Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Exploding iBook

aricher

aricher

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 20, 2004
2,211
1
Chi-il
A friend of mine forwarded me this letter. There are pictures on a blog but I don't have the URL yet. Will post as soon as I receive it. I have asked for the iBook's specs and will post those as well.

Dear Eric, Do you have an ibook or powerbook? Well, I had an ibook G4, 12.1 inch monitor, 20 months old and it burned yesterday morning! It never gave me a problem or a hint that something was wrong. I went to work, set it on my desk to charge as usual and then went inside of the lab (room next door). My coworker noticed a burning odor, and then rushed to me screaming that my laptop was on fire. I couldn't believe my eyes. We are fine, I had to use a fire extinghisher to stop the fire. Now the insurance company will take over the claim. Apparently it was a battery problem, there is a black hole where it used to be. It could have had happened in our house while we were sleeping just 2 hours before the incident! My point is, double check if your battery has been on recall from apple or if it has ever give you problem be suspicious of it. However, just because it is not on the recall list does not necessarily mean it is safe. I knew about the recall but my computer was NOT listed as one with a potential problem. Feel free to share this information with other iBook owners. Take care. Raffet.
 
Wow, scary stuff! :eek: My mom's iBook was on the recall list and we already have the new battery installed. I'm glad everyone is okay.
 
Arcus said:
I call TTIWWP!! (This thread is worthless without pix.)


Hey I got a letter from some guy in Zimbabwae and he wants to transfer 10 million dollars to my account!! ROXXOR!!!@#@#!
Click to expand...

Yeah yeah - whateva smartypants. The blog with multiple photos of the damage done to his (chemistry) lab is down right now but you can see a photo of the iBook here:
111991992_c54dd2e69a_o.jpg

http://www.macuser.com/hardware/ibook_on_fire.php

The specs are (were):
G4 ibook, 12.1 inch, 1.0 GHz.
 
i have about a one mm black mark on the side of the inner battery compartment in my powerbook.


Should i be worried?
 
Is it under warranty? If so I would take it into an Apple Store and have them lok at it. Otherwise, after seeing this report I would seriously think twice about leaving it running while you're sleeping or out.

BTW - I just confirmed that this happened to his iBook while it was in Sleep Mode.
 
howesey said:
You do know that most G4 12" batteris were recalled because this happened to a few people?

https://depot.info.apple.com/batteryexchange/index.html?lang=en
Click to expand...
Yep - and as the poor guy's letter states, "I knew about the recall but my computer was NOT listed as one with a potential problem."

Update: I just got this email with a bit more info:

"iBook G4 1.0 GHz, 12.1 inch monitor with a 30 GB HD. It was still under the Applecare extended warranty plan. I got this iBook on April of 2004 and it was not listed on the website of the manufacturer as one of the potentially hazardous ones. I never had a problem with the laptop. It never did nothing out of the ordinary. There was no warning. The laptop was with the lid closed, in sleep mode. It is being currently under investigation. The insurance company is taking care of the matter. The most important thing is that nobody was hurt. I will keep you informed of what happen next."

He also went on to say that he will be taking his blog of this down until he has dealt with AppleCare.
 
I had that model iBook. It had a faulty reed switch that it would not shut down when in sleep mode -- it would stay awake and get hot. Wonder if something like that happened or if it was indeed a bad batttery?
 
I've heard about this happening before (with several electronics with rechargeable batteries). Batteries always have the potential to explode (although its really rare). Typically it happens really rarely thats why you still see rechargeable batteries on the market. Anyway I've heard of apple replacing computers like that iBook after the warranty is up. Most of the time they do this to inspect if their was an inherent design flaw and to see how many users it effects (if its a super tiny percentage of defective systems then usually nothing happens or if the odds of a battery exploding are really small nothing happens). Either case I wouldn't be surprised if apple offered him a new computer or refurbished computer, just so they can crack his ibook open and see what the problem was.
 
did you have important information on the HD? I would imagine it would be gone now, yes?
 
forget the harddrive, any fire that leaves that much of a 'trail' is going to have caused more damage than a harddrive I assume. I hope his lab didn't sustain any real damage?

If the RAM is still good, I'll take it. =)

Jusssstt joking.

Sort of.
 
I guess this kind of thing can happen to any machine, as there are always flaws here and there. Just as long as the iBook is replaced, and everyone is okay, and everyone is careful in the future.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back