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Macintosh portable not working

godfatherq8

Member
I just bought a macintosh portable thats from Ebay but it is not working I want to repair it can you please tell me where to start. a step by stem what to do and what need to be change and check? I have a new 6V 4.5Amp lead batter and new 9v backup battery but still not working(no power up, no sound). So what I have do to next change what the capacitor or wash it or what ?

 

AwkwardPotato

Well-known member
Washing the board and changing the caps would be a good first step. Portables are known for having bad caps.

 
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The MAC MANIAC!

Well-known member
(I recommend to take pictures along the way so if you forget something you will know where it went.)Discharged the CRT first of all. take out everything but be careful with the crt it has glass full of lead that will get stuck under your skin. Also if it is broken it can explode (NEVER HANDLE A CRT BY THE NECK!) Then try brushing it off with a tooth brush to get the dust. On the logic board and analog board and remove a capacitor and replace it one at a time so you Do not forget where they went. ( a way to know you need to replace one is to check it to see if its bulging.)  At this point you can look around the board for any cracked solder joints or broken traces. If its a joint put some fresh solder  down. Also If its a trace you should run some patches. Wash your case parts if you want but its not important. to top it off take out the floppy and re-lubricate it!

Use your pictures to reassemble it.

 

just.in.time

Well-known member
Recap the entire logic board for sure.  Guaranteed contributor to your no-start problem.  Also, make sure you are using the correct power supply for the system.  While other power supplies (including the PowerBook 1xx supplies) may get it to turn on, they can damage the hybrid power board and if that board gets damaged it is nearly impossible to repair.  Right, @techknight?

 

godfatherq8

Member
Recap the entire logic board for sure.  Guaranteed contributor to your no-start problem.  Also, make sure you are using the correct power supply for the system.  While other power supplies (including the PowerBook 1xx supplies) may get it to turn on, they can damage the hybrid power board and if that board gets damaged it is nearly impossible to repair.  Right, @techknight?
I am charging the bater outside ( with batter charger I did not charge the battery on the portable and then place it in the portable. is this OK or need to be on the portable and charge while power on ?

 

LaPorta

Well-known member
I am charging the bater outside ( with batter charger I did not charge the battery on the portable and then place it in the portable. is this OK or need to be on the portable and charge while power on ?
In theory, you can charge the battery anywhere. My strategy with the new battery I have is to keep it outside of the Portable, on a battery maintainer, like I do with my car and lawnmower. This way I can pack the machine away and not have to leave it all out and set up just to charge the battery.

The other thing to remember is that, as others said, not all batteries are the same, and not all will power it. For instance, I used one 6V lead-acid battery that would not power the thing. Once I found one that was close to spec with the original, it worked fine. The issue was that the first would not supply enough continuous amps to power the machine.

Here is the battery that I found that worked fine. I found it at a local battery store, it is made by the same manufacturer as the original.

View attachment 25357

 

glay78

Well-known member
Have u tried this? 

1. Put in both 6v and 9v battery.

2. Press and hold the both Reset and Interrupt switch located on the left side for 5 seconds.

3. Press any key on keyboard to power up.

basically after you removed and reinsert your main battery without a 9v backup battery, you will need to reset the power manager by holding both reset and interrupt keys for 5 seconds. After which the Macintosh Portable should start up. 

 
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