iBook battery

Jim wrote:

I'm getting a new iBook battery to replace the ailing one that I've currently got (getting less than two hours from a full charge).

What's the recommended procedure for a new battery? Give it a full charge, then discharge, then charge, then use as normal?

Thanks,
Jim (back on 10.2.6 on the iBook)

All the advice seems to be keep it on charge whenever possible to gain maximum battery life. Full cycling of the battery each time seems to reduce it's life. *

* I'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong ;-)

[2 hours isn't that bad really - tip, don't throw it away ! But, if you really need the space then I'd be glad to help out.]

Previously, David Kennedy wrote:

reduce it's life. *

* I'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong ;-)

Yes. You're wrong. The possessive "its" has no apostrophe.

Richard P. Grant wrote:

Previously, David Kennedy wrote:

reduce it's life. *

* I'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong ;-)

Yes. You're wrong. The possessive "its" has no apostrophe.

Bastard !

Previously, David Kennedy wrote:

Richard P. Grant wrote:

Previously, David Kennedy wrote:

reduce it's life. *

* I'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong ;-)

Yes. You're wrong. The possessive "its" has no apostrophe.

Bastard !

Hey!

"Jim" <jim@magrathea.plus.com> wrote in message news:1fxx973.32j645wrwvmqN%jim@magrathea.plus.com...

I'm getting a new iBook battery to replace the ailing one that I've currently got (getting less than two hours from a full charge).

What's the recommended procedure for a new battery? Give it a full charge, then discharge, then charge, then use as normal?

So did that start before or after panther?

I have panther on the powerbook, it definately reduces its battery life a bit but its just so nice to use!

Woody

Previously, Jim wrote:

What's the recommended procedure for a new battery? Give it a full charge, then discharge, then charge, then use as normal?

I always understood that with NiMH, best was to charge it up and then keep it on the mains as much as you can. Discharges don't need to be 'full'- in fact, as NiMH cells don't have a memory effect but they do have a limited number of charge/discharge cycles available, longest life comes from using the battery seldom and little.

Whatever you do, they will fade seriously after two-three years anyway.

Richard P. Grant wrote:

Hey!

Must be my turn to be stroppy !

;-)

Jim wrote:

What's the recommended procedure for a new battery? Give it a full charge, then discharge, then charge, then use as normal?

If you want something that goes beyond the usual level of would-be-helpful advice you might find it useful to look at http://www.buchmann.ca/ for his 18-chapter on-line HTML presentation
Batteries in a Portable World:
a handbook on rechargeable batteries for non-engineers .

The site is sponsored by a company that makes battery analyzers and chargers. On a first quick read through, I found a good deal of well-presented science/technology. But the field is much too varied to offer in simple prÈcis.

Jim wrote:

What's the recommended procedure for a new battery? Give it a full charge, then discharge, then charge, then use as normal?

Yes. That calibrates the battery and power manager.

"Use as normal" is fine, but you're better keeping it on the mains than battery; the total life will be longer that way (a battery has a finite number of charge/discharge cycles avaialable to it)

-z-

Hi guys;

I have an iBook G4, and the 'screw' at the bottom that holds the battery in is incredibly loose. Is this normal? It means that the battery sometimes slips out, and I generally leave the mac asleep. You can imagine the horror when I open the bag to find the batter nestled at the bottom!

Michael

Previously, Michael Duffy wrote:

Hi guys;

I have an iBook G4, and the 'screw' at the bottom that holds the battery in is incredibly loose. Is this normal? It means that the battery sometimes slips out, and I generally leave the mac asleep. You can imagine the horror when I open the bag to find the batter nestled at the bottom!

That shouldn't happen. Are you sure you're turning it all the way?

If it never tightens down, it could be a stripped out screw

On the other hand, if it is tightened and just keeps coming loose, you could try a little lock-tite on it.

Jason

Gregory Weston wrote:

Previously, Michael Duffy wrote:

Hi guys;

I have an iBook G4, and the 'screw' at the bottom that holds the battery in is incredibly loose. Is this normal? It means that the battery sometimes slips out, and I generally leave the mac asleep. You can imagine the horror when I open the bag to find the batter nestled at the bottom!

That shouldn't happen. Are you sure you're turning it all the way?

Previously, Gregory Weston wrote:

Previously, Michael Duffy wrote:

Hi guys;

I have an iBook G4, and the 'screw' at the bottom that holds the battery in is incredibly loose. Is this normal? It means that the battery sometimes slips out, and I generally leave the mac asleep. You can imagine the horror when I open the bag to find the batter nestled at the bottom!

That shouldn't happen. Are you sure you're turning it all the way?

what is probably happening is that the little springs that are supposed to push back on the battery are dead or very weak. I have the same problem on one of my iBooks, and I am always nervous when I move it around in sleep mode. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any easy way to change these springs. Maybe the little plastic tips of the springs are just stuck. Try to lubricate them a bit.

jyh.

-- ===================================================================== jean-yves herve' /\
Department of Computer Science \/ e-mail --> jyh@cs.uri.edu and Statistics /\
University of Rhode Island \/ Tel. --> (401) 874-4400 Kingston, RI 02881-0816 /\ Fax. --> (401) 874-4617 USA \/ =====================================================================

<snip>

That shouldn't happen. Are you sure you're turning it all the way?

what is probably happening is that the little springs that are supposed to push back on the battery are dead or very weak. I have the same problem on one of my iBooks, and I am always nervous when I move it around in sleep mode. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any easy way to change these springs. Maybe the little plastic tips of the springs are just stuck. Try to lubricate them a bit.

jyh.

Hmmm I just checked that and the springs seem quite healthy; it just seems that the latching mechanism is loose. The iBook is almost brand new; grounds for a warranty fix do you think?

Previously, Michael Duffy wrote:

<snip>

That shouldn't happen. Are you sure you're turning it all the way?

what is probably happening is that the little springs that are supposed to push back on the battery are dead or very weak. I have the same problem on one of my iBooks, and I am always nervous when I move it around in sleep mode. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any easy way to change these springs. Maybe the little plastic tips of the springs are just stuck. Try to lubricate them a bit.

jyh.

Hmmm I just checked that and the springs seem quite healthy; it just seems that the latching mechanism is loose. The iBook is almost brand new; grounds for a warranty fix do you think?

Worth trying to have it fixed as it is annoying. Our iBook developed a lose latch ( would open & wake up on occasion) & Apple fixed it without hassle.

Uli

My fiancee has my current iBook, and managed to run down the battery totally three times or so with a USB mouse plugged in - i.e. run down so much that it lost the time and date etc.

Now it won't hold any charge at all - is this normal? Is there some way to easily fix it? (fingers x'ed...)

TIA

Matthew

Matthew H wrote:

My fiancee has my current iBook, and managed to run down the battery totally three times or so with a USB mouse plugged in - i.e. run down so much that it lost the time and date etc.

Now it won't hold any charge at all - is this normal? Is there some way to easily fix it? (fingers x'ed...)

TIA

Matthew

sounds like its dead... but have you tried plugging it into a different outlet.. and removing the USB mouse and anything else that might drain power?

also.. you could post your questions at:
http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?14@181.yfyGauk8xe7.0@.599b3cb8