRoom and Photoshop and several other demanding applications.
Unless you need your CPU at full throttle all the time, a C2D is still quite good, thus a G4 iBook might be more than enough for the needs of the OP.

I have 3 macs and a HP Laptop, 1 of the macs and the HP are C2D's and this 3rd one is a G4.

My HP Laptop - 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo - 3GB RAM - Microsoft Windows 7 -- Used for small gaming purposes (Half-Life, Half-Life 2, etc...) and email.

My iMac - 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo - 3Gb RAM - Mac OSX Snow Leopard 10.6.8 -- Used for movie creation in conjunction with my Camcorder. (iMovie and iDVD)

My MacBook (2006) - 2GHz Core Duo - 2GB RAM - Mac OSX Snow Leopard 10.6.8 -- Used for graphics programs when i feel like i wanna do some drawing/pictures or if i need to use a mac-only program when the other systems are busy.

My iBook G4 - 1.2GHz PowerPC G4 - 256MB of built in RAM - Tiger 10.4.11
-- Going to be used for basic internet surfing and possibly more movie creation if the iMac is busy already doing one. (Im aware that creating movies on this iBook may not be a good idea... )

- I hope this has eased peoples curiosity.
And also, i still see a 2.4GHz C2D machine as quite fast machine. I tend to not really care for the spec of a machine and whether or not im 'up to date'. As long as a machine can do what i want, im fine. Only when a computer stops being able to do what i need, is when i buy a better model or upgrade parts.