Greetings all: problem: I got a new old 5300c, and it looks like the battery is kaput, but it could also be the power board, but I don't know for sure. The battery won't charge (well, it'll charge up to about 10V), but I read that the 5300's batteries last quite a long time, so that's why I suspect the power board. So I need to find out if it's the battery or the power board... now I KNOW the simple answer is "put the battery in a known good 5300 and see if it charges" or "put a known good battery in the 5300c and see if it charges" but at the moment, I have neither.
So, can someone tell me if the voltage readings I'm getting jive with their good, working 5300? As I mentioned, the battery charges up to about 10V if I leave it plugged in overnight (naturally, I've zapped the PRAM, changed the PRAM battery, etc. etc. countless times.) I can't boot the 5300 off the battery, I get half of the startup chime and then nothing (HD doesn't spin up, backlight doesn't come on, nada.) I thought maybe the battery wasn't discharging completely enough for a recharge, so I rigged up some wires and hooked up the battery to a radio until it read 4V - no question, complete discharge. Now when I put it back into the computer, it quickly goes up to 9V after 30 seconds or so, then hits about 10.4V and stays this way until it's back to its 10V level (I'm using the utility My Battery to check voltages while charging.) If you're still reading, I know what you're thinking, the battery is shot. OK, but what voltages should I be getting from the power board when the battery is charging? There are 5 pins that press up against the battery, top down (notebook sitting in usual screen up position) they are: A (goes to battery - terminal) B C (connects to A) D E (goes to battery + terminal) With no battery in the machine and the black lead of the voltmeter on A, I get these readings when moving the red lead of the voltmeter to points B, D, and E: B=5V, D=4.3V, E=1.6V. When I put the battery in and let My Battery stabilize, I get these readings: B=4.9V, D=2.9V, E=9.8V. Can anyone adventurous enough tell me if these readings are in the correct range? Given the info above, can anyone also deduce with a large amount of certainty that (a) power board is bad, or (b) battery is bad, or (c) both? _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx -- PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PowerBooks list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/powerbooks.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powerbooks%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
