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MAC Ibook G4 won’t charge.
Lets face it, the “Round” power connector used in the I book G4 is a piece of junk. Apple sold it then dumped the users out on the street. Take it to the geniuses and they gust giggle sa, “You have the “round connector” and they don’t support it , why don’t you just buy a new mac like a good boy” ? Replace the power supply, replace the dc in board and still it only works when the power connector is wiggled and the problem always gets worse.
There is only one solution. You have to replace the apple plug and connector with a generic one. I have done that and it brought my laptop back from the dead.
OK, so first look up how to open the case and replace the DC in power board. There are many good step by step instructions for that, like this one: Installing iBook G4 14" 933 MHz-1.33 GHz DC-In Board - iFixit. Where they talk about a “Spudger” that’s just a plastic screwdriver, I just used a metal one.
With the board out cut off the plug and strip out the wires from the power supply and to the plug. On mine the wires were brown for ground and blue for +24.5 VDC. I checked it out and found that the plug tip is no connect, ring 1 is ground and ring 2 is 24 volts. The ground is connected to the outer shell through a 116 K ohm resistor that is in the plug body. I found that the source of the problem is a brass ring that connects the 24 volt line to the plug. For some perverse reason this is not soldered on, it is just in contact with the plug. It can come loose and be an intermittent connection.
With the plug in the connector, the connector facing away from you and the connector on the underside of the power board look for the 5 solder connections that hold the socket.
There are two nearest the plug, these go to the plug outer shell. That voltage was there, I think, to light up the green light. We don’t need that any more, it was just a meaningless bell and whistle. There are three through holes for the power. The leftmost is ground, the center is no connect and the rightmost is power. I suggest that you check it out with your voltmeter at this point to be sure it is right. Check the plug in the power supply and without shorting the wires see which is ground and which is 24 volts. That supply is rated 24.5 volts, 2.65 amps model A1021. Your power supply might be different from mine. Check which wire in to the plug goes to which hole on the PCB. Having done and noted all that, remove the apple socket from the board. I recommend cutting the legs and using a lot of desoldering braid.
Next you need a new plug and socket. I found that Radio shack didn’t have anything suitable so I got one from a local electronics supply store. I used a DC coaxial power plug and socket, 1.7 X 4 mm, with two contacts. I used a panel mount socket which will always be stronger that a PCB fixture in a laptop. To get the nut in between the plastic case and the metal frame I had to open up the hole in the plastic case a bit with an exacto knife and clip off the thin bit at the edge of the case. I got the nut in between the plastic and the metal case then screwed in the new socket. I soldered 22 gage wire to both the contacts then trimmed the wire a bit and inserted and soldered the leads in to the ground and + 24 volts on the PCB. Then I reinstalled the DC in PCB and slid the new plug housing on to the wire from the power supply. Then, being sure I had the lines right, I installed the new plug. Your plug might be different from mine or you might just solder the lines from the power supply direst to the PCB. I got to and stayed at 100% charge and I have been there ever since.
The point is, it works. You don’t need the three lines, just +24 and ground connected solidly to the DC in board. The old plug is a lost cause, forget it. You are looking at a built in design flaw. Apple stuck its customers with a garbage connector then they dumped them. You have a right to be mad at them.
Lets face it, the “Round” power connector used in the I book G4 is a piece of junk. Apple sold it then dumped the users out on the street. Take it to the geniuses and they gust giggle sa, “You have the “round connector” and they don’t support it , why don’t you just buy a new mac like a good boy” ? Replace the power supply, replace the dc in board and still it only works when the power connector is wiggled and the problem always gets worse.
There is only one solution. You have to replace the apple plug and connector with a generic one. I have done that and it brought my laptop back from the dead.
OK, so first look up how to open the case and replace the DC in power board. There are many good step by step instructions for that, like this one: Installing iBook G4 14" 933 MHz-1.33 GHz DC-In Board - iFixit. Where they talk about a “Spudger” that’s just a plastic screwdriver, I just used a metal one.
With the board out cut off the plug and strip out the wires from the power supply and to the plug. On mine the wires were brown for ground and blue for +24.5 VDC. I checked it out and found that the plug tip is no connect, ring 1 is ground and ring 2 is 24 volts. The ground is connected to the outer shell through a 116 K ohm resistor that is in the plug body. I found that the source of the problem is a brass ring that connects the 24 volt line to the plug. For some perverse reason this is not soldered on, it is just in contact with the plug. It can come loose and be an intermittent connection.
With the plug in the connector, the connector facing away from you and the connector on the underside of the power board look for the 5 solder connections that hold the socket.
There are two nearest the plug, these go to the plug outer shell. That voltage was there, I think, to light up the green light. We don’t need that any more, it was just a meaningless bell and whistle. There are three through holes for the power. The leftmost is ground, the center is no connect and the rightmost is power. I suggest that you check it out with your voltmeter at this point to be sure it is right. Check the plug in the power supply and without shorting the wires see which is ground and which is 24 volts. That supply is rated 24.5 volts, 2.65 amps model A1021. Your power supply might be different from mine. Check which wire in to the plug goes to which hole on the PCB. Having done and noted all that, remove the apple socket from the board. I recommend cutting the legs and using a lot of desoldering braid.
Next you need a new plug and socket. I found that Radio shack didn’t have anything suitable so I got one from a local electronics supply store. I used a DC coaxial power plug and socket, 1.7 X 4 mm, with two contacts. I used a panel mount socket which will always be stronger that a PCB fixture in a laptop. To get the nut in between the plastic case and the metal frame I had to open up the hole in the plastic case a bit with an exacto knife and clip off the thin bit at the edge of the case. I got the nut in between the plastic and the metal case then screwed in the new socket. I soldered 22 gage wire to both the contacts then trimmed the wire a bit and inserted and soldered the leads in to the ground and + 24 volts on the PCB. Then I reinstalled the DC in PCB and slid the new plug housing on to the wire from the power supply. Then, being sure I had the lines right, I installed the new plug. Your plug might be different from mine or you might just solder the lines from the power supply direst to the PCB. I got to and stayed at 100% charge and I have been there ever since.
The point is, it works. You don’t need the three lines, just +24 and ground connected solidly to the DC in board. The old plug is a lost cause, forget it. You are looking at a built in design flaw. Apple stuck its customers with a garbage connector then they dumped them. You have a right to be mad at them.
