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Powerbook G4 15" DC-in advise, please help

M

mrcontroversial

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 17, 2011
11
0
London
Hello Everybody,

Newbie here, hoping for a little advise with my old powerbook G4

Looks like it's going o be a "seat of the pants" Sunday for me; last night my new power supply (3rd one) gave up the ghost but this time i believe it's the DC in causing the problem.

I've found the advice from previous posts and I have no choice but to give it a go myself. I've takled a few things before (replaced HD etc) so, with the aid of the guides from the ifixit guides, I'm mildly confident. I just wanted to check with the experts that I've come to the right conlusion and am going about things in the right way.

The scenario:
I've been using my second troublesome charger for a year and it's always had a flickering orange/green halo. This eventually gave up completely so I just replaced it with a 3rd party power supply and have been using that for about 4 days now. For the last 24 hrs it would only register the power in if I propped it up with an eraser, last night this sweet spot dissapeared completly and i'm now left with a PB that has no charge in the, already dead, battery and no way of powering up.

With it being a brand new charger and the fact that the connection was so dodgy I'm thinking it's the DC-in seating (solder) that is causing the problem, probably the reason my last Apple charger only last a year (there was a little burnt patch inside the case of the male connection pin).

Am I right in thinking;
DC in needs re-soldering/replacing

or i there a possiblity that the new 3rd party charger is causing problems? It doen't seem to have an earth which I find slightly worrying.

I am also a little concerned that the PB is still in sleep mode. Any ideas how I shut it down with no power?

To confirm; it's a Powerbook G4 Aluminium 15" 2004 65w power in supply.

Any and all advise massively appreciated, I'm tackling this completely on my own :eek:

Cheers
 
Jesus.... blimmin... H!!!

Just been through the correct guide for my model (A1046) and this must the most awkward part to get to? I'm not sure about this at all....
 
Up date so far:
I've had the thing apart to see if I could identify/confirm my fears.

The DC in seems to be securly seated with no suspect play in it when wiggled. I've superglued a peice of foam to the top of it to give it a little downforce when the lid is screwed back on, needless to say this hasn't solved the issue.

When plugged in there are some strange noises appearing when you give the jack a wiggle. Strange thing is the noise (elec whine) seem to be coming from or near to the right speaker (?).

There is still a sweet spot I can just about find when the power connects however; It last a few seconds and then the power drops.

NB. It acts in a strange way with the battery icon flashing intermittently (plugged/unplugged)..... this seems a little strange(?)

Any ideas? Something tells me a professional repair job is not cheap.
 
Last edited:
It shouldn't be that bad. I looked up the price for a DC in board for a 1.33GHz Powerbook G4 15" and I can tell you that its under $50. At the Authorized Service Provider I currently work at, we would probably replace the board for you at $99 to cover the parts and labor. May be worth checking out.
 
interesting! I've heard, on this side of the pond, that the part itself is over £100... then there's the labor involved.

I'll do some call arounds tomorrow and see if there's anyone locally that can help. Response i've had so far is that it's so hard to find the part, that the job itself really needs to be done by apple (?)
 
Last edited:
Morning all (depending where you are in the world),

Well, after a rather sleepless night dreaming about loosing tiny screws, I've had the casing open and have discovered something a little worrying;

There is a "burnt" smell coming from the DC-in :(

I'm wondering if the new 3rd party charger could have caused this?
 
Mot meaning to hijack the thread, but do all PowerBook G4s have the green halo when charging? Mine doesn't, could it be something to do with the fact I am using a US charger in the UK (seems doubtful as the the input is rated 115-230V AC).
 
No worries... AFAIK all the 65w official Apple chargers have the green/orange LED halo. The copies don't. The originals break way too easy.

I'm pretty sure a US adapter is a different wattage to the UK!?!

Hope that answers your question... now go find me someone to answer mine :p
 
Ahh I didn't realize the light was on the charger itself, I probably have an unofficial one then.
 
:):):):):):):):):)

Fixed!!!

Took to a local repair shop and they confirmed that a couple of the components on the DC in board had burnt out.

It took 5 hrs to disassemble down the the DC in and then another 3 hours to men the broken component thingies and re assemble.

Apparently quite a straight forward job for someone with the right amount of expertise and the right tool kit.

Still.... I expected it to come to a lot more than £50.

One VERY happy customer!

I'd like to thank you all for your assista... oh, hold on a sec..... :p
 
mrcontroversial said:
:):):):):):):):):)

Fixed!!!

Took to a local repair shop and they confirmed that a couple of the components on the DC in board had burnt out.

It took 5 hrs to disassemble down the the DC in and then another 3 hours to men the broken component thingies and re assemble.

Apparently quite a straight forward job for someone with the right amount of expertise and the right tool kit.

Still.... I expected it to come to a lot more than £50.

One VERY happy customer!

I'd like to thank you all for your assista... oh, hold on a sec..... :p
Click to expand...
So what did the final cost end up being?
 
Hrududu said:
It shouldn't be that bad. I looked up the price for a DC in board for a 1.33GHz Powerbook G4 15" and I can tell you that its under $50. At the Authorized Service Provider I currently work at, we would probably replace the board for you at $99 to cover the parts and labor. May be worth checking out.
Click to expand...

That repair center wouldn't be called AMA Systems, by any chance?
 
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