"Newish" iBook G4 new to forum w/ battery question

[Mandomex]

Hello all, new member but been researching on this site for a while.
I just picked up my second mac, an Ibook g4 800mhz, bought it for $60.00 with a busted HD, upgraded HD to 160g 5400rpm,had an extra 256mb ram chip installed and did a fresh 10.4.11 install.

Runs internet (on wifi) great with the suggestions from this forum,

I'm sure the battery is toast, it sits at (calculating)with 0% while plugged in. Even for extended periods, did some searching on board for a while.

Did a pram and PMU reset, and still same.

When I first installed tiger a couple days ago it showed battery charging and I got up to 80%, I started up yesterday and boots up pretty fast for a 2003 machine. I pushed the battery button and computer flashed and reset and battery now sits on (calculating) while plugged in.

coconut battery shows -
current batt charge
current batt charge- 0 mah
max batt charge - 3528mah
0% bar
current batt capacity --
current batt capacity - 3528mah
orig batt capacity - 4400mah
80%

load cycles - 203
charger plugged in
battery charging- no

Like I said, I'm sure the battery is dead, but just looking for a second opinion.
Thanks.

 

[FourCandles]

I'm not quite clear on your Coconut Battery results. you seem to be quoting two sets of data?

 

[mrsir2009]

Batteries are strange things. They will sometimes show random or weird readings that don't really make sence. For example:

My cellphone is on 4 out of 5 bars of battery left, but when I turn it off and turn it back on again it seems to have charged up to 5 out of 5 bars!

I'd assume that your battery is dead, but its playing some tricks on you!

 

[Mandomex]

It holds no charge , I'm not getting my hopes up for some miracle fix. I'll just have to keep computer plugged in.

I may try the freezer trick.

 

[mrsir2009]

It holds no charge , I'm not getting my hopes up for some miracle fix. I'll just have to keep computer plugged in.

I may try the freezer trick.

You could perhaps pick up a $30 battery off eBay?

 

[LordSeth]

You could perhaps pick up a $30 battery off eBay?

+1

Also, the coconut battery thingie is rubbish on the iBook (imho it's rubbish full-stop). Results on my mid '05 never came even close to real-world values.

Go for a new(ish) battery and enjoy the mighty quick booting time of Tiger =)

 

[mrsir2009]

+1

Also, the coconut battery thingie is rubbish on the iBook (imho it's rubbish full-stop). Results on my mid '05 never came even close to real-world values.

Go for a new(ish) battery and enjoy the mighty quick booting time of Tiger =)

Yes, coconut battery is designed for Intel Makintoshes, so it won't be very accurate on pre-intels.

To the OP: If your a PPC Mac person you should check out this forum: http://www.classicmac.freeforums.org

Good luck!

 

[raysfan81]

You could perhaps pick up a $30 battery off eBay?

Yeah definitely search around on eBay or Amazon you should be able to get one without breaking the bank.

 

[Mandomex]

Thanks for the info.
On the fence between a 1gb ram chip first or a battery, both would be around the same price.

I need to keep it plugged in to work, so no real hurry on the battery.

You tube works great for non HD video, with just 348mb ram.

I'm going to try to link it to my Tivo to watch some recorded stuff, hopefully it wont be to slow.

Thanks

 

[mrsir2009]

Thanks for the info.
On the fence between a 1gb ram chip first or a battery, both would be around the same price.

I need to keep it plugged in to work, so no real hurry on the battery.

You tube works great for non HD video, with just 348mb ram.

I'm going to try to link it to my Tivo to watch some recorded stuff, hopefully it wont be to slow.

Thanks

A g4 should play back recorded stuff off its harddrive fine