Black PowerBook 45W adapter with white iBook

[Dog Cow]

I checked all the specs. 45 watts, 24v DC out. So going by that, it should have worked. The PowerBook plug is different from the iBook plug, so I had to make my own patch wires. I used the wires from the multimeter. I checked the polarity too. Inside is +, outside is -.

I'm about 80% sure that I connected the wires correctly from the tip of the power adapter to the DC plug on the iBook. Well, I got a spark on the adapter tip as soon as I touched the + wire to it. I also heard a crackle from the iBook side. I smelt the usual burning smell of failure, coming from the iBook DC in.

I think I toasted the iBook's DC in, but I'm not sure. The battery is dead, so I can't turn the iBook on.

But my question is, shouldn't the black PowerBook adapter have worked? This is the same one that powers a 5300ce.

 

[Dog Cow]

Here is a photo of the PowerBook adapter, for clarification.

 

[LC_575]

I have this same one. Doesn't the iBook share that plug type?

 

[Dog Cow]

No. The iBook's plug is more of a barrel. I thought it was the same size as an RCA phono plug, but the iBook plug is actually a little bit smaller in diameter.

 

[LC_575]

So, if I understand correctly, you ran wires from the DC in outlet to the contacts of the PowerBook adapter's plug. While it was still plugged in. Without simultaneous current across the - and + contacts, just +.

To quote Bunsen:

onoz, teh magic smoke haz axcaped!

 

[Dog Cow]

So, if I understand correctly, you ran wires from the DC in outlet to the contacts of the PowerBook adapter's plug. While it was still plugged in. Without simultaneous current across the - and + contacts, just +.

But I don't understand. It doesn't make a complete circuit, therefore, no electricity flows, until I touch the last wire.

 

[LC_575]

When you touched the + wire without the - wire already touching, you may have allowed a brief voltage spike. As for the complete circuit problem, well perhaps the battery provided a place for the current to go.

 

[harrymatic]

Prodded around with a multimeter and came to the conclusion that it was the actual connector. The pins inside it had been bent out of shape. Unfortunately I destroyed the connector whilst trying to repair it and to my dismay the replacement parts cost upwards of £8, so I just ordered a whole new DC board.

 

[Bunsen]

Inside is +, outside is -.

From memory, this is wrong for starters. There are two contacts on the inner pin, like a headphone jack. One of them is + and the other is -. The outer ring is just a ground shield, connected to the sheath of the cable and thence to ground in the adapter.

 

[LC_575]

Yes, but on the Powerbook Adapter, the center prong is + and the shroud is -.

 

[Dog Cow]

I was thinking last evening of the differences between the PB adapter and the iBook adapter, and now I know what happened. The iBook has an extra circuit for the bi-color LED, but the PowerBook does not. I think that I applied voltage to the wrong pin inside the iBook.

The fun continues.

 

[racepres]

I just Double Checked....

The Power "brick" from a powerbook 1400, interchanges w/ the smaller "brick" from a PBG3, interchanges w/ the "Yo-Yo" from a clamshell i-Book.

Gotta go to a later i-Book [dual usb] or a PBG4 to get to a plug w/ a smaller diameter shield, as well as a smaller "plug".

Cant say about the later i-Book/PBG4 plug but I have personally replaced the plug on a PBG3 brick with a Phono Plug [no shield whatsoever] and It worked fine.

Finally This requires a "stereo" RCA plug... as I recall the tip was unconnected, the first ring was ground and the last ring is B+... Now that last is strictly from memory... but it was something like that. I can certainly check it!!

I think that if you were to use a smaller stereo phono plug [3mm comes to mind] that it would certainly work... IF you wired it to the correct "rings"

I will look for the info pages that I used and post back.

HTH somewhat

RP

 

[Dog Cow]

Followup:

I finally got around to reassembling the iBook over this weekend since it had been in pieces around my room for about a month. I took it into Ye Olde Campus Bookstore Apple Shoppe this morning at 9 AM and they had the appropriate charger in the back room. Plugged it in, and the orange ring came on and the battery charged up to about 90% capacity in just under 2 hours.

Came back and booted it up to OS 9. Good. It turns on, and the battery holds a charge (verified by green lights and Control Strip). Airport works too, so does the DVD drive, and the RAM is actually 384 MB, so not as much as I had hoped.

The bad:

1.) No sound -- neither speakers nor headphone

2.) No backlight

3.) I still don't have my own charger cord

 

[Dog Cow]

The bad:

1.) No sound -- neither speakers nor headphone

Fixed by resetting the PMU as per instructions on Apple Support.

Last problem is now the backlight. Going to be tricky...

 

[Dennis Nedry]

It could be the inverter, but that's unlikely. I have replaced at least 4 backlights in various laptops, all successfully. Take your time, be patient, think things through, and do your research. You can do it. It costs about $15 for a bulb.

 

[Dog Cow]

I think that it's the cable. I'm getting everything lined up, though. First order is to get a power adapter. Second is to disassemble the iBook, then test to see if it's loose cabling or some easy fix that won't need a replacement. Then order parts as needed.

The goal is to disassemble and reassemble the iBook exactly once more, a final time, and make the mean time between those two points as short as possible.

I think that it can be done.

 

[techknight]

ive had to change an inverter and cable in a G3 700mhz one time.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

I've never seen both go like that, but I suppose a shorted cable could blow the inverter. Glad you figured it out.

 

[phreakout]

Fyi, Dog Cow -

If you need to, you can get replacement power adapters from PowerBook Medic for around $25 USD. They are sold in the same black config as a 1400 adapter. Also try ebay and the like.

Also, when the connector on the yo-yo power adapter for my Pismo shorted out, I thought I'd try making a home-brew version of that specialized plug. It didn't quite work that well. Somehow, when that plug was made Apple snuck in a resistor and tied it in series between either tip-to-sleeve or ring-to-sleeve. I don't recall what the ohm value was (I think somewhere around 47 ohms or higher). Somebody may want to try and trace out the schematic for that plug. I don't have my original anymore, since I threw it out a while ago.

I did manage to salvage the rest, although I ended up using my Dremel tool to cut the plastic case apart of that yo-yo. All that's left is the center portion and the output shielded cable, which works perfectly fine. Maybe I'll find some use for it in another project, unless someone here would like to give it a new home.

73s de Phreakout. :rambo: