hello,

sorry that i open a hardware post in general, but i am not able to post something in hardware section ??


i bought a used powerbook g4 5,8 for using morphos. It has a dead battery and is working great on power adapter.

the dead battery is shown as state "good" in osx, but is not charging anymore


now i bought a replacement battery for the powerbook.


if it put it in and want to turn the notebook on only the fans make noise and screen keeps black.


can someone help me ?

after putting back the dead battery, the powerbook starts.







[ Editiert durch frickler 22.04.2016 - 00:10 ]

I would try to reset the power management unit first: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT1431


[ Edited by jPV 22.04.2016 - 10:27 ]

Doubt that will help, most likely his "new" battery is ne old stock and has gone the way of the dodo while in storage.

Another possibilty would be that the charging circuit of the PB is faulty and just cant deliver the current needed to charge an empty&working battery while the PB is powered on.

What does happen when the power-supply is plugged in with the new battery installed ? Normally the plug should stay green for a moment till it figures out the battery needs charging an turns orange.

Charging it for a while before powering on the PB might also help especially if you only have a 45W PSU (normally go with iBook) instead of the standard 65W one.

i have tried this several times...

with the replacement battery the laptop fans turn on.. after 30 seconds the powerbook turns off

with the old original battery the laptop turns on and does a special chime sound, so i think the button combination is working there

Again, what happens when you just install the battery and plug the PB in WITHOUT turning it on ?

Do you have a 45 or 65W PSU (written on the side of the PSU, you might need a magnifying glas or good camera) ?

[ Edited by Kronos 22.04.2016 - 12:16 ]

i am currently not at home and cant look.. so i hope i can give correct answers ^^


the psu is a 65w unit...

i havent seen any status led on my macbook. so nothing green, orange or something.

where is this led on the g4 powerbook ? i saw only a white led on the lid open button.



my answer to your question is, if i just install the buttery and plug in the pb nothing happens !



yesterday i checked the pins of the battery connector with a multimeter, on every pin i have ~24V.

can it have something to do with the fact that my pram battery is empty too ?

If it's an orginal PSU it should have green/orange lights in the connector to the PB.

If it ain't there is a good chance that the rated 65W is a lie and the PSU is nota capable of charging and running the PB at the same time.

i will check it :D


thank you !



what i dont understand is following:

the new battery is partially loaded, if i press the small status button i see 3 of 5 lights or something.
nevertheless the powerbook wont boot. is there a check or something with that apple prevent using third party batteries ?


[ Editiert durch frickler 22.04.2016 - 12:00 ]

3rd party batteries do work (mine still last 3 hours even if it claims to be empty after 1).

It's most likely that you have some sort of HW defect either on your PB or on the new battery if the PB won't even attempt to boot from a partially charged one.

hm i think i will buy a second powerbook, and make one good out of two.

i dont know how i can find the error without switching parts.



or is there a special part in the powerbook g4 that is known to make such problems ?


[ Editiert durch frickler 22.04.2016 - 14:37 ]

It could be a broken DC board ( https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/nNx6F3UFSRsFULUE ), but who knows... Best if you could find a 3rd party Apple repair center - they might still be employing people that used to service PPC Macs, who knows...

hmm

i checked the psu...

its an A1334 replacement(!!) power ac adapter
45/65 W


theres no led on the connector


its really hard, i think i am blind... its a cheap clone of an apple psu



so.-. can someone give me the part number of the original ac adapter ?



[ Editiert durch frickler 22.04.2016 - 20:41 ]

Quote:
A1021

I have a Powerbook A1138 (5,8 model), and I had an issue, very similar to yours where a battery that seemed to have some electrical charge stored in it failed to initiate/startup my Powerbook. I changed the battery and it all works OK now.

So, I have a strong feeling that it is something to do with the battery that is causing the issue, and it may well be worth acquiring a better make of replacement battery before you decide to consider using the Powerbook you have merely for parts, if I understand you correctly.

I would also consider acquiring either an Apple A1036 ( also known as the M8482) (45 Watt PSU) or Apple A1021 (65 Watt PSU) as they are much better than the cheaper/inferior replacement PSUs that predominantly come from Eastern Asia, and they have the charging LED indicator that has been already mentioned.

If you get an Apple PSU then also try to get the mains extension lead as that allows greater freedom of being further away from a mains socket to be able to place the Powerbook more conveniently rather than have the short thin wire being the only distance you can achieve from plugging it in, other than using a multiple or single extension socket, which compromisies siting your Powerbook in a more convenient place.

Also, be careful not to stress/bend too much the thin cable of the Power Supply as it exits the PSU or the power jack plug as these are areas that cause the PSU lead to fail, and 'short-circuit'. I have repaired a few of them over the years, but they are very difficult to get open, as they are classed as non-serviceable, and the halves are sealed/bonded/glued together very well, nevermind the tight-fit of the components inside it.

thanks !

i ordered a second powerbook 1138 and another battery today.
(it even has a morphos license included ! :D)



now i have enough parts to test and solve the error.












[ Editiert durch frickler 23.04.2016 - 07:12 ]

so found the error...

logic board is defect AND wrong psu


i moved the logic board from the second powerbook to the faulty one and everything works...










[ Editiert durch frickler 28.04.2016 - 00:23 ]

Congrats!

Did you mean the Main/Mother-board when you mention the Logic-board, or do you mean the DC-In-board? The DC-In-board is what the PSU plugs into, and there is the Sound chip/connectors also on it, and a USB 'A' input connector.

Swapping the Main/Mother/Logic-board is a more involved procedure, which seems a major step to take if it means the other Powerbook is then useless, plus all the work of swapping over/re-installing components. From what you said the LogicBoard was working OK, so I'm thinking you actually mean the DC-In-board. I'd just be interested to know for sure.

I've swapped the Main/Mother/Logic-board a few times, in a few of the Powerbooks I've owned but it takes a while to re-install all the components carefully/correctly.

no i mean the mainboard..


first switched the battery connector, no success - back to original part
then the dc in board, no success - back to original part
switched logic board (motherboard) - working



in my work education time i also made third level support for ibm thinkpads in a big it company, (warranty settlement, switching motherboards) so no problem ;D


i payd for the fist powerbook 90 €, case and display okay
for the second one with morphos license (!) 99 €, display has loose connection and case is not so good


so its okay, the second powerbook is not able to use a battery, but as workstation and for holding spare parts it is okay


another question, is it possible to change the registration of a morphos license ? (owner, address and so on)


[ Editiert durch frickler 28.04.2016 - 09:26 ]

> is it possible to change the registration of a morphos license ?

https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=11606&forum=3