G4 Powerbook keeps cutting dead.

Hi,

I have a second hand G4 PB that I love.

When plugged into the electrical mains it works flawlessly however when I use the battery it works for a while and cuts dead when it feels like it not taking into account how much charge it says is on the battery gauge top right.

Limiting myself to the wall outlet defeats the object of getting a laptop. So I bought a new battery but the same happens which has me baffled.

If really annoying for three reasons.

1 - You loose any work you were doing.
2 - You have to reset the clock and input wireless routers wep kep on reboot
3 - reboot from scratch takes a few mins as you'd expect, still annoying when you didnt ask for it.

Can anyone please offer a clue to what is wrong here and how I fix it?

Hmm. I would have said battery to start with, which you have done.
It would seem that there is a fault with the actual power supply chain from the battery itself in that case.
Not easy to check out though.
Hopefully someone else can shed light there.

you should always do an SMC/PMU reset when getting a new battery. IF that doesn't help it then the internal battery isn't keeping the time either. That may also need to be replaced.

Resetting PowerBook and iBook Power Management Unit (PMU)

Hi fellas and thanks

Am trying this proceedure now from Deus's link:-

PowerBook G4 (15-inch 1.67/1.5GHz)
PowerBook G4 (17-inch 1.67GHz)
PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD)
PowerBook G4 (17-inch Double-Layer SD)
If the computer is on, turn it off.
Disconnect the AC Adapter and remove the computer's battery.
Press and hold down the power button for 5 seconds and then release the button.
Reconnect the battery and AC Adapter.
Press the Power button to restart the computer.

I must say though, im not convinced this repair will be so easy. Im guessing it will have to be sent off for repair.

na, hasn't done anything. It cut dead on reboot but thanks anyhow.

Anyone else?

Under System Profiler, what does it say about your new battery?

sorry Ive only had a mac a month or so. Whats system profiler?

anyone? Id love to be able to fix this but am braced for an expensive repair.

can anyone please advise me how to start system profiler?