Advice requested: PowerBook G3 Lombard not starting - green light appears with power adapter plugged in

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Level 1

14 points

Advice requested: PowerBook G3 Lombard not starting - green light appears with power adapter plugged in

Hello there,

I just bought a PowerBook G3 Lombard and used it with my iBook clamshell power adapter, which I know works. When I plug the adapter into the PowerBook, sometimes I see a green light on the left hand side light up. Once or twice, I could hear the hard drive spin up. However, I have not been able to reproduce this in the last 20 or so attempts. In a single instance, the screen turned on, but it had some streaking lines across a grey background and I could not see anything. In more recent attempts I have not been able to get any sign that the PowerBook is turning on at all. Sometimes, I see a green light when I plug the power adapter in, and sometimes there is no green light when I plug the power adapter in. I am really trying to figure out what component might be the problem. My first instinct is to assume that it is the sound/AC card, which the power adapter plugs directly into. That might explain why there is some variation in terms of the experience. However, I cannot come up with a suitable explanation. I have tried numerous things beyond replacing any specific components quite yet. One of my first strategies was to disassemble the entire computer to make sure that all the connections were solid. After reassembling the computer, my experience was much the same. I have also kept the PRAM battery unplugged at different times, because I read somewhere that a bad PRAM battery can sometimes affect the power up. Does anybody have any suggestions as to what the culprit might be? Do you think I am right in believing it might be the AC/sound card? From your experience, might it be something else? Thank you for your advice in advance.

Regards,

LazarusNine

Posted on Jan 11, 2015 6:40 PM

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Answer 1

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,201 points

Jan 12, 2015 1:53 AM in response to lazarusnine

It is not unusual to find notebook computers with problems in the DC-in area. Any change if you try to move or put some pressure on the low-voltage DC plug? If so, one would suspect bad solder joints at the DC-in jack (a resoldering operation could then help).

A bad main battery can sometimes put a heavy load on the power supply. For a test, one could try to start a computer without this battery in place.

Otherwise, a close inspection (with a magnifying glass) of all boards may or may not reveal bulging/cracked/discoloured/leaking electronic components (such as electrolytic capacitors).

I guess that you already know about the following Power Management Unit article.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT1431

Jan

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Answer 2

jpoliti

Level 1

0 points

Apr 19, 2015 9:10 AM in response to Jan Hedlund

Hi. I have a similar problem with my newly acquired Lombard. When I plug it in, the green power light comes on, the fan starts and the hard drive spins up for about 2 seconds. Then everything abruptly clicks off. Wait 2 more seconds and it starts all over again . . . and again . . . and again . . .

I've disconnected the batteries (PRAM and LIthium Ion), hit the reset button, reseated the daughter card and ram on the card, unplugged the hard drive and still can't get it to work properly.

When I first plugged it in, it booted to a question marked folder (unformatted drive). I pulled the drive and swapped in a replacement. That's when the trouble began. I'm hoping that I didn't fry any hardware during the install.

Any advice?

Jon.

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