HELP! Is There Something Wrong with My Charger/Power Adapter???

Amie · #1 July 13th, 2008, 07:12 PM

I always charge my laptop (iBook G4) overnight (when needed) and unplug it in the morning to use throughout the day. I plugged it in last night and it was charging all night and all day today. I went to unplug it around 5 p.m. this evening and I noticed that the charger light was still amber - not green. I opened my laptop to check the battery and it was, in fact, charged (actually it said 99% charged, though I have no idea why, as it was plugged in more than 12 hours). Then I tested the button on the battery outside (on the bottom of my laptop) and I got all green lights.

I'm using the original charger that my iBook came with (it's a 2004 model). My battery is brand new. Bought it about two months ago from OWC (highly recommended by Apple enthusiasts). I've been using my new battery for a couple months now and this is the first time I've had this problem with the light not changing from amber to green on the charger, so I don't think it's the battery. Do I need to buy a new charger soon?

Please help ASAP, as I will order one online right away, if that's what's needed. I do NOT want to get stuck without a charger!

Thanks so much!

DeltaMac · #2 July 13th, 2008, 07:34 PM

I don't think you are having a problem with the adapter.
Apple does recommend occasionally running the calibration procedure, and that might allow your battery to complete a full charge... although 99% is pretty close to fully charged, after all!
You can try the calibration procedure from this Apple tech article.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

You can check the current condition of your battery by opening your System Profiler, and choosing the Power tab.
You should see a charge CYCLES of less than 300
You should see a full charge CAPACITY of around 4000 to 4500 for a fairly new battery, or on an iBook battery, 3 or 4 years old, you might see just around 2,000 maH or less, which means your battery charge doesn't last very long, 1 or 2 hours.

Amie · #3 July 13th, 2008, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeltaMac

I don't think you are having a problem with the adapter.
Apple does recommend occasionally running the calibration procedure, and that might allow your battery to complete a full charge... although 99% is pretty close to fully charged, after all!
You can try the calibration procedure from this Apple tech article.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

You can check the current condition of your battery by opening your System Profiler, and choosing the Power tab.
You should see a charge CYCLES of less than 300
You should see a full charge CAPACITY of around 4000 to 4500 for a fairly new battery, or on an iBook battery, 3 or 4 years old, you might see just around 2,000 maH or less, which means your battery charge doesn't last very long, 1 or 2 hours.

I regularly calibrate my battery, so it's not that, I'm sure.

I opened System Profiler and I don't have a Power Tab. But, like I said, I'm positive the issue is not my battery for two reasons: 1) the battery is brand new; and 2) I calibrate it regularly.

I'm thinking it's gotta be the charger.

Anyone else?...

EDIT: In doing some research on the Web, I've gathered that the reason I don't have a Power/Battery tab in System Profiler is because I don't have an Apple battery. As I mentioned in my original post, I just bought this battery (brand new) from OWC. My original Apple battery finally died, so I had to buy a new one.

Can someone please help me with this? Anyone know what's causing this?

DeltaMac · #4 July 13th, 2008, 09:21 PM

A third-party battery may or may not match up with the charging circuitry, so you might not see correct values, even though the battery and the charging circuitry is perfectly OK.
I don't think you are having a serious issue that will affect your battery usage.
Of course, OWC has good tech support, so you might call them with your questions, eh?

10.4 or 10.5 will always have a power tab in the System Profiler, as it will display power settings other than the battery.
Battery numbers with a non-Apple battery might not display in an expected layout, but you should see something about the battery, in any case.

ElDiabloConCaca · #5 July 13th, 2008, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amie

...and 2) I calibrate it regularly.

You said you've only had the battery for a couple of months, yet you calibrate it regularly? A few month's worth of use would barely warrant one calibration procedure, so what is "regularly?" If you've calibrated it more than once or twice in this time period, then you're calibrating it too much.

Sometimes batteries get stuck at 99%. My MacBook exhibits the same thing from time to time; for example, when I use my battery down to only about 90% and then put it back on the charger -- then the charger stays amber for an extended amount of time. Even though the charger is amber, though, the power supply isn't even warm to the touch indicating that no charging is taking place.

I would chalk it up to a minor glitch, and would only start worrying if it happened consistently. However, having this happen only once shouldn't be any cause for concern -- I would simply wait, and see if it happens on a regular basis.

Satcomer · #6 July 14th, 2008, 02:13 AM

To fix the is simple, reset the SMU. To do this power off the iBook and take it off the charger. Flip the iBook over and take out the battery. Wait three minutes and then put the battery back in, put the charger back on and startup the iBook. Hopefully this will fix the anomaly (you seem to have a look of those will your OLD iBook

).

Amie · #7 July 14th, 2008, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeltaMac

A third-party battery may or may not match up with the charging circuitry, so you might not see correct values, even though the battery and the charging circuitry is perfectly OK.
I don't think you are having a serious issue that will affect your battery usage.
Of course, OWC has good tech support, so you might call them with your questions, eh?

10.4 or 10.5 will always have a power tab in the System Profiler, as it will display power settings other than the battery.
Battery numbers with a non-Apple battery might not display in an expected layout, but you should see something about the battery, in any case.

Ah, that explains it: I'm running 10.3.9 (Panther).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElDiabloConCaca

You said you've only had the battery for a couple of months, yet you calibrate it regularly? A few month's worth of use would barely warrant one calibration procedure, so what is "regularly?" If you've calibrated it more than once or twice in this time period, then you're calibrating it too much.

Calibration is recommended once a month. I've had my new battery for about three months. I've calibrated about it three times.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satcomer

To fix the is simple, reset the SMU. To do this power off the iBook and take it off the charger. Flip the iBook over and take out the battery. Wait three minutes and then put the battery back in, put the charger back on and startup the iBook. Hopefully this will fix the anomaly (you seem to have a look of those will your OLD iBook ).

Never heard of that one before. Thanks! And what the heck are you talking about - anomalies with my OLD iBook? There's nothing wrong with my iBook (chargers don't last forever), and it runs sweet as pie!

Amie · #8 July 15th, 2008, 08:25 PM

Got the green light this morning! Apparently, it just needed to be calibrated - again. OWC says that a new battery might have to go through five cycles of calibration before it "acts normal." Anyway, after it went to sleep last night, I plugged it in and fully charged it and the light was green this morning. Good news!

Thanks again for your replies.