Capacity on new replacement batteries

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Level 1

4 points

Capacity on new replacement batteries

My last battery (post-recall) finally died and would no longer recharge so I bought a new replacement battery for my 15" powerbook g4.
I searched the forums and support site but couldn't find the specs for how the battery information for a brand new battery should read. what should the Full Charge(mAh)and Remaining Capacity (mAh)read?
When running off battery power this brand new battery seems to be draining fairly quickly - what should I expect the run time to be? I just want to be sure I didn't receive a faulty battery and am getting the most for my new battery.
thanks in advance!

Powerbook 5,6, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Jan 7, 2009 1:51 PM

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Answer 1

BGreg

Level 6

17,558 points

Jan 7, 2009 6:32 PM in response to m.eber

Welcome to the Apple discussions.

I just put a NewerTech battery from OWC in ( http://www.macsales.com). Full charge capacity is 4820 mAh. My daughter just bought a non-Apple battery, and her capacity is under 4000, maybe 3800?

With a new lithium laptop battery, it's important to condition it, so it knows it's capacity. If you didn't do this already, let it charge up overnight, then drain it until the system shuts down. I put a long movie on mine to run it down. Then charge it up again, and run it down again. After 2-3 times of doing this, the battery will be conditioned. If you haven't done that, then don't sweat anything ... condition it then see how it's working.

Also, if you haven't already, be sure to read this Apple note to get the longest life out of your battery: http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

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