Is this a fact, Marc? Unplugging my pram battery and letting the power may
solve all the problems? I thought that it might, but I've gotten more
dubious now the pram seems dead. I wonder, how does it cause a problem if
it's dead?
I will probably try opening it up and unplugging the pram anyway, before I
send it out. The topside disassemble is not so bad; it's getting the pram
out of there that's scary.
Ilene
Marc Sira wrote:
>> My big problem is a li-ion battery pack that won't recharge or run off
>> battery. Techie says the Li-on battery is ok, but my mother board needs
>> replacing because of a bad power manager. Next the pram battery dies off (I
>> get the 1904 date when I unplug the ac adapter PB for a while), so it looks
>> like the pram battery could be the cause. It seems to need replacing anyway
>> (I have a new one handy). I'd rather try replacing the faulty pram and
>> draining off the motherboard power until it's empty than consider a $395
>> repair from Apple.
>
> "Motherboard replacement" is a frequent catch-all term (in all sorts
> of computer repair) that's IMO used to shill people out of large sums
> of money - you couldn't charge $300+ US for a billable item titled
> "sweet f-all", after all (but that's certainly what was done to my
> 2400 on two separate occasions). The Power Manager does reside in a
> chip on the motherboard, but its function depends entirely on code
> that's downloaded into it by the OS, and internal state that it
> maintains. If you're having power problems, Power Manager issues are
> quite likely to be a corollary (though whether they're cause, effect,
> or both may be an open question).
>
> Try this: remove the top case of the 2400 and the RAM shield, then
> unplug the PRAM battery. Pull power from the 2400 for a half-hour or
> so, including the main battery. Then attach the AC adaptor and see
> whether things run normally. If they do, try inserting the main
> battery and see if it'll charge. If the computer can't run without
> any PRAM battery, putting in a new good one probably won't help
> either.
>
> Disassembling the 2400 only this far isn't too bad - just use a good
> screwdriver that's not too small so you don't strip the screws, and
> be wary of the keyboard and trackpad cables. You'll need to remove
> the two top and two back screws on the outside, then the six screws
> that hold down the keyboard, then about three that hold down the
> shield. It might be a good idea to put the shield back in place
> without the screws while running the computer open after unplugging
> the battery. Remember to watch for static on your body - if you don't
> have a proper static bracelet you can occasionally ground yourself on
> the AC adaptor shield, especially after you sit down and before
> starting.
>
> I believe that a lot of 2400 problems stem from poor connections
> between the three circuit boards. If the above procedure doesn't
> help, you might try *lightly* pushing down on the main board toward
> the centre right and top right, where it attaches to the CPU and I/O
> boards respectively. If the connectors are bad it won't help in the
> long run, but it may temporarily clear up an intermittent problem
> that's gradually getting worse and help to diagnose it.
>
>> this whole thing is getting me sick.
>
> Yeah, it's pretty easy to get worked up when you depend on the
> computer in some way and it requires repair - lots of people on this
> list have been there. Try not to take it too seriously - the worst
> that can happen is you give up on the computer completely and invest
> some money in something more reliable (which may not be another 2400,
> for obvious reasons).
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