Dead 15" Al Powerbook - DC In Board or not?

[dongo]

Hiya,

Last night I was using my heretofore dependable 15" Al Powerbook and out of nowhere it just went dead as a doornail. Won't reboot or show ANY signs of life. Even the "Sign of Life" LED went dead overnight.

I was poking around a couple of the sights that I used to fix my old Pismo when it had a similar problem and all signs point to the DC In board (which would be a relief!) i.e. everything is dead, the battery will not charge, etc. EXCEPT that the annular light on the AC supply/charger plug DOES light up.

The info. I saw indicated that the connector light would NOT illuminate if the problem were the DC In board. Does anybody know if this is absolutely true? Could the charger/supply light still work if the DC In board were faulty in other respects??

I would really appreciate any help ... I'm hoping its not the logic board. On my Pismo the same thing happened many years ago and replacing the DC board gave that thing years of additional life.

Thanks!

 

[docal97]

About a week ago I had a problem where my powerbook wouldn't boot. So i took it in to the store, and it is out of warranty of course.

So the genius sent it in to the depot and for a flat fee of 310, they fixed everything wrong with the laptop, which in my case was the logic board and hard drive.

Not a bad deal to refurb an excellent piece of equipment.

So take it in for a check, there is hope yet!!

 

[phoenixmilan]

helpful..

I think I'm having a similar problem.. and was going to go through apple, until I realized a single phone-call out of warranty is $49!

Initial problem was the battery not charging; it was always at 0%, despite having been recently replaced, and machine could only be on if plugged into wall. But then the machine stopped working, even when AC was plugged into wall (used several different chargers to test~all were 'orange-lit,' never green once these issues started). It wouldn't start up. At the Genius Bar, after not starting for a month, they plugged it into their charger and it *appeared* to start right up, so I took it with me, thinking it was fixed.

I got it home, and plugged it in. Again, it appeared to start, and fully booted for maybe 2-3 seconds before immediately dying again. I left it plugged in for several days, but then it failed in even booting.

The genius told me if it wouldn't work without the battery in it, it was good as dead and I should just get a new one. That is not an available option to me right now. I found the following suggestions online for what it might be, but I have NO clue (I don't know anything about computers):

PRAM battery
PMU
One repair site told me it was likely DC Inboard problem and I'd need to replace the logicboard for about $400 including service.

I am afraid to take it to a genius bar, for fear they'll tell me it's dead and that's that again. How did you get so lucky to get such a helpful genius? It sounds like I have a really similar issue!

 

[rowsdower]

This is kind of an old thread, but I didn't notice it before. I had a bad DC-in board on the last 15" PowerBook. It would intermittently start up and then die with no warning. The charger ring did light up, but only green regardless of the battery status. I replaced it and it worked for about a year before it quit working again. I don't know what the problem was the second time. It is still sitting on my desk, not working.