Dead Lombard G3 333 MHz

Najabel,

If the Lombard has been stored for a period of time and the main battery and internal rechargeable backup battery have been allowed to discharge, this can corrupt the power manager to a point where a normal reset will not clear it.

- Remove the power adapter and main battery > press the reset button on the back panel for 30 seconds > connect just the power adapter > try starting; repeat procedure several times if necessary. This procedure is an attempt to clear a balky and/or corrupted power manager.

If the above procedure does not work...

- Disconnect power adapter and leave main battery out > lift off keyboard > remove DVD-ROM drive from the bay > you will see the brown, circular backup batteries in a black case between the palm rest and the HD. There is a red/white/black pigtail running to the logic board; carefully pull up on the white connector to disconnect it (needlenose pliers work well)...this allows the power manager to fully clear. Reconnect the power adapter and start up before replacing the keyboard and connecting the internal backup battery; if successful, press and hold the power button to shut down. Now disconnect power adapter, reconnect the internal backup battery and keyboard.

Here is what the backup battery looks like...all you have to remove are the keyboard and aluminum heat shield...nothing else.

http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide/6.4.4.html

I have a 400MHz Lombard with the same problem. I tried to reset the PMU with the reset button the back and it worked at first- after the first time that I held it in for 30 seconds, I was able to start up normally. I tried to restart the computer to make sure that it was OK, and it was dead once more. I tried the reset button several more times, then I tried to unplug the PRAM battery inside and I got the alternating green light on / green light off after every push of the reset button. All of the directions say "if successful, press and hold the power button to shut down. Now disconnect power adapter, reconnect the internal backup battery and keyboard. "

My question is what do you do if unplugging the PRAM battery and pushing the reset button are unsuccessful?

Right now, my computer is sitting at home, unplugged, with the main battery disconnected and the PRAM backup battery still connected. What should I try next?

Jon,

Welcome to the Discussions!

First, were there any other symptoms leading up to this point, e.g. freezes or several attempts required to start or unexpected shutdown, etc? Anything unusual may be helpful. You don't have a problem with a corrupted power manager, so you can reconnect the internal backup battery.

If a powerbook does not start...

- Do you have a charged main battery?

- Try another power adapter; the PB1400/3400/any G3/first generation iBook adapters are interchangeable.

- When a power adapter is connected, does the plug feel loose or wiggle at the rear of the powerbook?

- Disconnect the keyboard ribbon cable from the logic board, then try starting. A bad keyboard can cause startup and running issues.

jpl,

The first symptoms I had with this problem were last week at a hotel room when the 'book would start up but would not show a charging icon in either the menu bar or the control strip for several minutes. When I got home on the weekend, the laptop was just dead. It would hum and a fan would come on when I pressed the power button but not for long. I had noticed that for several months, the earphone port was acting up and not always giving me stereo sound unless I twisted the plug a little bit, but I wrote that off to a bad set of earphones.

-I do not have a charged main battery. My battery does not holds a charge for very long because it is 6 years old.

-I only have one power adapter, a "hockey puck" that Apple sent me because of the recall of the originals.

-The power adapter does not really feel loose, it makes a solid connection with the power port. The internal assembly may wobble a little bit when the cord is connected, but that might also be a figment of my imagination.

-I will try disconnecting the keyboard tonight.

Are there any other diagnostics that I can do at home before taking it in for service? I really like this computer and don't have the cash for a new PowerBook or iBook right now. I used to be a network/computer tech, and was one of the few that I worked with who were experienced with Mac's, but I never really had to deal with hardware problems on a Mac- especially a PowerBook or iBook. I have tried to test voltage from the end of the power adapter, but my probes are too large to fit inside of the outer metal surround (chrome). I thought that it was a conductor, but I get no voltage between it and the brass (?) conductor that it surrounds. I did get a small spark when I tried to get one of my voltage probes between the two pieces of metal. It seems like the power plug has a similar construction to an audio mini-plug with 2 conductors on the same shaft, but separated so that one is at one end and one is at the other.

Right now, the computer is unplugged, with both the main and PRAM batteries removed.

Thanks for your help,
Jon

Jon,

I don't have much to offer, but if the keyboard is removed and the backup battery is disconnected with no startup, I can only emphasize two points.

- Try another power adapter...somewhere, somehow.

- The power port plug generally always makes a solid connection; the real problem can lie with the female power port. It is soldered to a circuit board and this connection can fail with repeated use and/or abuse. Try this procedure: Place the powerbook on a hard surface, connect the power adapter, and then gently wedge playing cards or 3x5 cards under the plug so the plug is pushed up firmly, then try starting.

If the power port is making an intermittent contact, possibly you were running on battery when you saw no charging to the battery. If the power adapter is providing power, you will always see a standard "plug" icon in the Control Strip.

Thanks jpl,

I tried removing the keyboard and the backup battery and nothing. I even tried it with the modem and processor board out too. I tried another power cord at an Apple service center, and same result. I decided to just leave it with those guys after a little talk and I will let them try to diagnose it further for me. When they call back I will ask them if they were able to get it to work by using a known good PMU, AC/Sound, Logic, or Motherboard. If they were able to try all of these and still have no luck, I really don't know what to say because there's nothing really left to replace... I just want my PowerBook back.

and Najabel... Have you considered changing the AC/sound card or checking the connections there? If you've already replaced the logic board and PMU, you really don't have much left to change out. Did you try unplugging the keyboard and attempting to power up as was suggested before?

Najabel,

Congrats, man. I have just tried to replace teh AC/Sound card in my dead Lombard 400, and I am still having the same problems. I was going to try to replace the PMU next, but now I am considering the processor board. Are you using the same RAM as before or did you replace it too? Where have you been getting your parts? I have been checking out pbparts.com and powerbooktech.com. I am trying to find a suppier who has good parts and a return policy that will allow me to send back a part if it is not needed (like the new AC / Sound card that I just bought).

I'm actually considering buying a whole Powerbook from eBay to get all of the parts at once, but I don't like that idea as much.