G3/600 battery light blinking even though battery monitor shows 100% charge

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Level 1

29 points

G3/600 battery light blinking even though battery monitor shows 100% charge

Hi all -

I am posting this on behalf of my stepmother, whose 2002 vintage 12" G3/600/384 iBook is having battery charge issues.

She has a replacement NuPower battery, bought from OWC last year. The battery charges to 100% (according to Tiger's battery monitor) but when I press the battery button underneath, it blinks, indicating less than 10% charge. This is borne out by the fact that on battery she only gets 11 minutes of use (the battery meter drops from 100% through to 0% in that space of time). The battery meter does not go from 100% to 50% to 0%, but steps downward normally, just a LOT faster than normal.

Tried resetting PRAM, PMU, calibrating battery, swapping chargers with a G3/700. The issue seems to be one where the battery is not getting the full charge via the DC board, even though the computer thinks it is fully charged.

So, is this a classic case of a bad DC board?

Thanks -

Michael

Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Posted on Sep 30, 2007 9:01 AM

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Answer 1

Sep 30, 2007 9:57 AM in response to whizzo

+So, is this a classic case of a bad DC board?+

No, not in my experience. In my experience, a bad DC-in board resulted in a computer which would work from a charged battery, but the adapter would not charge the battery, and the computer would not run from the adapter; it would only run from a charged battery.

This sounds more like a bad battery. Have you tried swapping batteries with the G3/700?

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Answer 2

whizzo Author

Level 1

29 points

Oct 1, 2007 6:40 PM in response to Ronda Wilson

Well, the G3/600 is a 12" model and the G3/700 is a 14" model so the batteries are not swappable. What irks me is that this is (was) a brand-new high-capacity battery, not one that should have failed so early. Of course it is out of warranty, and there is no way I am paying $100 for a new battery for a 5 year old computer.

My mother-in-law has a G4 12" iBook that has the same battery size/shape, so I will try to swap that one in the next time I see her.

Guess I have to chalk this one up to bad luck.

Thanks -

Michael

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Answer 3

Oct 2, 2007 1:35 AM in response to whizzo

You're welcome.

A bad battery is lots easier to fix than a bad DC-in board. I'd be rooting for the battery as a solution if I were you.

Unless you want to go to the trouble of replacing it yourself (not a simple task), it's also cheaper to replace the battery.

Good luck.

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