Clamshell iBook Batteries

[The Grim Ninja]

My clamshell iBook just will not charge this battery.

I've tried letting it sit overnight with no power, I've tried varying series of voodoo tricks.

I've run Battery Reset, shut down, reset the power manager, Zapped PRAM, Reset open firmware, zapped PRAM, reset open firmware, all in one swoop, nothing.

So, I took the battery apart. The cells are clean, but with a voltmeter, I barely get .4 volts between them all. I installed the pack into the ibook and plugged it in, the light shows charging, I tested the battery connector with a voltmeter, and there's 16 volts being dumped into it. It doesn't seem to reach the batteries though.

All the stuff on the circuit board seems fine, but there were two solder connections which had a lot of resin around them, so I resoldered. Didn't help.

Considering there is a good bit of voltage being fed to the battery, can I assume that the DC board is good and that the battery pack is just dead?

Any other magic I can do?

[PeterB]

Grimmy, you've already done more than I probably would have... which is saying a lot...

I've heard of people buying the cells themselves and reconstructing the battery, but it seems more trouble than it's worth to me, and carries some risk... and considering that you can get a new generic on ebay for $50-60 or thereabouts, it doesn't seem worth it.

[BigGuynRusty]

It's Dead Grim!
Give it up, things die, it's the circle of life!
Buy a new battery.

BGnR

[The Grim Ninja]

I'm just trying to be completely sure it's the battery and not the charging board. I don't really wish to spend much getting this machine fully working.

[BigGuynRusty]

16v at the contacts means the battery isn't taking a charge, mystery solved!
Also, be wary of NOS (New, Old Stock) batteries, old batteries that aren't used, new in the package have an expiration date for a reason, the chemicals are only good for a finite time.

BGnR

[voodoopenguin]

To be absolutely sure, and you do seem to want that assurance, try someone else's battery. I did the same for a duff battery for a G3 PowerBook last year. Quick word out on a local messageboard got someone close by with a similar machine willing to swap batteries for a short while.

[cbelt3]