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PowerBook 540c Battery

MultiFinder

Well-known member
I just got a PowerBook 540c and it's not doing anything with either of the batteries that came with it. One is an Apple-branded battery and the other is a third party battery (Absolute).

I tried using Intelligent Battery Recondition with the third party, and it failed.

I've been trying it with the Apple battery with better luck. It gets to the end of Reverifying Battery and then errors out telling me to return it to Apple.

Any ideas on how I can get it to use this battery?

 

IPNixon

Well-known member
I've been trying it with the Apple battery with better luck. It gets to the end of Reverifying Battery and then errors out telling me to return it to Apple.
Duhhhh...return it to Apple. That's what it says...

Hmm...it's probably a problem with the battery. It's most likely because it's so old...

Dunno. That's my 2¢. :)

 

equill

Well-known member
The problem with the 'intelligent' PB 500 series batteries is that if a battery's charge gets too low, the internal microprocessor's memory cannot remember that it is intelligent. The trick is therefore to get enough charge into the battery for the microprocessor to take its thumb out of its mouth and remember its mission in life.

Put a battery most, but not all, of the way into the right-hand bay. Start up IBR. When the message about no battery in the bay appears, click the battery in fully and securely. If you are fortunate, the battery will be given an immediate precharge and verification. Proper charging can then begin. Try the process several times if you are not successful at first. Sometimes leaving the batteries in for several days with the charger attached will get enough charge into them to make the process above more likely to be successful.

If you can find a VST SmartCharger 500 (very scarce) and a copy of VST's app. EMMpathy, you may (just) be more successful. If nothing else, EMMpathy will present you with many data about just how many ways in which your battery is useless. If successful, it will install the Sleep Drain Bugfix, which does what its name suggests, and reveals one of the original faults with the batteries.

If a battery gets stinking hot during charge, it has too many internal short-circuits to be recovered. Chuck it, or re-cell it.

If none of the above is any good, there is re-celling, or in the ultimate, a new battery. Even (genuine) new batteries—upwards of USD50-80 each—are getting mighty scarce, albeit that they usually have ~40% more capacity (up to 2400mAh) than Apple's originals (1730mAh).

de

By the way, 'Return it to Apple' means for disposal, not replacement.

 
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MultiFinder

Well-known member
Put a battery most, but not all, of the way into the right-hand bay. Start up IBR. When the message about no battery in the bay appears, click the battery in fully and securely. If you are fortunate, the battery will be given an immediate precharge and verification. Proper charging can then begin. Try the process several times if you are not successful at first. Sometimes leaving the batteries in for several days with the charger attached will get enough charge into them to make the process above more likely to be successful.
It's done the "Extended Precharging" several times. It's also been verified and reverified several times. It always poops out after the reverification.

 

MultiFinder

Well-known member
Woot! All those failed tries with IBR must have done some real good! I left it plugged in overnight to see what would happen to it. It's now sitting in front of me, having booted up off the original, old battery and running happily. I still have the other battery, and my tests from last night showed that battery will last even longer than this old one! I just want to see how long this little guy can last on batteries alone :)

 

MacMan

Well-known member
Nicely done! "Intelligent" batteries can be difficult at the best of times. I find that the batteries in my 520c sometimes like to play dead and then will suddenly come back to life again - probably because of the microprocessor losing power as mentioned.

 

equill

Well-known member
You won, through sheer persistence. Believe me (and I have seven of the little, er ... dears), only constantly cycling them through the PBs and my VST charger keeps mine up to scratch. With two Blackbirds and a charger I can cope with six at any one moment, but I ignored my 500 series during the first six months of this year while I was playing desktops and towers, and even number 1 battery, which I marked as 'good' in June 05, is now playing up. However, 3 has taken its place as holding up for about an hour. Having been reminded by your post, it's back to the grind for me, quite possibly for a week or two, to get them all back into the world of the living.

de

 
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