Strange iBook G3 battery issue

Question

Level 1

0 points

Strange iBook G3 battery issue

I have an iBook G3 FireWire model which won't recognise its battery. It displays as 5% charged with the "fully charged" icon next to it and the menu saying "Calculating... until full." Unplugging the computer will force it to shut down. The computer's optical drive is broken, so I had to install Tiger via USB. The first time, it worked just fine, charging the battery as normal. The problem arose when I installed some updates (I think it was the 10.4.11 Combo updater) and shut down. Upon restart, it never reached the "Starting Mac OS X" screen, just staying on a light blue screen with a perpetually spinning wheel. After attempting multiple restarts, I unplugged the computer while it was on said screen, and it lost all power just as it does now. I reinstalled Tiger with the same USB and disk image the next day. Both http://reviews.ebay.com/iBook-Clamshell-Battery-Issue?ugid=10000000007193925 and booting into Open Firmware and entering the commands reset-nvram, then set-defaults, then reset-all yield the same result: it will charge to 13%, then stop and say "Calculating... until full." The charger is known to be working, it charges my PowerBook just fine.

Data - iBook G3 (FireWire)-OTHER, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Aug 2, 2012 6:55 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Aug 2, 2012 11:08 AM in response to MackPro

Hi, and welcome to Apple Support Communities.

Have you tried resetting the PMU?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1431?viewlocale=en_US

The PMU has control over the charging function, so resetting it sometimes helps.

If that doesn't help, you may need a new battery.

Reply

Answer 2

MackPro Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 2, 2012 3:15 PM in response to Ronda Wilson

Resetting the PMU did nothing. However, I'm almost certain this is a software issue. In both the methods I've tried, I went into Open Firmware and entered reset- commands. Is there anything else of that nature which may help?

Reply

Answer 3

Aug 2, 2012 3:50 PM in response to MackPro

How old is the battery?

Reply

Answer 4

MackPro Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 3, 2012 7:42 AM in response to Ronda Wilson

I'm pretty sure the battery is 11 or 12, same age as the system itself. Here is what System Profiler says:

Battery Installed: Yes

First low level warning: No

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 2984

Remaining Capacity (mAh): 151

Amperage (mA): 0

Voltage (mV): 12356

Cycle Count: 309

Is it important at all to note that the charge LED is yellow? This leads me to believe there is something going wrong between the battery and DC board, or that the sofware is misreporting or misreading a signal.

Reply

Answer 5

Aug 3, 2012 9:08 AM in response to MackPro

The typical lifespan of a lithium-ion battery is two to three years. Some last a little longer; some don't even last that long.

It needs a new battery.

Which exact iBook model is it?

You can choose from this list:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ibook/index-ibook.html

It would seem that it is recognizing the battery; it's just not charging. If an iBook doesn't recognize the battery, there will be an X through the battery icon in the menu bar and the System Profiler wouldn't give you the battery information; it would say "Battery Installed: No".

Reply

Answer 6

Aug 3, 2012 1:38 PM in response to MackPro

I'm with Ronda on this one.

The battery appears to be dead and would require replacement.

I've owned a few secondhand iBook in my time and most of them have different battery charging levels, some don't even recognize the battery half the time. Testing nearly all of these with a new battery proved the old batteries had come to there useful life.

A battery can be two years old and have no life left in it, depends on how the battery is treated. For best performance and longer life, a battery should be de-charged and recharged accordingly. Far too many people charge them after loosing 20% of battery power. This is not very good for a battery.

Reply

Answer 7

Aug 3, 2012 1:57 PM in response to Knucklesmac

Apple's recommendations can be found here:

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

However, I have always figured that I will use my battery as it best suits me to use it, and not worry about when I may need to replace it. Whenever that need happens, I will figure that the cost is worth it to me.

Reply

Answer 8

Aug 3, 2012 2:07 PM in response to Ronda Wilson

I'm very familiar with Apple's guidance on battery care for it's notebook range. (or at least iBook, PowerBook)

Fortunately I was one of the chaps selling them in the Apple shop 8 years ago 🙂

As per Apples guidance 'Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month'

So many people do not do so and therefore the battery life is not so lasting. 🙂

Reply

Answer 9

Aug 3, 2012 2:25 PM in response to Knucklesmac

Yes, I'm sure you are well aware. The link was for the benefit of the original poster (and for you, too, in the event that you would care to bookmark it).

Reply

Answer 10

Aug 3, 2012 2:29 PM in response to Ronda Wilson

Indeed

A useful link to book mark. Thank you for that 🙂

Reply

Answer 11

Aug 3, 2012 5:03 PM in response to Knucklesmac

Reply