520c Powering on Issues

[funkytoad]

Hey everyone,

So I recently purchased a PB520c off of the LEM Swaplist.

I only powered it up a couple of times to show my friends.

And for some odd reason, when I went to power up today, it wouldn't start.

The adapter is plugged into a working power outlet. All the cables are tight with a good connection, but it will not start. any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Franklinstein]

When mine quit working, it turned out to be a blown fuse in the power adapter. You might want to try checking that. Wrapping some thin wire around a multimeter's leads works well for probing the recessed conductors in the adapter's plug.

I'll see if I can't scrounge up the voltages from the service manual for those things, if you haven't sorted your problem before then.

 

[equill]

Input: 100-240VAC, 50/60 Hz

Output: 16.6VDC @ 1.0 A and 16.6VDC @ 1.5 A, nominally

de

 

[Forrest]

Hey everyone,So I recently purchased a PB520c off of the LEM Swaplist.

I only powered it up a couple of times to show my friends.

And for some odd reason, when I went to power up today, it wouldn't start.

The adapter is plugged into a working power outlet. All the cables are tight with a good connection, but it will not start. any ideas?

Thanks!

If the internal PRAM battery is dead, then the screen will be dark on powerup. You'll need to increase the brightness/contrast on the screen using the two rocker switches on the right side of the screen.

 

[MacMan]

Try wiggling the power connector at the back of the PowerBook - the 500 series connectors are notorious for developing problems that aren't apparent at first. Also try switching it on with the battery removed.

If this fails, reset the power manager. See these instructions for how to do this on a 500-series.

 

[equill]

Going right back to taws, you are at the mercy of 1) battery condition (main battery or batteries and internal backup battery); 2) adapter condition; and 3) PowerBook condition.

Some or all have worked during your demonstrations, so there is no cause for despair. The internal (secondary, ie rechargeable) battery does not recharge before the main battery in the right-hand bay has reached nearly full terminal voltage (about 10.5+VDC), not full charge. After a long rest without the adapter connected, that can take up to 48hr. The PB 500s have inappropriately-named smart batteries that may need special techniques to kick them back into sentience (not intelligence).

The PB itself may respond to the brightness/contrast controls soon, but it has already demonstrated that it has life. You need to get on top of the power supply before any testing of the PB can be rewarding. As long as the main battery is not dead-shorted (which will show as extreme heat during charge), the PB will function with a battery in and the adapter connected, no matter how ineffectual the battery is otherwise.

Trawl these forums for more detail about the main and backup batteries and the adapter. You have inspected/cleaned the main battery terminals?

de

 

[bigD]

Going right back to taws,

Taws?

Because of my job, I'm aware of TAWS (and subsequently EGPWS), but I dunno what it means in the context of your post.

 

[funkytoad]

I'll try all these things, but right now I am "Macless in Seattle".

Let you know how things go when I get home.

 

[equill]

Taws?
Because of my job, I'm aware of TAWS (and subsequently EGPWS), but I dunno what it means in the context of your post.

Perhaps you've never played marbles. Before the game begins, 'taws', the 'firing' marbles, are declared (revealed) so that no-one can use an undeclared ball-bearing instead of a clay or glass marble. Figuratively, then, it has long meant back to first principles or to the starting point. Even Wiki probably has something about it.

de

 

[funkytoad]

Try wiggling the power connector at the back of the PowerBook - the 500 series connectors are notorious for developing problems that aren't apparent at first. Also try switching it on with the battery removed.
If this fails, reset the power manager. See these instructions for how to do this on a 500-series.

I tried wiggling with no luck. However, reseting the power adapter did the trick. I have to do this with my Duo 270c. So would a new PRAM battery fix this?

Hey everyone,So I recently purchased a PB520c off of the LEM Swaplist.

I only powered it up a couple of times to show my friends.

And for some odd reason, when I went to power up today, it wouldn't start.

The adapter is plugged into a working power outlet. All the cables are tight with a good connection, but it will not start. any ideas?

Thanks!

If the internal PRAM battery is dead, then the screen will be dark on powerup. You'll need to increase the brightness/contrast on the screen using the two rocker switches on the right side of the screen.

I wasn't getting any response out of the machine, but yes. After reseting the power manger, the screen is dark until using the switches.

 

[funkytoad]

So now ever resting the power manager does not work. Any other ideas?

There always seems to be problems with all my laptops.

 

[MultiFinder]

So now ever resting the power manager does not work. Any other ideas?There always seems to be problems with all my laptops.

Sometimes, I've noticed my blackbird stops responding to the power key on the keyboard. When it does this, I pop out the batteries and unplug it. Leave it be for a few minutes, then plug it back in. Smack the power key a few times to make sure it's still not working ( : ), then plug an external keyboard into it. Usually prodding the power key on the external keyboard does the trick; I usually refer to it as jumpstarting the bugger. Hope this helps you out