iMac G4 20” Ticking+iBook G3 Flashing Screen

[christiann]

Hi there. I just got a 20” iMac with the wireless keyboard, speakers, and discs. (It was only $20, so I had to have it). There’s a ticking sound but no display. I reset the PMU. Dead battery? I ordered a new one. The half AA 3.6V. Could this be the issue?
Also, I got an iBook with the iMac. It is a clamshell. When I turn it on, the screen flashes for a second, and then turns black. Then I see extremely dim lines on the screen. What could that be?

-C

 

[alectrona6400]

Oh boy... where do I start with this one? Your power supply is dying and does not have enough power to initialize the display. This is a very common problem with all iMac G4s, especially later ones. They made the power supply small enough to fit into the case, but it was always under load. Not to mention the iMac G4's cooling system worked more for the hard drive (which never got hot to the point of dying...) than it did for the actual computer.

As for your clamshell, you might have to check the RAM. You also might have a faulty graphics chip.

 

[mustagcoupe]

Check the capacitors on the power supply of the imac. I built a working 20 inch out of 2 half dead ones and one had just about every capacitor in the power supply popped.

 

[christiann]

Well, the issue still persists. Should I replace the PSU?

 

[mustagcoupe]

Have you actually taken it apart and looked yet? If all the capacitors in the power supply are popped its not going to work no matter how long you try. If that ends up being the problem I would recommend trying to recap the existing one. Getting a working good condition power supply for a 20 inch might be fairly expensive compared to replacing the capacitors.

 

[christiann]

Have you actually taken it apart and looked yet? If all the capacitors in the power supply are popped its not going to work no matter how long you try. If that ends up being the problem I would recommend trying to recap the existing one. Getting a working good condition power supply for a 20 inch might be fairly expensive compared to replacing the capacitors.

I did take the dome apart but I have not checked the capacitors nor the power supply. I will keep working on it. Do you know the part number?