iBook G4 Battery Question

1. pixel_a_ted - 20 January 2008

   Would a bad battery prevent the laptop from operating normally when the AC adapter is connected, or should the laptop switch to the external power no matter what the state of the battery?

   Thanks.

2. Tom Stiller - 20 January 2008

   Since the iBook will operate on the AC adapter with *no* battery installed, I would say that it would take something like an internal short in an installed battery to prevent operation.

   Tom Stiller

   PGP fingerprint = 5108 DDB2 9761 EDE5 E7E3 7BDA 71ED 6496 99C0 C7CF

3. David Empson - 20 January 2008

   Usually a faulty battery is ignored and will be shown as an "X" in the status icon in the menu bar.

   What happens if you remove the battery and run the computer from the mains adapter? That should work fine. If not, then the battery isn't the probem.

   David Empson
   dempson@actrix.gen.nz

4. Richard Maine - 20 January 2008

   ..which can happen, as can some other things. I have had laptops (non-Mac, but this is general enough to apply) that would work plugged in with no battery, but not with the battery in. The batteries were obviously pretty "ill", details unknown.

   Richard Maine | Good judgement comes from experience; email: last name at domain . net | experience comes from bad judgement. domain: summertriangle | -- Mark Twain

5. pixel_a_ted - 21 January 2008

   On Jan 20, 10:12=A0pm, David Empson wrote:

   What happens if you remove the battery and run the computer from the mains adapter? That should work fine. If not, then the battery isn't the probem.

   I am giving up on this approx. 4-yr old iBook. In doing some research, it appears that I have a loose DC-in connector. You have to push the AC adapter plug to one side when it's connected in order to get it to work. This does not appear to be a trivial item to fix by yourself, and it seems to cost about $200 to have it done. Given that there may be other issues, such as the need for a new battery, I don't think it's cost effective.