Ask Jacob
Powerbook G4 Battery Problem
Monday, February 9, 2009 / Hardware
Jacob,
I have a strange issue with the power switch on my G4. I power down after work each day. The next morning, when I push the power button, nothing happens unless I do the following: Unplug the power cord from the back of the machine. I immediately plug it back in, press the power button, and then it powers on. This has been happening for about 90 days and the fix always works. What could be making this happen? Bad power supply?
Thanks,
Dave
In my experience that is probably a dead or low voltage PRAM battery issue. You
can test the battery on a Volt Meter to see if it is putting out 3.6 volts, if not you should replace it. If you replace the PowerPC PRAM battery on the logic board with a new one, I bet it will return to normal operation.
After replacing the Apple computers battery you should also reset the PMU on your Power Mac to make sure no corrupt settings are saved from your failed PRAM battery.
Hope that helps,
Jacob
