PB Pismo battery reset

[mitchW]

I have a two Pismos with two dead batteries. One is original, other one is aftermarket. When I first got the Pismos, the batteries did try to charge when first plugged, but they stopped at around a third, and then they did not charge anymore after.

The first (genuine one), tries to charge for a minute and then stops. If I leave it for about two weeks disconnected, and sometimes it charges to 8-15%, then it just stops. Then the computer works a few minutes from it and sometimes it just shuts down immediately. Voltage in System Profiler is 9300 mV (OS 10.4) when left not charging, it rises to 12100mV when it tries to charge it. Second battery (aftermarket one) did charge at first to 1-2% a few times, but now it just doesn't charge at all, System Profiler shows 8420 mV. I've got the same results on both Pismos with two different chargers.

So, is there a way to reset them? Something like a Battery Reset application? I tried OF set-defaults, reset-nvram, reset-all, but it didn't help.

I know that they are just too old to be still operational, but hey, perhaps I could get at least a few minutes worth of life. I managed to get about 1.5 hours worth of battery life out of a original PB PDQ battery, using just Battery Reset 2.0 and then calibrating it, but this application doesn't work on a Pismo.

 

[SuperToaster]

Well obviously the batteries are dead. You need to buy a new battery, or have the cells replaced.

 

[J English Smith]

I tried to bring many Pismo batteries back from that state, never got anywhere with it. Some of the original batteries still run fine depending on past use and storage. Third party batteries still out there, the Li-Zone ones for $80 are the cheapest new ones I can find now.

 

[danikayser84]

I'm in the same boat with Wallstreet batteries, out of 3 I've received neither one of them worked (and that machine is a bit older than the pismo), even after trying Battery Reset... fortunately I was lucky enough to have a good battery for my Lombard (which also fits in the Pismo AFAIK)

Doesn't really matter to me though, although a battery (even one that lasts about 5 or so minutes) could be useful in certain situations like moving the computer to another room, or a short power outage, etc.

 

[CC_333]

We had a Lombard, whose battery was assumed dead for many years (it wasn't recognized by the system).

Then, for no apparent reason, it decided to work after I mistakenly booted Tiger on it. I think it got at least 1.5 hours of usage and as far as I know still works perfectly (prety good for a 16 year old battery!) I also obtained an aftermarket battery from a Pismo, and after giving me a few fits initially, it gives me about 3 hours of time (it abruptly cuts down to 0% when it hits 10-15%, which is annoying, but it's still quite usable otherwise).

Yours, though, do seem pretty much dead, based on your description.

I think you can still get a few aftermarket ones for $30-$80 at all the usual online places, though, so it's not hopeless.

It might be more economical to re-cell your existing ones, though. Not sure.

Good luck!

c

 

[J English Smith]

You still do occasionally see working Apple batteries in the $30-60 range, with some limited run times. Even though I try to rotate through mine, and let them fully discharge before recharging, they are all losing a little bit of charge over time. The best aftermarket ones IMO were the ones made by OWC under the Nu-Power brand. I have two of those and I treasure them. One still has over 6600mAh full charge even though it must be ten years old now. But they stopped making them about three years ago. They were around $80 and they were worth it.

Frankly, your best bet now is probably buying the Lizone battery that's on Amazon for $52 plus ship. I have seen this one on eBay for $80 but not for $52. At least this one would have a short warranty for you to test and verify that the cells are still holding a good charge...

Good luck! Keep those Pismos going!

 

 

[Elfen]

We had a Lombard, whose battery was assumed dead for many years (it wasn't recognized by the system).

Then, for no apparent reason, it decided to work after I mistakenly booted Tiger on it. I think it got at least 1.5 hours of usage and as far as I know still works perfectly (prety good for a 16 year old battery!) I also obtained an aftermarket battery from a Pismo, and after giving me a few fits initially, it gives me about 3 hours of time (it abruptly cuts down to 0% when it hits 10-15%, which is annoying, but it's still quite usable otherwise).

...

..

.

c

This happened to a ThinkPad 560E and a couple of PowerBooks dad had, it would not recharge, boot or keep on the laptop when the powerpac is disconnected from the outlet when they had a standard hard drive in it. But when these systems were given a SSD or CF-SSD, the batteries suddenly began to work again. It is almost Twilight Zone eerie.