Refurbishing Battery in Old PowerBook 1400cs

[JonDS]

I would like to refurbish my NiMH battery (model M4915) in my old PowerBook 1400cs. I've seen videos on YouTube that show how to do this with other products/Mac batteries, but I haven't seen anything with this particular model of battery. I'm hesitant to open up the battery without seeing or reading instructions. Does anyone have experience doing this? If so, would you be willing to share how you do this? I'm willing to try the work on my own, but I'm a newb and would need clear step-by-step instructions (pictures or videos would be nice ;D).

I am also willing to buy or pay to have it refurbished; however, the only place I found on the internet that refurbishes these specific batteries is here (Battery: PowerBook 1400 Series - APPLE - LAP-206) and I thought it was a little pricey ($175 + shipping) compared to other models of batteries I've seen.

Thanks for the help!

(P.S. I'm brand new to the forum, so I apologize in advance if this has been answered in a previous post somewhere.)

 

[pigoo3]

Wow...working a really old Apple product there. The Powerbook 1400 was one of my more favorite Apple laptops.

As far as the battery...probably not seeing many videos on it since it's a 20+ year old computer...and because depending on what you consider "refurbishing"...there really is no direct of "refurbishing" the existing battery.

I actually did this back in the day with my Powerbook 1400...what you basically need to do is:

- Open the plastic battery case.
- Purchase some new battery cells.
- And replace the battery cells.

This involves some soldering & desoldering. Also after opening the battery case...definitely take a photo before doing any disassembly...since the arrangement of the battery cells & how they're soldered together is very important.

I don't remember what sort of battery cells are required (since it's been at least 15 years since I've done this) Lol...probably need to do some Googling on it...or open the battery case up...and there may be some model number's on the batteries.

Good luck,

- Nick

 

[JonDS]

Wow...working a really old Apple product there. The Powerbook 1400 was one of my more favorite Apple laptops.

As far as the battery...probably not seeing many videos on it since it's a 20+ year old computer...and because depending on what you consider "refurbishing"...there really is no direct of "refurbishing" the existing battery.

I actually did this back in the day with my Powerbook 1400...what you basically need to do is:

- Open the plastic battery case.
- Purchase some new battery cells.
- And replace the battery cells.

This involves some soldering & desoldering. Also after opening the battery case...definitely take a photo before doing any disassembly...since the arrangement of the battery cells & how they're soldered together is very important.

I don't remember what sort of battery cells are required (since it's been at least 15 years since I've done this) Lol...probably need to do some Googling on it...or open the battery case up...and there may be some model number's on the batteries.

Good luck,

- Nick

Thanks Nick! It is old, but I have a growing affinity for old Apple products! And you're right, the 1400 is a great machine, I recently got this one off eBay and it works great - save of course the battery! I think I can find new cells, but the part that has me nervous is opening the plastic case (I have smudgers, but still nervous about breaking something) and I am not experienced with soldering. Any tips? --Jon

 

[JonDS]

Nick, I mustered up some courage and I successfully took the battery apart! The cell replacement videos I've seen online for other products (like power tools) show cells that look nothing like these cells. There appear to be four long cells. I know I have to match the size, voltage, and mAh, so I'll search and see what I can come up with. I've attached a photo here hoping to jog your memory. Anything you can remember about type of cells to buy, etc., would be helpful. Thanks again!

 

[pigoo3]

Anything you can remember about type of cells to buy, etc., would be helpful.

Maybe start with the info on the label.




- Nick

 

[JonDS]

Yep. I was hoping if you could remember buying the long 2.4v cells? But it's all good. I took it all apart, checked the voltage on individual cells. 2 of them actually looked good (2.4v) and the other two were about 1v. I couldn't find the long 2.4v cells online, but I did find 1.2v 4/3 A size that I think will work and should match up size-wise. I'm going to just replace all of them, so I ordered 8 of them.

 

[Silverburn]

Yep. I was hoping if you could remember buying the long 2.4v cells? But it's all good. I took it all apart, checked the voltage on individual cells. 2 of them actually looked good (2.4v) and the other two were about 1v. I couldn't find the long 2.4v cells online, but I did find 1.2v 4/3 A size that I think will work and should match up size-wise. I'm going to just replace all of them, so I ordered 8 of them.

Did it work?

 

[JonDS]

Did it work?

It did! And they are still working well today. Keeps a charge for about 2-3 hours.

 

[CivilKink]

It did! And they are still working well today. Keeps a charge for about 2-3 hours.

Do you happen to remember where you bought the cells?

 

[pigoo3]

It did! And they are still working well today. Keeps a charge for about 2-3 hours.

Heyyyy...you should have shared this info 2.5 years ago! Lol

Nick

 

[CivilKink]

Nick, I mustered up some courage and I successfully took the battery apart! The cell replacement videos I've seen online for other products (like power tools) show cells that look nothing like these cells. There appear to be four long cells. I know I have to match the size, voltage, and mAh, so I'll search and see what I can come up with. I've attached a photo here hoping to jog your memory. Anything you can remember about type of cells to buy, etc., would be helpful. Thanks again!
View attachment 30644

how did you take them apart? im considering rebuilding my pack too.