PowerMac G5 dead, some questions

[corbywan]

Some of this is related, some isn't.

I have a PMG5 dual 2.0GHz that had been showing some signs of flakiness so I bought a MacPro and decided to shelve the G5 until I could focus on it. The flakiness was the fact than the FireWire on the front stopped working, then the USB on the front stopped. I bought a FireWire PCI card with three ports on it, they all worked, then two died. I was told that this model of G5 was known for degenerative motherboard issues and that the fix was to swap out the whole motherboard. I let it limp along until I could rely on it anymore.

After a few months of non-use I decided to try and fire it up. When I push the power button on the front the white light comes on and there is a "click" sound from the power supply, and that's it. I took the side panel off to see if I could see anything. Again, I push the power button, the white like comes on (and stays on as long as I hold it in), all of the fans twitch for a moment, there is the click sound, and then nothing.

With all of the other problems attributed to the motherboard I could accept that that's the problem. But it acts like its a power supply problem. BTW, the same "click" sound is heard when you plug the power cord into the wall. So before the button even gets pushed it's making this clicking sound.

Any ideas?

Also, I had to remove the hard drive to rescue another machine so it has no HD in it. Does the PMG5 require that a hard drive be in the box before it will even power on?

Thanks in advance.

 

[cantthinkofone]

Is there a fuse on the power supply?

Maybe a relay?

 

[jjahshik32]

Lol, Your G5 died right after it saw the new macbook pros and the 24" LED Cinema Display!

 

[corbywan]

Is there a fuse on the power supply?

Maybe a relay?

I didn't find any fuses. As for a relay, I'm not sure.

 

[minik]

I had that problem on my work G5 as well. It's a DP 2.3Ghz tho. I didn't everything from reset the PRAM, took out the 3.6V battery, unplugged it for overnight, none of them would bring it back to life.

Power supply or bad motherboard I guess.

 

[cantthinkofone]

Lol, Your G5 died right after it saw the new macbook pros and the 24" LED Cinema Display!

Hahaha.

My windows desktop started acting up really bad a few years ago when i started looking at ibooks.

I'm guessing the G5 isn't under apple care?

Is there a authorized repair shop or apple store any where around you? They might diagnose it for a small fee.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

Some of this is related, some isn't.

I have a PMG5 dual 2.0GHz that had been showing some signs of flakiness so I bought a MacPro and decided to shelve the G5 until I could focus on it. The flakiness was the fact than the FireWire on the front stopped working, then the USB on the front stopped. I bought a FireWire PCI card with three ports on it, they all worked, then two died. I was told that this model of G5 was known for degenerative motherboard issues and that the fix was to swap out the whole motherboard. I let it limp along until I could rely on it anymore.

The PCI Firewire card probably could be dying. What brand was it? Some cheap Made In China brand with a cheap chipset? Did you try installing it in another PCI slot to see if they still function correctly?

After a few months of non-use I decided to try and fire it up. When I push the power button on the front the white light comes on and there is a "click" sound from the power supply, and that's it. I took the side panel off to see if I could see anything. Again, I push the power button, the white like comes on (and stays on as long as I hold it in), all of the fans twitch for a moment, there is the click sound, and then nothing.

It very well could be just the front power button board. I'd try and swap that out first with a new one and see if that solves your problem since that is a lot cheaper then replacing the logic board or power supply and a hell of a lot less labor too!

With all of the other problems attributed to the motherboard I could accept that that's the problem. But it acts like its a power supply problem. BTW, the same "click" sound is heard when you plug the power cord into the wall. So before the button even gets pushed it's making this clicking sound.

How dirty is the powersupply? Do you have any compressed air you can blow through it? Otherwise you'll have to take it out and remove the cover to clean it out.

Does the PMG5 require that a hard drive be in the box before it will even power on?

It will still turn on just fine but will display the folder icon with a blinking "?" inside it.