[Gamoe]

My fourth generation iPod (Click Wheel) has been chugging along just fine all these years. But just a few days ago it began to turn off unexpectedly. I rebooted it, charged it, left it to discharge for a night (Apple recommends discharging it if nothing else works), and it did indeed seem "fixed" for a while. I restored it just in case, and it was syncing just fine. But now it has returned to its previous behavior, and it power on but turn off all of a sudden.

It's not a battery issue, because this happens even when it it charging from the AC or a Firewire/USB port. I've heard of the the hard drives on these failing, but that doesn't seem to be the case. It seems to be a power issue though. Maybe the connector is bad? Looking to fix it, whatever it is, but I need to figure out what's wrong first. Any ideas?

[Simon]

Hey Gamoe, good to hear from ya again buddy.

What makes you so sure it isn't the disk? Failing disks can indeed cause intermittent shut downs from what I've read. If you suspect a power issue, anything specific about the circumstances? Is the device especially hot or cold when it happens? Does it happen only after longer periods of use?

[Gamoe]

Originally Posted by Simon 

Hey Gamoe, good to hear from ya again buddy.

Likewise Simon. You've been missed elsewhere as well. ;-)

Originally Posted by Simon 

What makes you so sure it isn't the disk? Failing disks can indeed cause intermittent shut downs from what I've read. If you suspect a power issue, anything specific about the circumstances? Is the device especially hot or cold when it happens? Does it happen only after longer periods of use?

I can't be sure the disk isn't failing, but I just don't see any of the obvious signs (excessive clicking, grinding noises, etc.) and from what I've read usually an iPod with a defective hard drive will boot up fine, but display an error icon.

My iPod boots up fine, plays songs, does the whole shabango, but then it will suddenly turn itself off, requiring a reset which sometimes works, repeating the same behavior, and sometimes doesn't work. This happens whether its connected to a power source or not, which leads me to believe it can't be a battery issue, and it's probably not (solely) a hard drive issue. I can hear the power-down whine from the iPod, as if power had been suddenly cut off.

This will happen in my car (where the temperature can vary of course) or in normal room temperature. The iPod is mildly warm to the touch especially near the battery and when connected to a power source, as is normal. Temperature does not seem to be a significant factor, from what I've observed.

[Gamoe]

It was the logic board. Got a replacement board from a parts site for $40 including shipping. It's been charging, syncing and playing fine since Monday. Very happy.

[Simon]

Great to hear you figured it out and got it fixed.