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spiff72 · Nov 9, 2005, 06:46 AM

Hey all...

I have been having some strange problems for the last couple of days with my
17" powerbook (latest non-high res version - Rev D I think)...

When I sleep it overnight (or for any amount of time, for that matter), it
tends to shut down. I also have noticed that when it is supposed to be
charging, the time remaining until charged is being reported as
"calculating", or I have seen it show ever increading times (starting around
3:30, and climbing as high as 15 hours to go).

I also run "X Resource Graph" all the time, and it shows battery stats all
the time in a bar graph. At one point, it gave a message like "battery not
found". When it did that, I pulled the battery out (while it was plugged
in), and reinserted it. This got it to recognize the battery, and it
appeared to start charging again. After a while, the time climbed up again,
and eventually the battery "disappeared" again.

While I was watching the battery time left to charge, I tried to call
applecare (around 8:45 pm EST). I got put on hold for what was supposed to
be 15 minutes or less. Well, 25 minutes later, the indicator in the menu
bar said "Charged". I thought this was odd, so i pulled the plug to see if
it was really charged. It seems to be working just fine now....I hung up
the phone in frustration. I suspect it will happen again, though...

Has anyone experienced something like this?

I posted in another thread about my glowing light on the power adapter plug
(see following link):

http://forums.macnn.com/69/mac-notebooks/272790/ac-plug-orange-green-yellow/

Do you think that they are related? I am also curious whether this might be
related to the latest airport and OS upgrades...

I reset the PMU and I thought it helped, but when I went to charge it again,
the same behavior started again.

Thanks!

ism · Nov 9, 2005, 07:35 AM

How long have you had it? Any wierdness like this I put down to knackered batteries. At around 2 years old if they start acting odd then it's time for a new one.

If you use Cocunut Battery (freeware) what capacity does it show compared to the original?

spiff72 · Nov 9, 2005, 07:42 AM

Originally Posted by ism

How long have you had it? Any wierdness like this I put down to knackered batteries. At around 2 years old if they start acting odd then it's time for a new one.

If you use Cocunut Battery (freeware) what capacity does it show compared to the original?

I am at work, so I will have to download that program tonite and try it out. The odd thing is that it almost seems like the OS is having trouble figuring out what the battery is doing.

The X Resource Graph program (highly recommended) reports battery capacity, max capacity, voltage, current draw, etc. I have seen the voltages and currents vary A LOT since it started doing this.

The powerbook is only 7 months old - so I am concerned that the battery may not actually be at fault. I am just curious how Applecare will respond - will they give me a new battery first? Or will I have to send it in to get it repaired?

Would it be a good idea to bring it to an Apple Store first? We have one about an hour's drive from me.

Thanks,
Jeff

Chito · Nov 9, 2005, 07:54 AM

Apple recommends calibrating your battery.
Plug the power adapter in and fully charge your computer's battery until the battery indicator lights turn off and the adapter plug ring goes from amber to green, which indicates that the battery is fully charged.
Disconnect the power adapter and use your PowerBook. When your battery gets low, you will see the low battery warning dialog on the screen. Continue to use your computer until it goes to sleep. At that point the battery has been sufficiently drained for calibration.
Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.
Works for me when my battrey starts to act a little strange.

Rob van dam · Nov 9, 2005, 08:48 AM

Originally Posted by spiff72

I am at work, so I will have to download that program tonite and try it out. The odd thing is that it almost seems like the OS is having trouble figuring out what the battery is doing.

The X Resource Graph program (highly recommended) reports battery capacity, max capacity, voltage, current draw, etc. I have seen the voltages and currents vary A LOT since it started doing this.

The powerbook is only 7 months old - so I am concerned that the battery may not actually be at fault. I am just curious how Applecare will respond - will they give me a new battery first? Or will I have to send it in to get it repaired?

Would it be a good idea to bring it to an Apple Store first? We have one about an hour's drive from me.

Thanks,
Jeff

take it in and get it checked out.On a side not applecare does not cover batteries.

spiff72 · Nov 9, 2005, 09:51 AM

Doesn't cover batteries? Not even if it doesn't seem to be a "worn out" battery? And technically this would be under the 1 year manufacturer's warranty, wouldn't it? Is the coverage any different under the original warranty?

brokenjago · Nov 9, 2005, 04:44 PM

If I recall correctly, AppleCare will cover the battery if it drops below 50% capacity in the first year (or two, I'm not sure).

Don't forget to make sure, though.

spiff72 · Nov 9, 2005, 04:58 PM

Here is what coconut battery is telling me...

It looks like it is at 80% of its original capacity. I am curious what it will show when it acts goofy.

I will take a screen grab of XRGraph when it is acting normal and when it is acting abnormally.

(I will also be calling Applecare soon).

Thanks

Rob van dam · Nov 9, 2005, 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by spiff72

Doesn't cover batteries? Not even if it doesn't seem to be a "worn out" battery? And technically this would be under the 1 year manufacturer's warranty, wouldn't it? Is the coverage any different under the original warranty?

My fault if its under the first year its covered and after that regardless of applecare u have to buy another one

images.apple.com/support...n_TC20050111.pdf

spiff72 · Nov 10, 2005, 12:32 PM

Update: I called applecare, and they are having me send it out. I'm gonna miss the Mac Daddy.

I took screen shots of the powerbook as it was charging to show how the "time until charged" keeps climbing, and the current that the battery is drawing keeps dropping.

Can anyone out there check to see how much current is drawn by a 17" Rev D. PB when it is idle (low CPU usage) and charging at the 50% charge point and the 75% charge points? You can see this by opening the System Profiler, going to "Power" and scrolling down to see the battery stuff. It should show the current in "mA". You may have to refresh the stats if you want the latest value (under "View" in the menu bar for System Profiler).

I will post again when I find out what is actually wrong.

Thanks

brokenjago · Nov 10, 2005, 07:13 PM

There's certainly something wrong with your battery. It should be at 80% capacity after 200-250 charge cycles, not 81.

spiff72 · Nov 10, 2005, 07:33 PM

I thought I would get the shipping box today, but it hasn't arrived yet. I already wiped the hard drive in anticipation of sending it away today.

I kind of wish that they had just sent a new battery, but at the same time I am hoping that they will take care of the sticky latch and the loose screen hinge too. Should I call applecare and update the list of things they should look at? Or by noting it on a text file on my desktop - will that be enough?

Thanks!

spiff72 · Nov 11, 2005, 08:06 PM

I tried using my PB last nite after my previous post, and it wouldn't recognize the battery at all. Seems like it might be a bad battery, as brokenjago suggested.

I dropped it off for DHL tonight. I hope I get it back by next Friday! I am stuck using the backup windoze laptop now

gwschreyer · Nov 13, 2005, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by brokenjago

There's certainly something wrong with your battery. It should be at 80% capacity after 200-250 charge cycles, not 81.

Li-ion batteries will lose about 20 to 25% capacity in a year, even if they are not used.

- gws

spiff72 · Nov 15, 2005, 06:25 PM

If anyone is curious, I got my PB back today (thanks to DHL bending over backwards for me - I gotta say I am VERY impressed with DHL's service!)...I missed their original delivery attempt, and called to see what my options were. They said they would send a message to the Grand Rapids, MI depot, and they would call to help me out. My other phone line was ringing before I hung up with the 800 number customer service team! Wow that was fast. They ended up calling the driver and she made a second delivery attempt after I went home to meet her. Hat's off to you, DHL.

I should give credit to Applecare for SPEED as well (sent it to them on Friday, and got it back Tuesday). Whether they really did much is another story...

What did they do? The replaced the battery, and replaced a couple of bezel/hinge pieces for the loose hinge (which honestly doesn't seem much (if any) tighter than it was before). I can't tell if the latch is much better either.

The orange light still does the same thing on the adapter plug (which I figured would be the case since they didn't do anything internally). I don't think this is normal, but I don't think it is hurting anything (unless this battery failure is related to it).

I guess it was simply a battery problem.

Overall, I am satisfied with my first applecare experience, since the latch and screen tightness were minor, and I probably wouldn't have sent it in for these issues alone.

Thanks for listening!