It appears that my PRAM battery must be going bad, or the connection has become flaky in my 15-inch 1.67GHz G4 PowerBook with the High Resolution 1440x960 screen.

While looking for replacement PRAM batteries, it became apparent that these items are no longer available, except for used ones. Taking a closer look at the item, it looks like a standard button Li-ion battery that is sealed inside a plastic sleeve that is around a small pcb with a connector for a cable that connects this to the logic board.

The PRAM battery for the 17-inch G4 PowerBook is different and sits on one side of the 17-inch model near one of the USB ports.

I wonder if the button battery inside the sealed plastic sleeve on the 15-inch 1.67GHz G4 model can be replaced with a new button battery, instead of replacing the whole battery and sealed pcb with another used PRAM battery unit?

That would seem like a better solution, but I don't know if it can be done, or should be tried.

Anyone else had any problem with their G4 PowerBook not keeping the date, time, and your wireless password/passphrase settings every time you shut it off, or even sometimes when you just put it to sleep?

I wonder if I should also start thinking of replacing the PRAM battery in my 17-inch 1.67GHz G4 PowerBook model?

I don't have the PRAM battery in one of my PowerBooks, it keeps the date unless the main battery charge is empty. Battery can be replaced for sure. Maybe you should reset PRAM and PMU.

The problem with the PRAM-batteries is that they are an odd size&voltage + rechargable, so you won't find them in your local electronics store.

17" uses 3 (AFAIR) smaller coin batteries wrapped in black plastic (also no common format).

Korni,
Quote:

If I don't watch my battery level while running MacOSX, it does not always warn me that the battery level is running low and I have often run it down to a point where it quits to a black screen, and this sometimes triggers the loss of date and time info, as well as my email passwords and wireless network passphrase/password, so I have to reset everything again on my G4 PowerBook. I don't think I want to go without a PRAM battery like you are doing. That is too much hassle to re-enter all that info all over again all the time.

Kronos,
Quote:

Even if the batteries are uncommon, they should be available from somewhere, but how difficult they are to replace, instead of replacing the whole PRAM unit (which it appears you can only find used now, so it might fail soon as well, so it could be a bad investment).

How are those batteries soldered to the connectors of the PRAM units? It looks like they are spot welded with very low current, but that is probably not the case. Is there conductive adhesive that can be used to connect the conductors, or new wires to these batteries and the old PRAM pcb's, if I find the right replacement batteries for the PRAM unit?

I would think that soldering to a battery could damage it, if the solder did not adhere right away when trying to solder a wire to it.

Maybe its enough to change the main battery, to find out follow this guide to test the condition of your backup battery http://support.apple.com/kb/TA22660?viewlocale=en_US

If the battery should be replaced you can find (only the battery) a new one here for your 15" powerbook http://www.ifixit.com/PowerBook-Parts/PowerBook-G4-PRAM-Battery/IF154-122

Sorry, my fault, this battery is for the 1.67 GHz (Low-Res) model, not your Hi-Res.

[ Edited by dake 19.05.2012 - 18:47 ]

Thanks dake,

That looks like the right battery. I don't know why they would have a different version of the battery for the High Resolution LCD and 128mb graphics card.

Can't imagine why it would be different on the low resolution 1.67GHz G4 PowerBook, but I will look for the right one.

A little pricey, but I am glad to see them available with the tangs attached to make it easy to install and solder to the PRAM pcb.

Hi Amigadave

One of polish MorphOS users (hi Tarnak :) just replaced his battery (not a whole pram module) 100% sucsessfully. He has PB 5,8 and I will be doing the same with my 5,9 model soon. The battery was bought in here: http://batimex.pl/towar.php?idtowaru=4262&selectLanguage=en

I believe with that link you will be able to find similar battery in USA. Good luck.

@pampers,

Thanks for that info and for the link to the battery. From what I have found online, the PRAM battery for the 5.8 model is very different than the battery(ies) for the 5.9 model. Have you found which battery works with the 5.9 model already? Edit: I guess this is the link to the battery for the 5.9 model, not the 5.8 model which takes a single button style battery, but is sealed inside a plastic jacket around the battery and a small pcb.

Edit: My PRAM battery may not need replacing after all. The only time I have any problem with it is when the warning that my battery is running low while running MacOSX does not come on and I don't notice the battery level. When it gets down to about 10 minutes to 30 minutes left on the main battery, it can be very inaccurate and all of the sudden shut down the PowerBook. If I can plug in the charger within just a few seconds after that happens, I can sometimes stop it from being shut down completely and it will go into a sleep mode until the battery can be charged up a little and then the screen will come on and the computer will come out of it's sleep mode. Otherwise the PowerBook will shut completely down and that is when the PRAM battery loses it's charge and my date and time settings are lost as well as my WLAN settings and password and the passwords for my email accounts. If I watch my battery level I probably don't need a new PRAM battery, but I am not sure if these symptoms are a sign that the PRAM battery is going bad and needs to be replaced? I don't know.

[ Edited by amigadave 02.06.2012 - 10:03 ]

@amigadave

As pampers mentioned above I needed to change this sucker because symptoms were like U just described, reset of time and date, lost of passwords etc.
I had another issue, main battery drain. I guess, because of the pram battery sucking power from main battery. I often finished with totally drained main battery after few weeks or month.

My PB is 5.8 Hi-Res which uses such battery like pictured in link.I teared off original one and it had layered cells, here is a photo.
Version Lo-Res had normal button battery AFAIK.
To clarify, all batteries must be rechargeable.

Hope that from now on all issues will gone forever

@Tarnak,

I have both a 5.8 - 15" and 5.9 - 17" model PowerBook, but I have not yet removed my PRAM batteries to tear them apart and find out what is inside of them. The online searches I have done show a different PRAM battery for the 5.8 - 15" PowerBook than the battery you are showing. When it is opened up it shows a single button type of battery, but the online auctions, or advertising must be wrong with regard to the High Resolution 5.8 - 15" PowerBook's.

I am unclear about replacing my PRAM battery or not, but probably will replace it, just to make sure it does not cause any more problems.

@amigadave

Yeep, try to get into it. You should be able to know which type you deal with only by touching it, there should be no reason to tear it. I only torn it apart because I was curious what is inside and if there is some logic pcb.
Pampers dismounted his pb 17" and he said that he had the same type 302030 which is Li-Ion 3.7V ~130mha.

I can say only for my self's PB which had newer type of battery.
I even read somewhere, probably on fixit, that newer 5.8 (probably HiRes) had different type of battery like in picture.

As you can guess, auctioneers trying to sell out everything and button batteries are common.

@Tarnak,

I hope that you are right that your battery and pampers battery are the same for the 5.8 and 5.9 models because I just ordered one.

I figured that if the one I just ordered does not fit in my 5.8 15" model, I will use it to replace the PRAM battery in my 17" 5.9 model PowerBook and look further for one that will fit in my 15" 5.8 model PowerBook.

I should probably replace both of them anyway, as these PowerBook's are getting sort of old.

>I had another issue, main battery drain. I guess, because of the pram battery sucking power from main battery. I often finished with totally drained main battery after few weeks or month.

I also had this issue, so I removed the main battery but the battery is still drained. Then I open up the battery and find a logic board inside. I'm not 100% sure but when I dismantle the battery maybe I connect my instrument to it and measured that the logic board always draw some mA. It's more than two years ago and my memory is fragmented:)

1. Either you and I have some really old batteries that discharge very fast.
2. The logic board inside the main battery is draining the power.

I'm pretty sure the logic board is draining the battery.

Amigadave, what happened with this? I have to change my pram battery and I think of buying the one from the link in Batimex.
Is It ok?

PD. I think mine is type 302030 battery.




[ Edited by tolkien 08.01.2014 - 20:59 ]

Lucky you have a battery.
My 14" 1.42 GHz iBook does not and simply will not maintain time when shut off.
I have to set it at each restart.

i have the same issue, my powerbook 5,8 (1,67ghz, 15") doesn't keep time when the battery is empty, and also wifi passwords are an issue. It seems we are a lot to suffer from this, not surprising with machines that are not quite recent... for the moment i do with it, i don't feel like changing the battery, seems too much of a hassle, unless someone comes with an easy fix.

Well, my source of irritation is worse.
The ibooks don't have a pram battery and even when my battery is fully charged, shutting down the system causes it to lose system time.

Jim, If you have your mac connected to internet you can update your date from there.

SoundSquare...following the guides from ifixit.com is easy enough to open those machines.

The pram battery is my last attempt to rescue my powerbook. I have changed the power supply, the dc-in and nothing. My powerbook doesnt even power on.

Quote:

i already opened it once to install a SSD, that's why i don't want to do it again

Quote:

Hello I just did what you are asking (Only changing the buttom cell). So, Yes if you have some basic skills to solder and get the right battery (not to easy) It can be done quite easely.

Beware that you need a 3.6V battery 3022 chargable (30mm wide 2.2mm high) The size I let go of since it was hard to find a 30mm wide one where I live
so I picked a slightly smaller one (LIR2450). But get one with soldering pads welded to the battery poles in 180 degrees. It is virtually impossible to solder a lead's to the surface of an bettery since it's nickel.
Choosing a slightly thicker battery compensates for the loss in mA. The thicker one (+2.8mm) fits but it is little tighter to put the whole thing back.





[ Edited by droopy 10.01.2014 - 05:06 ]