new battery chargest to 81% (cocount), then powerbook goes to reserve power in <10min

I bought a new battery since my old one was toast. 12" powerbook G4 10.5.8
According to coconut, 2 cycles on new battery, and capacity matches up correctly. It only charges to 81% power according to coconut battery. When running on battery, after about 10 min the powerbook power meter drops off down to nothing, and I get the warning about reserve power. A couple minutes later it goes to sleep.

I've reset the PMU, and the SMC ( I think that's what its called). It didn't do anything. The computer fan also runs on full speed all the time (another thread....temp sensors read everything ok).

Any ideas? This "new" battery is about as effective as the old battery. Is there some other memory in the computer that needs to be reset?


Battery Information:

Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 3307
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4400
Health Information:
Cycle count: 2
Condition: Good
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 686
Voltage (mV): 12573

System Power Settings:

AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Dynamic Power Step: Yes
Reduce Processor Speed: No
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Wake On Modem Ring: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 1
Dynamic Power Step: Yes
Reduce Processor Speed: No
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On Modem Ring: No
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes

Hardware Configuration:

Clamshell Closed: No
UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

AC Charger (Watts): 65
Connected: Yes
Charging: Yes

I encountered this when trying to do the 2-3 cycle break in.

Where did you get this battery from? Return it and try a new one.

laptopbatteryone.com

That site seems to sell half-price knockoffs. You'll probably have better luck with an actual Apple battery.

what's the difference between a knockoff and a generic? The generic battery I have for my sony camcorder works great, for instance.

LiIon batteries also have a finite shelf-life if left sitting without being cycled at all. thus it could be authentic but just really, really old... much like the machine you're using it in.

Also, remember that you may need to calibrate your battery meter with the new battery. The Apple support site has information on how to do this.

puck1263 said:

what's the difference between a knockoff and a generic? The generic battery I have for my sony camcorder works great, for instance.

Click to expand...

Well, if you're happy with that battery, by all means stick with it.

I just thought...from the thread...your...oh, nevermind.