Can anyone point me to a good / clear "how to" guide for replacing the PRAM batteries in a PowerBook 1400?

[Huxley]

Hi everyone! I've been spending some time with my trusty old PowerBook 1400, including my recent project to install the NUpowr G3 upgrade I purchased from @Johnnya101 - it's gone well overall, and my PB1400 is humming along smoothly... except for an obviously-dead PRAM battery. The machine can't remember the date, and it powers up the moment the AC cable is connected, so it seems pretty clear that the battery is shot, and given the possibility of those old PRAM batteries killing beloved Macs, I'm a little concerned.

I've seen various references to the process of replacing those batteries in the 1400, ranging from "very difficult" to "it's a total motherfucker." I'm not having much luck finding a good step-by-step guide, though, so I'm wondering if anyone here can point me in the right direction. If I can find a good / clear guide, I might film the whole process for future reference, if you guys think that would be helpful - it certainly doesn't look like there are any good how-to videos for this on YouTube at the moment anyway...

Thanks!

 

[Franklinstein]

Do you have a copy of the service source manual? It's not too difficult to locate online. Basically it requires a total tear-down to get at the battery. 

 

[Huxley]

Do you have a copy of the service source manual? It's not too difficult to locate online. Basically it requires a total tear-down to get at the battery. 

Ugh - I'd been looking at an old copy of the PB1400 Service Manual which I now know to be incomplete - it was missing most of the "take apart" stuff towards the end, so I stupidly thought it was more of a troubleshooting doc. I've got the full service manual now and I'm looking at the steps involved in replacing the PRAM battery, and, uhhh...

Yeah, I get why someone else referred to this process as "a total motherfucker." Wow. This is pretty brutal from a complexity standpoint, and (maybe even worse), given how brittle a lot of these mid-90's-era plastics are, I'm legitimately nervous that I'll crack or otherwise damage my machine doing this.

Curse you, Mid 90's Apple Engineers! Who the hell thought this design was a good idea for a consumable part?!

 

[Franklinstein]

That's not the only one to need a near-total teardown for the PRAM battery; there's also the 5x0, 2400, WS/PDQ, and a few of the later PBG4 models. The only saving grace for iBooks is that they don't have PRAM batteries, or they would take the cake here. 

 

[mattsoft]

Just picked up a 1400c with (you guessed it) dead PRAM batteries. I've ordered some replacement VL2330 cells and will attempt a replacement. Tearing the 1400c down wasn't that bad actually. Just be sure to get a decent spudger with a flat end for prying apart the monitor hinge brackets.