Clamshell iBook Hasn't Charged Battery in 10 Years...HELP!!

[Scott Baret]

I had posted a thread on this many years ago, but wanted to start anew since we have some fresh minds here and hopefully someone can help with this.

Please read this carefully so you don't miss any details.

The Original Power Adapter Dies (Batteries Worked Fine)

I bought my clamshell iBook in 2000. At the time, I had two batteries for it.

Five years later, the original yo-yo power adapter shorted out. This happened on the cord, as was common for Apple products of that time period (I had the same thing happen to a ProMouse).

Both batteries had a lot of load cycles by then but were still charging and holding power up until the adapter shorted out, meaning I couldn't charge them any further simply because I no longer had an adapter.

It took me a month to acquire a replacement power adapter, which was a generic one from MacWarehouse or someone similar (one of those black ones with the rectangular midsection). Neither battery charged on this new adapter, but the computer itself ran off wall power.

Of course, these batteries were five years old and had been without charge for a long time--one for a month, one for several months.

Symptoms

I run OS 9 on this iBook. The battery icon in the menu bar had a red X on it.

In the control strip, the battery gauge appeared for a while, then disappeared and was replaced by a picture of a wall outlet.

Unplugging the adapter would cause the computer to abruptly turn off.

Revival Attempt Begins

Five years ago, I bought a new battery from Newer. I also sourced a replacement yo-yo power adapter. (I do still have my original one, should I try to fix it someday).

My goals? Ruling out a bad power adapter and getting a battery to charge.

The battery didn't work. It wouldn't charge or be recognized by the computer. However, it did solve one problem: if the power adapter was unplugged, the computer would keep a charge for about ten seconds before going to sleep.

Another item I picked up--a VST iBook battery charger. The old batteries didn't charge (keep in mind they were ten years old by this point and hadn't been charged in five years) but the new one did.

The charger did charge the battery, but the iBook didn't recognize the charge.

Going Through the Usual Routines (don't ask me to try them because I already have)

I did the "reset-nvram" and "reset-all" in the open firmware mode. I tried it about a dozen times--no luck.

I downloaded the Battery Reset 2.0, which installed the Battery Update extension. That didn't do a thing. The reason I know? That darn plug is still in the control strip, and the red X shows up on the battery in the menu bar.

I figured I'd try Battery Update for Firewire iBooks, but it wouldn't install, since my iBook is the original model.

The Ring Thing

Here's what happens with the ring:

When booting the computer, it's always green until the "Welcome to Macintosh" (well, the Mac OS screen, but you know what I mean) appears, in which case the ring does turn orange. It will remain orange when the computer is on or in sleep mode.

It's like it's trying to charge the battery but can't recognize what sort of charge it has. It doesn't matter if the battery is fully charged or 50% charged; it can't process how much charge is in it.

The question--is it actually charging?

Can We Rule Out the PRAM Capacitor?

I'm going to have to say maybe on this. It worked absolutely fine in August 2005 when I could still mess with the yo-yo's cord and get it to charge.

I doubt that PRAM capacitor would go bad in the span of a few weeks, especially since I had zero charging problems until that power adapter ceased to work.

The OS X Solution

Someone proposed a solution about booting into OS X. However, I have had no luck with this. I have a Cheetah disc, and it did nothing. Of course, it is Cheetah, so maybe that version doesn't do the trick.

I have a set of Jaguar discs, but they produce funny white lines on the screen and crash the Mac at startup.

I don't have Panther on CD-ROM; if someone has a copy they'd be willing to swap me for a small part or whatever that would be great if you think it could work!!

Still, I know the main goal here is to produce the orange ring, which I can get with OS 9. (It's 9.0.4 for those curious, and yes, I have reinstalled it three times since 2005).

Some Things I've Thought Of...

Could the replacement adapter have fried some circuit somewhere? Only way I'd know is to find another clamshell that can charge a battery and go from there.

Could I have received a battery with some defect?

What if I tried a battery that was known to work on another clamshell? 

I sort of think this battery can charge and that the computer is charging it, but that it can only charge to about 2% or so. I would love to see it in someone else's iBook to see what it could do.

My Goal

I want to get this battery charging again within the next month. I don't want to have to replace the capacitor since I don't have proper desoldering equipment and don't feel like opening up the computer, so I'm hoping some other method will work.

I'm thinking of finding a beater clamshell that can at least charge a battery. Anyone got one and want to swap it with me for something? I'd gladly trade my Mac II (needs batteries but looks OK otherwise) for it!!

I'm willing to give away some of the parts I have listed in my sale thread for free if it means getting the means to fix this iBook. This computer is pretty special to me and I would love to be able to use it off a battery for the first time in forever!!

 

[CC_333]

I understand!

I, too, have one of these (A Tangerine model bought new in 1999-2000), and it fell apart around 2005 or so (about when your charger died, coincidentaly) when I tried to repair the DC-in jack. I never got it back together because I broke the trackpad cable.

Fast forward to about 3-4 years ago, and I found another one in fairly good condition for $35. One problem, though: it wouldn't charge its battery!

No problem, though, I found a Blueberry one a few months earlier, and had managed to rebuild that one's battery. Oddly, it wouldn't charge that, either (it also wouldn't run off this battery).

OK, so after wasting time on this, I figured that maybe I should try swapping parts from my old Tangerine (which was known to fully charge its battery the last time it worked), so I swapped in the clicker/charger board. No change.

Then I swapped in the logic board. Success! It worked!

So the problem, at least in my case, was on the logic board somewhere.

There's a couple on eBay right now for fairly cheap, so maybe you can give a new logic board a try?

As for a beater, I have an Indigo iBook in pieces that could potentially work, if one were to somehow repair the backlight connector on the logic board (maybe techknight or someone can do it?).

Does this help?

c

 

[Scott Baret]

Wonder if there's any way to isolate what is causing this? I'm wondering if perhaps it's that PRAM capacitor after all?

Thinking about it, we should know better than to trust Apple capacitors, even ones which are a few years old (iMac G5, anyone?) when they fail.

I'm still hoping to try another battery or to try the battery in another iBook to avoid taking mine apart...but if the logic board is the case, I'll probably get one and maybe wait until I can find flash to use in place of the hard drive to install it (longer term project since I know the hard drive in there is probably closer to the end than the beginning after nearly 15 years of use). No use opening that thing up twice!!

 

[techknight]

After what ive been through, I dont trust ANY capacitors  especially electrolytics, second being MLCC, although not nearly as bad. 

Any time I look at a peice of modern equipment that has strange issues, and I see hundreds and hundreds of electrolytics (badly designed stuff), I just close it back up and deem it beyond economic repair at times. 

 

[CC_333]

I have many iBooks (one of each color ), and I could probably test out your battery for you, if you want to ship it over (it shouldn't be too costly).

c

 

[Byrd]

I'd start with replacing the DC board, and go with CC_333's kind offer to make sure your battery is not faulty!

 

[CC_333]

You know, I probably even have a spare DC board!

And you're welcome to it, Scott!

c

 

[Scott Baret]

Bumping this topic, which is mine, to give an update and hopefully hear some fresh insights.

Remember that battery that I've had floating around for a few years now? It actually works.

I got another clamshell, this one a Blueberry, and I took the battery from the Tangerine (my original iBook) and stuck it inside since the battery was dead. Wouldn't hurt, right?

Turns out the Tangerine has been CHARGING THE BATTERY all along. It just won't recognize that there's a charge in there.

I do have another parts Tangerine I bought off someone here that apparently has a working charge board in it. Is it safe to say that's what's wrong or should I look into some other fix now?

 

[belgaonkar]

The DC inboard are very fragile, I've broken one by just dropping it from waist high.

I would replace the board that connects to the battery and while you're there check the ground plug that connects to the metal shield. Ive seen a couple of clamshells that have had them incorrectly grounded after someone tried to replace the hard drive. 

Try it out and let us know!

 

[Scott Baret]

I would replace the board that connects to the battery

Is this the same as the DC board?

I'll keep your tip in mind with the ground plug. This iBook has never been opened before but I'll be sure to reconnect if I have to remove it!!

 

[belgaonkar]

So there are two parts that are involved with the battery charging process. The part that connects to the power adaptor and the part that connects to the battery. The part that connect to the PSU is very brittle and can be easily broken from being tossed around for 18 years.

I believe I sold you the parts clamshell, so replace these two parts on the clamshell and it should work perfectly.

 

[Scott Baret]

What about this capacitor? Is this worth looking into?

http://ibook-clamshell.com/index.php/en/hardware/441-new-battery-won-t-charge-pram-capacitor-problem

 

[Scott Baret]

UPDATE...UPDATE...UPDATE....and some really good, miraculous news...

One variable I hadn't thought of was another battery I had sitting around. Obviously, all of the Apple batteries I have are dead. Two came with my iBook (I bought two when I got the computer so I could get 10-12 hours of battery life per day). The one from the Blueberry, of course, was also DOA when I got it.

The Newer battery seems to work fine in the Blueberry...but hey, what about that CWK battery I bought off Amazon that was intended for the Blueberry? It's never been used, so let's give it a shot...

Just for kicks, I decided to go through with all of the resets again on the Tangerine, then try the CWK battery (which I had just charged to 100% on the Blueberry). I did the power button reset, PRAM, and NVRAM in Firmware, all after leaving the battery out for a half hour.

I put the new battery in, keeping the power adapter connected as I did so.

Next, I fired up the iBook. No orange light. 

I was about ready to look up the video for how to take apart the iBook when I noticed something in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.

The battery level indicator.

Something not seen on this iBook since around August 20, 2005.

I removed the power adapter, ready for the "your Mac will go to sleep in 10 seconds".

Instead, I saw an estimated time remaining for the battery. 6:20. Sounds about right for a new battery on a Clamshell with 9.0.4 from what I remember from 12 years ago!

I opened some windows. I played with some control panels. I restored the time settings and restored the battery icon to the menu bar, no longer with an X over it..for the first time since before I set foot in a college classroom for the first time.

Honestly, it feels like August 15, 2000 all over again...the day I bought this computer.

I'm going to drain the battery tonight, let it charge back up, and hope for at least 5 years out of this battery pack!! 

Now...which coffee shop should I take this computer to with the intent of using with no strings attached?

CONJECTURES

• This particular iBook may not have liked the Newer battery (but why does Bluey accept it?)

• Maybe I didn't reset things enough last time...I did 4 complete loops on PRAM this time and 30 full minutes for discharge

• Could this be a fluke? (I really don't think so...)

• Could the black charger be an issue? It was an off-brand charger and for now, I'm not going to be using it. It's going in the drawer and if anything, I'll play with it on the Blueberry.

 

[belgaonkar]

Congrats! Looks like you cracked the code!

EDIT: On a side note, I don't think that cap is going bad. Ive only seen one clamshell complains about the time clock being off. I think it's got another decade of life left in them.

 

[Scott Baret]

Good to know about the cap!!

Plus, it's good to know I have a spare parts iBook in case either of these go bad!! Who knows, maybe I can even get a few more parts and restore that one? Another student machine?

 

[CC_333]

I'm glad you got it working!

I had a similar experience a few years ago, but with a Lombard (a roughly contemporary model). The battery was stone-cold dead. Nothing would get it to work, similar to your situation.

Then, as I was transplanting its innards to a new shell I'd gotten, I put a "new" hard drive in it (a spare I had lying around). Well, unbeknownst to me at the time, this drive had Tiger installed on it.

So anyway, I get the thing buttoned up, and then I powered it on. I was surprised to see Tiger booting up, but that paled in comparison to what I saw on the menubar: the battery indicator!

The battery, which had been dead for at least five years, began to charge! And charge it did-- I was able to get almost three hours off it!

This incident was itself nearly 7 years ago now, so the battery may be dead for real by now (I'll have to go check... if I can find it...).

Anyway, it seems that there's something mysterious and voodoo-ish about how batteries work on these models.

That being said, I still have most of the parts from my old Tangerine (which "I" bought new (my mother got it for me) around the same time you did I think, also with 9.0.4), some or all of which I'd be more than happy to send to you, as they'd be going to a very good cause.

c

 

[Scott Baret]

I've got another weird thing going on now...and this is probably just the result of me not having a battery in this thing in forever...

This battery is taking FOREVER to drain!! I want to get it down sort of low before giving it a nice big charge (you know, just breaking in a battery...though I did confirm that the iBook will charge by plugging it in for a few minutes).

I've had it on for about 3.5 hours now. It still is down only two bars in the control strip. 

This new battery seems to be even higher capacity than the original. At one point, it was estimating 7 hours of battery life remaining. I had also forgotten about how great OS 9 battery indicators were, showing how much the battery was being taxed at the moment in the control strip.

Maybe by Thursday I'll be able to take it down to 10%? I'm quite giddy over this battery life though; I can't get this with any of my newer laptops and have had to charge my iPhone 5S three times since the iBook started working again!

 

[Johnnya101]

Jeez, that sounds awesome to have a battery life that long!

 

[belgaonkar]

Interesting...sounds more like a bad IC on the board that interfaces the battery module. Although it currently works, I would still switch it out. You have the part, so might as well right?

People always complain that clamshells are hard to work on. Frankly they are easier that most machines, yes they have a lot of screws, but they are much bigger and easier to see and track.