G3 Clamshell wont start

[Chimpur]

I have an iBook G3 that wont start. Its worked fine for over a year and now it wont start. The battery never lasted more than 20 min and is all but useless now. I got another one in the summer and it worked for about an hour or so and now it too barely works. I understand this is a 9 year old computer, but it still works(ed) well for email, web browsing and chatting. It was also my only computer with classic.

Ok back to the problem, I was thinking that the suspects for it not working are the power cord or the power converter inside the iBook. Anyone know how to test this?

 

[cameraman]

Does the charge indicator light up when you have the charger plugged in, if not I would check the charger output voltage with a multimeter it should be 14.4vdc. This can be a pain because the shield is in the way but it can be done with a steady hand and someone to hold the plug. If your batteries are dead and your charger is dead it won't turn on. Your DC input board is a pain to get to but is replaceable and just plugged into the logic board separately. I would really suspect the charger not working, especially if you are using the original "YO-YO" charger. The web site "iFixit" has a step by step dis assembly section for the CLAMSHELL iBook plus some tested use parts available I believe.

Rick

 

[Chimpur]

I'll start by trying to get my hands on a multimeter and testing the voltage. Should I be looking for any resistance or amperage?