From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

so, the battery in my powerbook g4 was completely dead when i got it,
i've been able to revive it and get it to actually hold a charge, but
the powerbook itself refuses to charge the battery at anything over 5mA

i know the battery itself works (and it is not the BMS limiting the
charging speed) as i've been able to force it to charge by connecting a
12V supply to it, and it gets pretty good battery life, but the
powerbook itself just refuses to charge it at an actually reasonable
speed no matter what i try

i've reset the PMU multiple times, like i said i've forced the battery
to charge as much as it would let me, i've drained it to 0% after, and i
can't get the powerbook to charge it at over 5mA

the only idea i have left is removing the dead PRAM battery and seeing
if that changes something, but opening up this powerbook seems like a
major pain in the ass qwq
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

In article <[email protected]>,
Asahi Lovehart <[email protected]> wrote:

so, the battery in my powerbook g4 was completely dead when i got it,
i've been able to revive it and get it to actually hold a charge, but
the powerbook itself refuses to charge the battery at anything over 5mA

i know the battery itself works (and it is not the BMS limiting the
charging speed) as i've been able to force it to charge by connecting a
12V supply to it, and it gets pretty good battery life, but the
powerbook itself just refuses to charge it at an actually reasonable
speed no matter what i try

i've reset the PMU multiple times, like i said i've forced the battery
to charge as much as it would let me, i've drained it to 0% after, and i can't get the powerbook to charge it at over 5mA

the only idea i have left is removing the dead PRAM battery and seeing
if that changes something, but opening up this powerbook seems like a
major pain in the ass qwq

i forgot to say that it's an A1095 model (aluminum 2004 1.5GHz 15"
powerbook g4)
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

On 2026-02-02 18:22:13 +0000, Asahi Lovehart said:

so, the battery in my powerbook g4 was completely dead when i got it,
i've been able to revive it and get it to actually hold a charge, but
the powerbook itself refuses to charge the battery at anything over 5mA

i know the battery itself works (and it is not the BMS limiting the
charging speed) as i've been able to force it to charge by connecting a
12V supply to it, and it gets pretty good battery life, but the
powerbook itself just refuses to charge it at an actually reasonable
speed no matter what i try

i've reset the PMU multiple times, like i said i've forced the battery
to charge as much as it would let me, i've drained it to 0% after, and i can't get the powerbook to charge it at over 5mA

the only idea i have left is removing the dead PRAM battery and seeing
if that changes something, but opening up this powerbook seems like a
major pain in the ass qwq

Could be due to a faulty charger, DC-in board, or power connector.

Often the cable on the charger breaks unseeable inside the outer layer somewhere near one of the cable's ends due to constant plugging in and unplugging.

You say you've reset the PMU, but you could try resetting the SMC as well. (Reset the System Management Controller by disconnecting power and
battery, then holding the power button for 10 seconds. A faulty
charging circuit or SMC can prevent battery recognition.)

There are a few suggestions at places like

Apple
<https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3473971>

iFixIt

<https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/93194/Battery+good,+but+will+not+charge.>


CNet (althoug you've already tried the PMU reset)

<https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/troubleshooting-powerbook-g4-17-5-charging-problems-resetting-the-pmu/>




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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

In article <10lr5em$vvbk$[email protected]>,
Your Name <[email protected]> wrote:

On 2026-02-02 18:22:13 +0000, Asahi Lovehart said:

so, the battery in my powerbook g4 was completely dead when i got it,
i've been able to revive it and get it to actually hold a charge, but
the powerbook itself refuses to charge the battery at anything over 5mA

i know the battery itself works (and it is not the BMS limiting the charging speed) as i've been able to force it to charge by connecting a
12V supply to it, and it gets pretty good battery life, but the
powerbook itself just refuses to charge it at an actually reasonable
speed no matter what i try

i've reset the PMU multiple times, like i said i've forced the battery
to charge as much as it would let me, i've drained it to 0% after, and i can't get the powerbook to charge it at over 5mA

the only idea i have left is removing the dead PRAM battery and seeing
if that changes something, but opening up this powerbook seems like a
major pain in the ass qwq

Could be due to a faulty charger, DC-in board, or power connector.

Often the cable on the charger breaks unseeable inside the outer layer somewhere near one of the cable's ends due to constant plugging in and unplugging.

You say you've reset the PMU, but you could try resetting the SMC as well. (Reset the System Management Controller by disconnecting power and
battery, then holding the power button for 10 seconds. A faulty
charging circuit or SMC can prevent battery recognition.)

There are a few suggestions at places like

Apple
<https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3473971>

iFixIt

<https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/93194/Battery+good,+but+will+not+charge.>

CNet (althoug you've already tried the PMU reset)

<https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/troubleshooting-powerbook-g4-17-5-chargin
g-problems-resetting-the-pmu/>

oh i've already done the SMC reset too (multiple times :p), i do want to
point out that the battery *is* charging, just you know, very very very
very slowly

also i don't think it's the power adapter? because like if it was, the
battery would at least charge normally while the laptop is off (seeing
as it can run the laptop just fine) but it doesn't
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

On 2026-02-02 21:53:35 +0000, Asahi Lovehart said:

In article <10lr5em$vvbk$[email protected]>,
Your Name <[email protected]> wrote:

On 2026-02-02 18:22:13 +0000, Asahi Lovehart said:

so, the battery in my powerbook g4 was completely dead when i got it,
i've been able to revive it and get it to actually hold a charge, but
the powerbook itself refuses to charge the battery at anything over 5mA

i know the battery itself works (and it is not the BMS limiting the
charging speed) as i've been able to force it to charge by connecting a
12V supply to it, and it gets pretty good battery life, but the
powerbook itself just refuses to charge it at an actually reasonable
speed no matter what i try

i've reset the PMU multiple times, like i said i've forced the battery
to charge as much as it would let me, i've drained it to 0% after, and i >>> can't get the powerbook to charge it at over 5mA

the only idea i have left is removing the dead PRAM battery and seeing
if that changes something, but opening up this powerbook seems like a
major pain in the ass qwq

Could be due to a faulty charger, DC-in board, or power connector.

Often the cable on the charger breaks unseeable inside the outer layer
somewhere near one of the cable's ends due to constant plugging in and
unplugging.

You say you've reset the PMU, but you could try resetting the SMC as well. >> (Reset the System Management Controller by disconnecting power and
battery, then holding the power button for 10 seconds. A faulty
charging circuit or SMC can prevent battery recognition.)

There are a few suggestions at places like

Apple
<https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3473971>

iFixIt

<https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/93194/Battery+good,+but+will+not+charge.>



CNet (althoug you've already tried the PMU reset)

<https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/troubleshooting-powerbook-g4-17-5-chargin
g-problems-resetting-the-pmu/>

oh i've already done the SMC reset too (multiple times :p), i do want to point out that the battery *is* charging, just you know, very very very
very slowly

also i don't think it's the power adapter? because like if it was, the battery would at least charge normally while the laptop is off (seeing
as it can run the laptop just fine) but it doesn't

You've probably already done it, but you could try cleaning the battery connectors, although the ones inside the computer will be hard to get
to without opening up the case.

It could also be a slightly lose battery - many of these old removeable batteries tend to weaken the holder clips points when moved a lot. Not
really much you can do about that other than perhaps a bit of duck tape
to hold it more firmly in place.




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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

In article <[email protected]>,
Asahi Lovehart <[email protected]> wrote:

so, the battery in my powerbook g4 was completely dead when i got it,
i've been able to revive it and get it to actually hold a charge, but
the powerbook itself refuses to charge the battery at anything over 5mA

i know the battery itself works (and it is not the BMS limiting the
charging speed) as i've been able to force it to charge by connecting a
12V supply to it, and it gets pretty good battery life, but the
powerbook itself just refuses to charge it at an actually reasonable
speed no matter what i try

i've reset the PMU multiple times, like i said i've forced the battery
to charge as much as it would let me, i've drained it to 0% after, and i can't get the powerbook to charge it at over 5mA

the only idea i have left is removing the dead PRAM battery and seeing
if that changes something, but opening up this powerbook seems like a
major pain in the ass qwq

I had the exact same problem with a PowerBook back in the 2000s. Tried all the PRAM/PMU resets etc. to no avail. In the end, it turned out it was a faulty DC-in board. I replaced it using an ifixit guide and it charged again.

Of course, the question is where to get a good replacement today. Perhaps ask around, someone with a broken PowerBook might be willing to help.
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

On Feb 6, 2026 at 1:36:10 PM EST, ""Sebastian P."" <[email protected]> wrote:

In article <[email protected]>,
Asahi Lovehart <[email protected]> wrote:

so, the battery in my powerbook g4 was completely dead when i got it,
i've been able to revive it and get it to actually hold a charge, but
the powerbook itself refuses to charge the battery at anything over 5mA

i know the battery itself works (and it is not the BMS limiting the
charging speed) as i've been able to force it to charge by connecting a
12V supply to it, and it gets pretty good battery life, but the
powerbook itself just refuses to charge it at an actually reasonable
speed no matter what i try

i've reset the PMU multiple times, like i said i've forced the battery
to charge as much as it would let me, i've drained it to 0% after, and i
can't get the powerbook to charge it at over 5mA

the only idea i have left is removing the dead PRAM battery and seeing
if that changes something, but opening up this powerbook seems like a
major pain in the ass qwq

I had the exact same problem with a PowerBook back in the 2000s. Tried all the
PRAM/PMU resets etc. to no avail. In the end, it turned out it was a faulty DC-in board. I replaced it using an ifixit guide and it charged again.

Of course, the question is where to get a good replacement today. Perhaps ask around, someone with a broken PowerBook might be willing to help.

Had a 15" Aluminum Powerbook that the firewire 800 port died on three weeks before AppleCare was expiring. I sent it to Apple for repair. It came back
with the port repaired, but they had also replaced the internal superdrive (It failed their testing), a new backlit keyboard (The under the board membrane
had failed), and new screen as they found an unexceptable number of dead pixels. When I checked the list of work performed, I saw they had also
replaced the DC in-board. All that and they extended Apple Care for one year. That, plus replacements and repairs they did when I worked IT in the schools, sold me on Apple computers. Yes Dell and HP sent techs to perform the warranty replacement and work, but they fixed only that. Often times they sent a tech
to perform additional work or replace parts or few weeks or months after the first repair.

BTW, I found several DC in-boards in a search for my old Powerbook that are available.

YK
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

In article <10m6bu4$ofko$[email protected]>, You're kidding <[email protected]> wrote:

On Feb 6, 2026 at 1:36:10 PM EST, ""Sebastian P."" <[email protected]> wrote:

In article <[email protected]>,
Asahi Lovehart <[email protected]> wrote:

Had a 15" Aluminum Powerbook that the firewire 800 port died on three weeks before AppleCare was expiring. I sent it to Apple for repair. It came back with the port repaired, but they had also replaced the internal superdrive (It
failed their testing), a new backlit keyboard (The under the board membrane had failed), and new screen as they found an unexceptable number of dead pixels. When I checked the list of work performed, I saw they had also replaced the DC in-board. All that and they extended Apple Care for one year. That, plus replacements and repairs they did when I worked IT in the schools, sold me on Apple computers.

8 or so years ago, I bought several iMacs (with the curved backs, not
square edges, so still quite new computers at that time!) on eBay from a
design agency that was downsizing - got a great deal on them, sold as
seen, likely not working - with at least one described as "dead". Well,
two of them worked perfectly once new hard drives were put in them but the third was, indeed, dead.

I googled the symptoms and found that it was a common fault, for which
Apple had offered a repair programme for - the problem was, the repair programme had ended about a year prior, the machine had been out of
AppleCare warranty for at least 18 months, and I wasn't the original
owner. I thought I'd chance my arm and take it to the Genius Bar at my
local Apple Store anyway and see what happened - and they fixed the whole goddamn thing, no questions asked, totally free of charge! Full logic
board replacement, plus other parts they identified as requiring
replacement - when I went to collect it a week or so later, a docket of
works was included outlining the cost of parts and labour and a final
line-item added discounting it all to zero due to the repair programme
(which, like I say, had officially closed by the time I took the machine
there) - iirc it was around 1500 quid or more's worth!

Blew my mind, that did. Love Apple. :)
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