05-30-2006, 07:04 PM

well, I let my battery fully drain in order to re-calibrate my battery (since i couldnt get it to charge past 80%) and now, i've had it plugged into the charger for 4 hours and it wont come out of sleep mode, i'm pretty sure the battery's still completely dead. I pressed the button on the battery and the only LED of the 5 that flashed was the first one, and it flashed rapidly.

Also, the battery's cool and not hot or anything.. so I really dont think it's charging at all.

Anyone know what's going on with it? do i need a new battery? charger? or both?

05-30-2006, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by Matthew_love84

well, I let my battery fully drain in order to re-calibrate my battery (since i couldnt get it to charge past 80%) and now, i've had it plugged into the charger for 4 hours and it wont come out of sleep mode, i'm pretty sure the battery's still completely dead. I pressed the button on the battery and the only LED of the 5 that flashed was the first one, and it flashed rapidly.

Also, the battery's cool and not hot or anything.. so I really dont think it's charging at all.

Anyone know what's going on with it? do i need a new battery? charger? or both?

Did you reset the PMU? (remove battery and ac adapter, press and hold the power button for 5 secs - repeat a couple times)

05-30-2006, 08:03 PM

I didn't. what is the PMU? is this a common thing that happens??

05-30-2006, 08:08 PM

pmu is the power management, sometimes when something odd happens like this. Resetting the power management helps erase any "flaws" in the power managment setting. Atleast, that is my understanding of the PMU, some of the more experienced members can shed more light on it. Usually when something happens with your mac, one of the first thing people do is reset the PMU.

05-30-2006, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by Matthew_love84

I didn't. what is the PMU? is this a common thing that happens??

Lots of battery/charging problems are caused by corrupt PMU settings, which are reset by removing all power sources (battery and adapter) then repeatedly pressing and holding the power button for 5 secs a few times before putting the battery back in and reconnecting the adapter. Apple says to do it once, but from experience sometimes it takes a few 5 sec holds to completely discharge the capacitors which hold the settings in memory.

That's not to say your problem may be something else, but try this first. Do you get the chime or anything at all after pressing the power button? if it is stuck in permanent sleep, sometimes pressing the power button and holding it for like 30+ seconds will force it to the true "off" mode. Of course doing the PMU reset should also do that for you.

05-30-2006, 08:51 PM

well. I'm not having any luck so far.. ill try it again as well.

05-30-2006, 09:01 PM

it looked like forcing it out of sleepmode solved the problem, i now have the computer up and running and plugged into the wall BUT it shows that I have 0% battery and it's not charging (has the plug inside the battery, not the lightning bolt)..

is it new battery/charger time??

05-30-2006, 09:51 PM

Originally Posted by Matthew_love84

it looked like forcing it out of sleepmode solved the problem, i now have the computer up and running and plugged into the wall BUT it shows that I have 0% battery and it's not charging (has the plug inside the battery, not the lightning bolt)..

is it new battery/charger time??

Could be time for a battery, but the charger itself should be fine since it is powering your powerbook. Of course there are 2 connectors inside the power jack and I think one has to do with the battery and the other normal power - my son's iBook got to where it would run on the adapter but you had to wiggle the adapter in the jack to make the battery kick in to charge. Looking inside you can see 2 contacts that meet the center pin - one toward the fron and another further back. I used a jewelers screwdriver to very slightly bend these toward the center (with the battery removed so I wouldn't short anything out) and that seemed to help his problem. When you click the battery icon by the clock does it say charging or anything?

05-30-2006, 10:03 PM

rcitrh, basically it's plugged in but is not charging, it has the plug inside teh battery opposed to the lightning bolt which means it's not charging.. but it's sitting at 0%..

the orange light is on, and not the green.. which means it's charging? it's a bit insane.

also, when i put the computer to sleep there's no way for me to get it out of sleep mode unless i unplug the AC, detach the battery .. and wait 3 minutes for the internal power to die.. once the white light stops glowin, i plug in the battery and the AC adapter and it starts up(boots up) and works fine, even the screen saver works.. but once i put it into sleep mode it's done for.

now, maybe i shoudl take apart the charger and try and fix that? do i take apart the box or the actual plug that glows?

i'm a bit lost.

05-30-2006, 10:40 PM

Originally Posted by Matthew_love84

now, maybe i shoudl take apart the charger and try and fix that? do i take apart the box or the actual plug that glows?

i'm a bit lost.

The jack I was referrring to is the one on the computer - look inside the hole and you'll see two lever looking things to the side. However, if the LED is turning orage then it is engaging the charging circuit (my son's would stay green) so sounds like your adapter is fine and most likely so is the computer's jack. I would bet money on the battery. Since you were already having problems before, one of the batteries probably opened up internally when it totally discharged as lithium batteries can do.

05-30-2006, 10:50 PM

so basically the only way to fix it is for a new battery correct? shoudl i stick with OEM or look at the ones on ebay?

also, what did it cost to upgrad your ram to 1.5gigs? and what difference do you notice from 512mb of ram? currently my powerbook is 1.33ghz with 512megs of ram..

05-30-2006, 11:04 PM

Originally Posted by Matthew_love84

so basically the only way to fix it is for a new battery correct? shoudl i stick with OEM or look at the ones on ebay?

also, what did it cost to upgrad your ram to 1.5gigs? and what difference do you notice from 512mb of ram? currently my powerbook is 1.33ghz with 512megs of ram..

If you're going to keep the G4 and use it a lot from battery, I'd go with one from Apple or at least someone with 100% positives, and lots of them, on eBay. If you are going to sell it I'd definitely just get one from Ebay.

I think upgrading was around $85 for the extra 1 Gb of ram. I can really tell the difference when I am running lots of stuff at once (email, Office, iTunes, photo or movie stuff etc), not so much if I am just doing one app with email open or surfing around.

05-30-2006, 11:09 PM

rcltrh, link to where you got the ram?? I think i may just pick up a new one from the apple store.

05-30-2006, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by Matthew_love84

rcltrh, link to where you got the ram?? I think i may just pick up a new one from the apple store.

Gosh I can't remember. I think it was off eBay from seller "qualityrams" a while back, so not sure if his prices are the same now or now. It is PC2700 333 Mhz and any of that spec will work, so just find a reputable feedback person and get whichever is cheapest. Since it is not the newest it will be increasing in price as they aren't making it anymore. Make sure to get the laptop/notebook 200 pin type not the desktop variety.

05-31-2006, 12:28 PM

also, is it normal for it to not want to come out of sleep mode if the battery is at 0%?