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Sakino · Nov 22, 2003, 12:16 AM

The apple website states the following.
The Apple Rechargeable Battery for 15-inch Aluminum PowerBook G4 is a 46 watt-hour lithium ion battery that provides up to 4.5 hours of operation depending on battery saving features used and system configuration.

When I run the following test:
ioreg -l | grep -i IOBatteryInfo
| | | | "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=3944,"Amperage"=1502,"Curren$

What units is the 3944 in? I am wondering because my friend's powerbook is running at "capacity" = 4600.

I really would like to run the same settings, and usage side by side to see how much of a difference that makes.

warhay · Nov 22, 2003, 02:53 AM

mine says

"IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=3268,"Amperage"=1200,"Curren$

tahst even less that yours, also it always says 97% or 98% and that it is completly charged

Sakino · Nov 22, 2003, 01:16 PM

Originally posted by warhay:
mine says

"IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=3268,"Amperage"=1200,"Curren$

tahst even less that yours, also it always says 97% or 98% and that it is completly charged

Well from my understanding its in amps? I don't have time to convernt this from amps to watt hours, but I will do it later.

I would like to point out something though, the battery percent doesnt matter when you test this from what I understand. I ran it when its at 12% and go tthe same reading
It's odd that my capacity has decreased since yesterday though. I plan on doing some more testing and going form there I guess. Basically I plan on keeping a log.

Maybe I will do the testing with my friends powerbook tomorrow doing the same exact thing with the same exact settings since his capacity is 600 more then mine.

anaphora68 · Nov 22, 2003, 01:21 PM

"IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=4533,"Amperage"=1200,"Current"=4525," Voltage"=12$

That's what I get when I run the test.

Sakino · 01:58 PM

Originally posted by anaphora68:
"IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=4533,"Amperage"=1200,"Current"=4525," Voltage"=12$

That's what I get when I run the test.

Thats what my roommate gets, as well as a number of other people. Which makes me think that this is what it is supposed to be at?

Also the units of the capacity isnt in amps because this wouldnt be right.
This is how you convert from amps to watt/hrs
To convert amps to watts, multiply by 120 (1.5 amps x 120 volts = 180 watts).

I still wouldnt mind finding out what the units is for the capacity when running this command under the terminal.

thanks

anaphora68 · Nov 22, 2003, 08:03 PM

I don't know the technical aspects, but capacity is supposed to be around 4500 or 4600. It sounds like you need to call Apple up and get them to send you a new battery.

I get a good 3 to 3.5 hours on mine with the screen turned down just a touch and processor speed at max.

Ryan1524 · Nov 22, 2003, 08:24 PM

something i've always wondered, when you first charge your PBs, did you guys leave it plugged over 12 hours or just until the LED turned green?

when i got my MX700, i take it off the cradle after it says it's done charging..aparently it's not...and i got less than a day's life from what was supposed to be 3. so i leave it in overnight and after that, i got 3-4 days battery life from the MX. so i think maybe that first charge should have been done overnight to get the battery's full capacity.

i wonder if the same is true for the PB and if leaving it overnight is safe.

Sakino · Nov 23, 2003, 03:12 AM

tomorrow I will post some results, but my battery capacity keeps going down.

EvanV · Nov 23, 2003, 03:16 AM

I get like an hour to an hour and a half battery life. WTF?

I think my amp is 3944 as well.

Sakino · Nov 23, 2003, 03:38 AM

Originally posted by EvanV:
I get like an hour to an hour and a half battery life. WTF?

I think my amp is 3944 as well.

Let me post my battery logs over the past days. I been running the battery to dead and charging it up.

Battery Log

November 21, 2003

| | | | "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=3944,"Amperage"=1502,"Curren$

November 22, 2003
w-102216:~ Sakino$ ioreg -l | grep -i IOBatteryInfo
| | | | "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=3907,"Amperage"=1430,"Current"=3008," Voltage"=11582,"Flags"=4})

November 23, 2003
w-102216:~ Sakino$ ioreg -l | grep -i IOBatteryInfo
| | | | "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=3713,"Amperage"=1272,"Current"=3699," Voltage"=11971,"Flags"=4})

Notice teh decrease?!!?!?1 I would hate to see this over the next week.

TAZ · Nov 23, 2003, 07:00 PM

This is my report:
"IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=2997,"Amperage"=1200,"Current"=2991," Voltage"=12130,"Flags"=4})

This is off of a 15 Al bought on Sep 17. Sad that I may have to buy a new battery within the same year.

Sakino · Nov 23, 2003, 09:28 PM

Originally posted by TAZ:
This is my report:
"IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=2997,"Amperage"=1200,"Current"=2991," Voltage"=12130,"Flags"=4})

This is off of a 15 Al bought on Sep 17. Sad that I may have to buy a new battery within the same year.

Actually if I were you I would call. You got a pos just like me...

anaphora68 · Nov 23, 2003, 09:39 PM

Wow, guys that is really not good. I'm going to monitor my battery too.

Just a question, are you plugged in or running off battery when you do the test?

Sakino · Nov 24, 2003, 01:51 AM

Originally posted by anaphora68:
Wow, guys that is really not good. I'm going to monitor my battery too.

Just a question, are you plugged in or running off battery when you do the test?

I run the test both ways. I run the test will a full battery and a low battery. The read out for the capacity always puts out the same information plugged in or not, charged or not.

wy4tt · Nov 24, 2003, 03:42 AM

my 15" is about 3 weeks old, and the capacity is at 2939. it went down from 3495 or so a few weeks back. this isn't just a number either, as i don't even get 2 hrs out of a charge unless i'm running the screen at it's minimum w/ processor speed at lowest. reset pmu and it got no better.

machem · Nov 24, 2003, 03:42 PM

Brand-new PB recieved today. Listed out-of-the-box battery capacity is 4.200 Ah. The PB I'm returning has a battery that shows 3.2Ah remaining. This old battery lost that 30% on the first discharge cycle. We'll see if this one does the same.

I have a replacement battery with 4.3 Ah capacity.

CrackedButter · Nov 24, 2003, 05:51 PM

How do you test your battery.

Sakino · Nov 24, 2003, 09:12 PM

Originally posted by CrackedButter:
How do you test your battery.

Enter this command in the terminal:
ioreg -l | grep -i IOBatteryInfo

Your read out for capacity should be something like 4500-4650.

sjake2 · Nov 25, 2003, 12:27 AM

mine reads:
Capacity"=2940,"Amperage"=1200
and it doesn't last a hell of a long time.

CrackedButter · Nov 25, 2003, 12:25 PM

I get 3944... what does this mean?

Porco · Nov 25, 2003, 12:38 PM

I bought my PB 1.25ghz on Sept. 26. My battery started right around 3915 but now reads 3544.

Now, I understand that batteries are consumables, but two months of use doesn't dictate 10% loss of capacity. I mean, this is ridiculous. Don't you guys think there is something funny going on with the battery?

My old TI started losing some battery power, but that was after like nine months of use, and surely not as much as I am losing with the AL15.

Any thoughts?

cbseven · Dec 3, 2003, 09:55 PM

My capacity on a week 48 15" AlBook

({"Capacity"=4400,"Amperage"=1187,"Current"=3497," Voltage"=11719,"Flags"=4})

I'll monitor this over the next few days and see if it deteriorates.

vcutag · Dec 9, 2003, 01:14 AM

Originally posted by cbseven:
My capacity on a week 48 15" AlBook

({"Capacity"=4400,"Amperage"=1187,"Current"=3497," Voltage"=11719,"Flags"=4})

I'll monitor this over the next few days and see if it deteriorates.

I've got a Week 48 15" AlBook myself, bought it on 2 December, and this is what I get:

Running on wall current: "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=4200,"Amperage"=1200,"Current"=4083," Voltage"=12568,"Flags"=1090520071})

Running on the battery: "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=4200,"Amperage"=1200,"Current"=4108," Voltage"=12572,"Flags"=1028})

I'll be keeping an eye on it, I've yet to have an 'estimated' battery time longer than 2:30, even running on the lowest power settings. I have yet to actually time battery usage, I'll probably do so tomorrow when I've got nothing to do between 8:30 and 1 (finals week, erg.)

chipchen · Dec 9, 2003, 09:47 PM

i finally got my new battery... it was down to 2550 capacity and dropping... my new battery seems to stay at 4400.

anaphora68 · Dec 10, 2003, 08:31 AM

I have a week 39 Alubook and my battery capacity looks like it's starting to drop, just in time for a trip to brazil. Wonderful.

I'll keep you guys posted. I'm going to keep a log, right now it went from 4416 to 4313 which isn't a big drop, but it's got me a bit annoyed. It's still within normal operating parameters.

Orion27 · Dec 10, 2003, 11:14 AM

Tested my week old al 15 powebook.
capacity 3944 amp 1400. The Battery is supposed to be 46 Watt Hour. I've not been able to find specs on voltage to make the conversion. Does anyone know the voltage of the Powerbook battery? I'm assuming the capacity refers to miliamps, suggesting, if others are correct that max capacity should be around 4500, that my battery is not charged to capacity or is only able to hold 88% of its rated capacity or I can only expect 3.9hrs of normal use battery life. Are my assumptions correct? Is my battery within specification according to Apple?

aapljack · Dec 10, 2003, 01:03 PM

Check out this thread on the Apple discussion boards about calibration. I followed the steps and increased the capacity of my battery from 2.6Ah to 3.1Ah. I know this is still terribly low. I was getting about 1:30hr of usage at 2.6Ah. Haven't had a chance to use the PB yet to see what kind of usage I get now. The battery meter did calculate 2:40hr when I unplugged the power.

The method of calibration described in the thread is to turn all things (APX, Bluetooth) off and set your monitor to the lowest brightness setting and set the prefs for max battery life and just let your PB idle until it drains the battery.

Give it a try and see if your battery capacity and usage times increase.

-b

Orion27 · Dec 10, 2003, 02:21 PM

aapljack:
Yes, I read the discussion but there seems to be some disagreement. Good information though. Seems the low power calibration may shorten life and or give seconds notice before the PowerBook goes to sleep on low battery warning. What has been your experience?

aapljack · Dec 10, 2003, 03:26 PM

I got the low power warning at about 7% and then again at 4% or so. All in all, it took about 3hrs to drain my battery with this method. I think this will only lengthen my battery life, if the new capacity is any indictation. I will have to see what real world usage I get from it.

-b

Sakino · Dec 11, 2003, 05:04 PM

Originally posted by Orion27:
aapljack:
Yes, I read the discussion but there seems to be some disagreement. Good information though. Seems the low power calibration may shorten life and or give seconds notice before the PowerBook goes to sleep on low battery warning. What has been your experience?

I did what he said an went from 3.4 - 3.8. Thats damn good.