From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

so, the battery in my powerbook g4 was completely dead when i got it,
i've been able to revive it and get it to actually hold a charge, but
the powerbook itself refuses to charge the battery at anything over 5mA

i know the battery itself works (and it is not the BMS limiting the
charging speed) as i've been able to force it to charge by connecting a
12V supply to it, and it gets pretty good battery life, but the
powerbook itself just refuses to charge it at an actually reasonable
speed no matter what i try

i've reset the PMU multiple times, like i said i've forced the battery
to charge as much as it would let me, i've drained it to 0% after, and i
can't get the powerbook to charge it at over 5mA

the only idea i have left is removing the dead PRAM battery and seeing
if that changes something, but opening up this powerbook seems like a
major pain in the ass qwq
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

In article <noreply-BCC621.19221302022026@news.eternal-september.org>,
Asahi Lovehart <noreply@example.com> wrote:

so, the battery in my powerbook g4 was completely dead when i got it,
i've been able to revive it and get it to actually hold a charge, but
the powerbook itself refuses to charge the battery at anything over 5mA

i know the battery itself works (and it is not the BMS limiting the
charging speed) as i've been able to force it to charge by connecting a
12V supply to it, and it gets pretty good battery life, but the
powerbook itself just refuses to charge it at an actually reasonable
speed no matter what i try

i've reset the PMU multiple times, like i said i've forced the battery
to charge as much as it would let me, i've drained it to 0% after, and i can't get the powerbook to charge it at over 5mA

the only idea i have left is removing the dead PRAM battery and seeing
if that changes something, but opening up this powerbook seems like a
major pain in the ass qwq

i forgot to say that it's an A1095 model (aluminum 2004 1.5GHz 15"
powerbook g4)
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

On 2026-02-02 18:22:13 +0000, Asahi Lovehart said:

so, the battery in my powerbook g4 was completely dead when i got it,
i've been able to revive it and get it to actually hold a charge, but
the powerbook itself refuses to charge the battery at anything over 5mA

i know the battery itself works (and it is not the BMS limiting the
charging speed) as i've been able to force it to charge by connecting a
12V supply to it, and it gets pretty good battery life, but the
powerbook itself just refuses to charge it at an actually reasonable
speed no matter what i try

i've reset the PMU multiple times, like i said i've forced the battery
to charge as much as it would let me, i've drained it to 0% after, and i can't get the powerbook to charge it at over 5mA

the only idea i have left is removing the dead PRAM battery and seeing
if that changes something, but opening up this powerbook seems like a
major pain in the ass qwq

Could be due to a faulty charger, DC-in board, or power connector.

Often the cable on the charger breaks unseeable inside the outer layer somewhere near one of the cable's ends due to constant plugging in and unplugging.

You say you've reset the PMU, but you could try resetting the SMC as well. (Reset the System Management Controller by disconnecting power and
battery, then holding the power button for 10 seconds. A faulty
charging circuit or SMC can prevent battery recognition.)

There are a few suggestions at places like

Apple
<https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3473971>

iFixIt

<https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/93194/Battery+good,+but+will+not+charge.>


CNet (althoug you've already tried the PMU reset)

<https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/troubleshooting-powerbook-g4-17-5-charging-problems-resetting-the-pmu/>




--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.vintage

In article <10lr5em$vvbk$1@dont-email.me>,
Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:

On 2026-02-02 18:22:13 +0000, Asahi Lovehart said:

so, the battery in my powerbook g4 was completely dead when i got it,
i've been able to revive it and get it to actually hold a charge, but
the powerbook itself refuses to charge the battery at anything over 5mA

i know the battery itself works (and it is not the BMS limiting the charging speed) as i've been able to force it to charge by connecting a
12V supply to it, and it gets pretty good battery life, but the
powerbook itself just refuses to charge it at an actually reasonable
speed no matter what i try

i've reset the PMU multiple times, like i said i've forced the battery
to charge as much as it would let me, i've drained it to 0% after, and i can't get the powerbook to charge it at over 5mA

the only idea i have left is removing the dead PRAM battery and seeing
if that changes something, but opening up this powerbook seems like a
major pain in the ass qwq

Could be due to a faulty charger, DC-in board, or power connector.

Often the cable on the charger breaks unseeable inside the outer layer somewhere near one of the cable's ends due to constant plugging in and unplugging.

You say you've reset the PMU, but you could try resetting the SMC as well. (Reset the System Management Controller by disconnecting power and
battery, then holding the power button for 10 seconds. A faulty
charging circuit or SMC can prevent battery recognition.)

There are a few suggestions at places like

Apple
<https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3473971>

iFixIt

<https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/93194/Battery+good,+but+will+not+charge.>

CNet (althoug you've already tried the PMU reset)

<https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/troubleshooting-powerbook-g4-17-5-chargin
g-problems-resetting-the-pmu/>

oh i've already done the SMC reset too (multiple times :p), i do want to
point out that the battery *is* charging, just you know, very very very
very slowly

also i don't think it's the power adapter? because like if it was, the
battery would at least charge normally while the laptop is off (seeing
as it can run the laptop just fine) but it doesn't
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2