Bruce Johnson at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I have a 5300 with weird battery behavior (or maybe just battery gauge > behavior) > > The battery takes a charge, and when I unplug it the battery guage in > the control strip indicates 2.5 hours of time remaining, more or less. > > But I can only run it for a little while (less than 1/2 hour) before it > suddenly announces that battery power is low and it's going to sleep to > save my memory, whereupon it shuts down. > > When this happens, the little battery icon is more than 3/4's red, and > the battery guage still indicates ~ 2 hours remaining. > > I've run battery recondition once...is this like 500 series batteries > where you have to thrash them soundly and repeatedly before they get the > idea?
Does this ever sound familiar: my "new" (NOS) 5300 battery started behaving like that, before I'd had it two months. The indicators only had the vaguest relation to the actual charge remaining on the battery, and at best there was less than an hour's work to be gotten out of it. Battery Recondition didn't help enough to matter. The problem was (thanks to RP Bell for explaining it all very succinctly and accurately) that the chemicals in the old "new" battery had exhausted themselves sitting on the shelf all those years, and the answer was to get the battery rebuilt. It nows lasts for *at least* two hours, and the time-remaining indicators can be trusted, which is reassuring. An outfit called Primecell (www.primecell.com) did the job, for $54 including shipping, with about a ten day turnaround. That's at least twice the cost of another "new" battery, but well worth it. Best, Victoria -- Pacem in terris: Viva la France! -- 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
