[Rex114]

I've got a lovely 12in Powerbook bought Dec 04 which I use nearly everyday. It's a hardy notebook that's been stable and problem-free.. until now.

I plugged my powerbook into AC and let it charge up the battery. The plug glowed orange. The menu icon was the charging icon (batt with the little plug). All is well.

Then, without any reason, the icon changed to the no-batt icon (batt with x) It's the one you see when you remove the battery and run the notebook off AC totally. The plug glowed green.

Apparently, the powerbook was running off AC only. Strange thing was that-- the battery was still in. The battery just will not charge.

I tried removing the battery and inserting it again, but the problem of the icon changing to no-batt persisted.

I suspect the battery's old or faulty.. and is refusing to charge up.

I have the habit of putting my powerbook to sleep for hours at a go. Sometimes for minutes, others for the whole night. Usually, sleeping even for a day drains nearly nothing of the battery. Recently, I wake up powerbook from a day's sleep to find the battery at half charge.

Also, for the past year, I've been usually using the powerbook plugged into AC with battery inserted about 90% of the time. I don't remove the battery even if I'm using AC for a week for example.

Thanks for your patience for reading this far! Would appreciate any insight onto this strange disturbing behaviour. Thanks in advance.

[mintcake]

Hmm. First, try looking at the System Profiler to see what it says about the battery (click the 'more details' button in the 'About this Mac' window that you access from the Apple menu). Under 'Power' it will tell you about your battery's maximum charge, etc.

You could also try Coconut Battery which tells you a bit more about your battery, for example what percentage of its original capacity it will currently hold, fully-charged. This will help you determine whether or not its time for a new battery.

You should probably also reset your Power Management Unit (PMU). See this document on Apple support. This might resolve the problem you're experiencing with the icon and charge light. You should also recalibrate the battery (full charge-discharge cycle).

[Big Mac]

It definitely sounds like the battery died.

[Rex114]

Grr! I'm quite convinced that the battery's dead. Look at this

Battery Information:

Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 2134
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 0
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 8803
Cycle Count: 0


Okay I guess I'll be buying a replacement battery.. does anybody have any advice? Was I using the notebook incorrectly?

[amazing]

it's quite possible the batterie's dead. They only take so many recharge cycles...

but it's worth trying to reset the PMU, which governs battery settings:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.h...um=14449#faq10

If the computer is on, turn it off.
Reset the power manager by simultaneously pressing and then releasing Shift-Control-Option-Power on the keyboard. Do not press the fn (Function) key while using this combination of keystrokes.
Wait 5 seconds.
Press the Power button to restart the computer.

after that, I'd reset the PRAM,

To reset open firmware just startup in OF (startup holding command-option-o-f) and at the prompt enter the following (<return> means hit the return key):

reset-nvram<return>
set-defaults<return>
reset-all<return>

The computer will restart after the last command.

[Rex114]

Thanks so much for that tip! Tried it, didn't solve the problem. Do all batteries die out unexpectedly after two years? Grr Thanks anyway.

[amazing]

batteries do die, depending on the usage. Extensive use on battery means it dies faster.

My 1.33 12" from 4/2005 (5 months younger than yours) still has quite a bit of life. Coconut Battery reports 126 load/cycles, original 4400 mAh capacity, current capacity 4089 mAh.

Meantime, if you have the extended Applecare, it's worth a call to Apple, you just never know if they'll be merciful (though battery is a "consumable" and therefore unlikely to be replaced unless it within the first few months.)

Have you tried taking it out and examining and cleaning the contacts?

Otherwise, OWC sells the NewerTech replacement batteries, which have higher capacity than the original Apple battery

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/power...inch-aluminum/

[Rex114]

Thanks so much for all ya help. I bought a new battery.. and I'll be really attentive to keep this battery alive as long as possible. Appreciated it.