PowerBook Without Power

G3 Prismo PowerBook that won't now charge or power-up with the adaptor plugged-in.
Steve Whiting wrote on :

Have a much loved G3 Prismo PowerBook that won't now charge or power-up with the adaptor plugged-in. Bought a new power adaptor in the hope that it was the power supply at fault - it isn't.

Before resorting to buying a new battery to checkout what's going on I lifted the keyboard and saw a loose wire:

http://www.whiteink.org/mac/looseWire.jpg

...don't know if this is the cause of power problem? ...can't see where it came from or should go to!

Would very much appreciate some guidance!

Steve

Clever Monkey replied on :

Steve Whiting wrote:

Have a much loved G3 Prismo PowerBook that won't now charge or power-up with the adaptor plugged-in. Bought a new power adaptor in the hope that it was the power supply at fault - it isn't.

Before resorting to buying a new battery to checkout what's going on I lifted the keyboard and saw a loose wire:

http://www.whiteink.org/mac/looseWire.jpg

...don't know if this is the cause of power problem? ...can't see where it came from or should go to!

This looks like an antenna connection for a wireless device.

Steve Whiting replied on :

Thank you for clearing that up :-)

Steve

Clever Monkey wrote:

Steve Whiting wrote:

Have a much loved G3 Prismo PowerBook that won't now charge or power-up with the adaptor plugged-in. Bought a new power adaptor in the hope that it was the power supply at fault - it isn't.

Before resorting to buying a new battery to checkout what's going on I lifted the keyboard and saw a loose wire:

http://www.whiteink.org/mac/looseWire.jpg

...don't know if this is the cause of power problem? ...can't see where it came from or should go to!

This looks like an antenna connection for a wireless device.

Erik Richard Sørensen replied on :

Hei Steve

There might be two main reasons for this. 1, a dead main battery. Try to take out the battery and connect the power adaptor and see, if it =

will start. Some PBs run fine without the battery. 2, A dead internal LiION backup battery (clock battery). If this battery is dead, which it very well might be, especially if your =

Pismo is a 400mhz and to this one of the first of these. Then the=20 internal LiION backup battery must be replaced.

I had a similar problem just resently with my own Pismo 500mhz, but=20 luckily it turned out only to be that the internal backup battery had=20 been totally emptied. - I hadn't used the Pismo in more than two months, =

so both the external and internal batteries were totally emptied. I=20 connected it to the main power and let it charge to two days, and then=20 it was fit again ..

cheers, Erik Richard

Steve Whiting wrote:

Have a much loved G3 Prismo PowerBook that won't now charge or power-up= =20 with the adaptor plugged-in. Bought a new power adaptor in the hope tha= t=20 it was the power supply at fault - it isn't. =20 Before resorting to buying a new battery to checkout what's going on I =

lifted the keyboard and saw a loose wire: =20 http://www.whiteink.org/mac/looseWire.jpg =20 ...don't know if this is the cause of power problem? ...can't see where it came from or should go to! =20 Would very much appreciate some guidance!

--=20

KMLDenmark by Erik Richard S=F8rensen, Member of ADC
<kmldenmark_NOSP@redacted.invalid_stofanet.dk>
*Music Recording, Editing & Publishing - Also Smaller Quantities
*Software - For Theological Education - And For Physically Impaired
*Nisus - The Future in Text & Mail Processing <http://www.nisus.com>
John Johnson replied on :

In article Zpq9h.57851$Ib.37569@redacted.invalid, Steve Whiting sjwhiting@redacted.invalid wrote:

Thank you for clearing that up :-)

Steve

Clever Monkey wrote:

Steve Whiting wrote:

Have a much loved G3 Prismo PowerBook that won't now charge or power-up with the adaptor plugged-in. Bought a new power adaptor in the hope that it was the power supply at fault - it isn't.

Before resorting to buying a new battery to checkout what's going on I lifted the keyboard and saw a loose wire:

http://www.whiteink.org/mac/looseWire.jpg

...don't know if this is the cause of power problem? ...can't see where it came from or should go to!

This looks like an antenna connection for a wireless device.

Yup. That's the antenna for the airport card.

Another post covered the easy stuff (main battery, PRAM/backup battery), but it's also possible that the solder points on the power input connector have come loose. If you can move your power connector around, then check that and consider replacing the board. That board is known for problems like this; check the archives for similar.

Steve Whiting replied on :

If you can move your power connector around, then check that and consider replacing the board.

John, Please add mind reading to you CV's list of talents. Yup, there's a slight bit of movement on the power connector. Looks like a new board is the fist place to start. Thanks v much for help!

Steve

John Johnson wrote:

In article Zpq9h.57851$Ib.37569@redacted.invalid, Steve Whiting sjwhiting@redacted.invalid wrote:

Thank you for clearing that up :-)

Steve

Clever Monkey wrote:

Steve Whiting wrote:

Have a much loved G3 Prismo PowerBook that won't now charge or power-up with the adaptor plugged-in. Bought a new power adaptor in the hope that it was the power supply at fault - it isn't.

Before resorting to buying a new battery to checkout what's going on I lifted the keyboard and saw a loose wire:

http://www.whiteink.org/mac/looseWire.jpg

...don't know if this is the cause of power problem? ...can't see where it came from or should go to!

This looks like an antenna connection for a wireless device.

Yup. That's the antenna for the airport card.

Another post covered the easy stuff (main battery, PRAM/backup battery), but it's also possible that the solder points on the power input connector have come loose. If you can move your power connector around, then check that and consider replacing the board. That board is known for problems like this; check the archives for similar.

John Johnson replied on :

In article WAxah.62793$r4.32168@redacted.invalid, Steve Whiting sjwhiting@redacted.invalid wrote:

If you can move your power connector around, then check that and consider replacing the board.

John, Please add mind reading to you CV's list of talents. Yup, there's a slight bit of movement on the power connector. Looks like a new board is the fist place to start. Thanks v much for help!

If it actually is that connector, it's large enough that re-soldering is an option (provided you're moderately handy with an iron, that is). ISTR that some people would pot a new/good connector in epoxy so that the solder joint wasn't taking the mechanical load. Check the archives of comp.sys.mac.portables for more info. This was a commonly-discussed issue back when these things were popular ('02-03, maybe?).

KLK replied on :

In article null-78F773.08593427112006@redacted.invalid, John Johnson null@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article WAxah.62793$r4.32168@redacted.invalid, Steve Whiting sjwhiting@redacted.invalid wrote:

If you can move your power connector around, then check that and consider replacing the board.

John, Please add mind reading to you CV's list of talents. Yup, there's a slight bit of movement on the power connector. Looks like a new board is the fist place to start. Thanks v much for help!

If it actually is that connector, it's large enough that re-soldering is an option (provided you're moderately handy with an iron, that is). ISTR that some people would pot a new/good connector in epoxy so that the solder joint wasn't taking the mechanical load. Check the archives of comp.sys.mac.portables for more info. This was a commonly-discussed issue back when these things were popular ('02-03, maybe?).

If you attempt to re-solder the connecter first look for the broken trace. The connection cycles usually pulls a copper pad away from the board and breaks the trace.

Once the broken trace is found then bond the connecter body to the board with epoxy. A rigid connecter both takes future load and is easier to solder. Then you can bridge the break with solder; often a FINE copper wire will help control the solder so that it bridges the break and not the gap between traces.

KLK

Lorraine replied on :

Erik Richard S¯rensen NOSPAM@redacted.invalid wrote:

2, A dead internal LiION backup battery (clock battery). If this battery is dead, which it very well might be, especially if your Pismo is a 400mhz and to this one of the first of these. Then the internal LiION backup battery must be replaced.

I had a similar problem just resently with my own Pismo 500mhz, but luckily it turned out only to be that the internal backup battery had been totally emptied. - I hadn't used the Pismo in more than two months, so both the external and internal batteries were totally emptied. I connected it to the main power and let it charge to two days, and then it was fit again ..

cheers, Erik Richard

Please please give details about how to do this! I have a Pismo that won't start up with various chargers nor a working battery. Where can I buy this battery and where does it go? I'd love to resurrect this poor machine.

John Johnson replied on :

In article 201220060338576965%veeeda-nospam@redacted.invalid, Lorraine veeeda-nospam@redacted.invalid wrote:

Erik Richard S¯rensen NOSPAM@redacted.invalid wrote:

2, A dead internal LiION backup battery (clock battery). If this battery is dead, which it very well might be, especially if your Pismo is a 400mhz and to this one of the first of these. Then the internal LiION backup battery must be replaced.

I had a similar problem just resently with my own Pismo 500mhz, but luckily it turned out only to be that the internal backup battery had been totally emptied. - I hadn't used the Pismo in more than two months, so both the external and internal batteries were totally emptied. I connected it to the main power and let it charge to two days, and then it was fit again ..

cheers, Erik Richard

Please please give details about how to do this! I have a Pismo that won't start up with various chargers nor a working battery. Where can I buy this battery and where does it go? I'd love to resurrect this poor machine.

An example of the battery: http://www.ifixit.com/cart/catalog/product_1120_G3_Lombard_or_Pismo_PRAM_ Battery_New.html

ifixit's fixit guide: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/PowerBook-G3-Pismo/PRAM-Battery

HTH!

Lorraine replied on :

2, A dead internal LiION backup battery (clock battery). If this battery is dead, which it very well might be, especially if your Pismo is a 400mhz and to this one of the first of these. Then the internal LiION backup battery must be replaced.

I had a similar problem just resently with my own Pismo 500mhz, but luckily it turned out only to be that the internal backup battery had been totally emptied. - I hadn't used the Pismo in more than two months, so both the external and internal batteries were totally emptied. I connected it to the main power and let it charge to two days, and then it was fit again ..

cheers, Erik Richard

Please please give details about how to do this! I have a Pismo that won't start up with various chargers nor a working battery. Where can I buy this battery and where does it go? I'd love to resurrect this poor machine.

An example of the battery: http://www.ifixit.com/cart/catalog/product_1120_G3_Lombard_or_Pismo_PRAM_ Battery_New.html

ifixit's fixit guide: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/PowerBook-G3-Pismo/PRAM-Battery

HTH!

Thank you so much. I brought the laptop in to a tech, but after a quick check he said it would cost an hour of labor to figure out what was wrong, and from there add in whatever parts needed replacing plus the labor to replace them. I'd be willing to pay maybe $200 to fix it, but I don't really want to have an open-ended fee for getting it to run.

kv888831393ster replied on :

These Pismos can have a problem with the CPU seating. Here's a quote from the pdf repair file: "Replacement Caution: The microprocessor board can be partially inserted and the computer will still function. However, over time, heat will cause the microprocessor board to lose contact and can cause the system to have intermittent problems such as no booting. Therefore, check proper installation by pressing on the microprocessor board connector a second time to make sure the board is fully seated." When a Pismo won't boot it's the first thing I check. I have the pdf if anyone is interested. Richard

Steve Whiting wrote:

I started this thread and it's now time to bring you all up to date with the solution.

Thanks to all who offered advice on this subject as without your help I wouldn't have been able to get to the bottom of the problem. I spoke to any number of Mac engineers none of whom held out much hope of a financially justifiable repair, however, the story has a happy ending as the repair only cost =A345.00 in the end.

Here goes... Like Lorraine I didn't want to let this Prismo go so before packing it, insuring it and bundling it off to be reparied I took the PowerBook into a local PC (yes, PC) repair shop and asked them if they could just run a circuit tester across the power board to see if the board was indeed knackered. After a certain amount of initial hesitation they accepted the Prismo and called me back the next day to tell me that the PowerBook was up and running and ready for collection.

They did nothing to it other than to give it a vacuum - it would appear that a few years worth of dirt and grime was causing the PowerBook to short-out.

Hope this helps!

Steve

Lorraine wrote:

2, A dead internal LiION backup battery (clock battery). If this battery is dead, which it very well might be, especially if y= our Pismo is a 400mhz and to this one of the first of these. Then the internal LiION backup battery must be replaced.

I had a similar problem just resently with my own Pismo 500mhz, but luckily it turned out only to be that the internal backup battery had been totally emptied. - I hadn't used the Pismo in more than two mont= hs, so both the external and internal batteries were totally emptied. I connected it to the main power and let it charge to two days, and then it was fit again ..

cheers, Erik Richard

Please please give details about how to do this! I have a Pismo that won't start up with various chargers nor a working battery. Where can I buy this battery and where does it go? I'd love to resurrect this poor machine.

An example of the battery: http://www.ifixit.com/cart/catalog/product_1120_G3_Lombard_or_Pismo_PRA= M_ Battery_New.html

ifixit's fixit guide: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/PowerBook-G3-Pismo/PRAM-Battery

HTH!

Thank you so much. I brought the laptop in to a tech, but after a quick check he said it would cost an hour of labor to figure out what was wrong, and from there add in whatever parts needed replacing plus the labor to replace them. I'd be willing to pay maybe $200 to fix it, but I don't really want to have an open-ended fee for getting it to run.