Backlit Portable AC Adapter Options

[mooxitani]

Hi all,

I have a backlit portable coming in tomorrow, but it unfortunately does not include the stock power adapter. I know the non-backlit portables can have their hybrid’s fried when an incorrect power adapter is used. Would it be safe to use something like a 3A 7.5V power adapter on a backlit due to it’s lack of a hybrid? And is it safe to run the machine without a battery installed?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Juror22]

I'm not an expert, so if there is another, better opinion out there, that would be welcome, but I have kept a couple of them running for a few years, so...

1) Would it be safe to use something like a 3A 7.5V power adapter on a backlit due to it’s lack of a hybrid? - Yes, in fact, it is probably safer to use a known good 7.5V 3A power supply than the original adapter since they can go out of spec, due to bad caps.
2) And is it safe to run the machine without a battery installed? - No I don't believe this is ever a good idea. Make sure you have a good, charged battery and a good 9V installed, when you try to run the machine. There are a few alternatives for putting together a working battery, so get one of these setup first.

Like the old adage - Startup in haste, repair at leisure. (not really an old adage, but it should be)
And if it hasn't been recapped, you will have to deal with that. Fortunately, they are easy to disassemble.

 

[mooxitani]

I’ve received the machine and attempted to power it up with the 7.5v 3A power adapter. When I first connected power, the machine turned on with zero key press and displayed a sad Mac screen witch I unfortunately did not get a picture of. After that first boot, the machine no longer starts up. Have I just fried something, or would this be remedied by a working battery?

 

[Byrd]

The Mac Portable comes with a (white) 7.5V 1.5A charger, usually you’d get away with using a higher amperage unit however search the forums to see using the more common (grey) PowerBook 7.5V 3.0A charger isn't a good idea. The Mac Portable essentially runs off two good batteries - 6V lead acid and 9V for PRAM with the charger acting as a slow trickle charger to keep the battery going, and pushing through 3.0A instead of 1.5A can cause issues. Kind of like charging your car battery too fast using the wrong charger.

Is the Portable recapped or restored in any way? I'd not turn it on until you've taken it apart, deep cleaned and recapped the board before attempting again. Both batteries need to be present, charged and motherboard overhauled before you can fire it up to troubleshoot - the charger is the least important thing at this stage.

 

[mooxitani]

I’ve taken the board out of the machine and given it an IPA bath. When doing so, two of the capacitors fell off the board with little to no force, thankfully leaving the pads on the board. I attempted to power the machine on again by performing a reset on the power manager, and it powered up and went to the flashing question mark fine. I’m going to order the caps for the machine now along with a replacement battery. I know now that it wasn’t the best idea to power the portable on with missing capacitors, but at least I have the piece of mind that I’m not putting money into a dead machine.

 

[Johnnya101]

You powered it on with two missing caps, no or dead battery, and wrong anon adapter and it still went to a question mark?

Woooow, you are lucky! It works, now you know, just don't attempt to turn it on again until it has new caps and has been thoroughly cleaned, with a new battery and correct amp charger.