iBook Battery odd behavior

[sandbox]

As time went on the low battery warning message alerted me from 4% to 9% remaining, the latter most resently...up until about a week ago. All of sudden when the battery had drained to 30% the iBook would just die without warning. Today it happened at 50%. I could plug it in and when it rebooted I would get a warning that my clock was set for the last century but it instantly fixed itself. The battery gauge  would begin to recharge at 50%.

It's been almost 4 years on this battery, I leave it plugged in and sleeping all the time, except when I use it away from the base station. I've read all kinds of opinions on the matter, shut off the computer, don't leave it plugged in, use it on battery power once a week…blah, blah, blah…but 4 years on the same battery seems to be a good run, no? anywho, I found a replacement at Amazon for $69 + $5 shipping and that should resolve the anomaly.

http://www.amazon.com/Flex-Cable-Products-...2/ref=de_a_smtd

I don't pay to much attention to those reviews, I looked up the company and other sites that had hundreds of good reviews.
http://flexcableproducts.com/product_info.php?products_id=58

[chriskleeman]

Hi SB,

The only suggestion I'd make is that Apple recommends that you run the iBook on battery power until the machine puts itself to sleep once a month or so to "recalibrate" the battery... but sounds like your battery is way past that!

And I'd say 4 years is a pretty good run on any rechargeable battery!

So let us know how it goes, because my iBook will be needing a battery at some point in the next year or so...

And I've seen the same battery for around the same price in a few different sites, don't know if it's the same manufacturer.

Best,

Chris K

[Mayo]

Hmmm... The two user reviews at Amazon aren't very good... Although the battery/bad keyboard connection seems to be a dubious one at best!

OtherWorldComputing has slightly higher capacity Newertech batteries, but they are almost twice the cost...

Personal Experience: a G3 iBook battery that was always plugged-in lasted between 1-2 years. Our current G4 iBook battery has been cycled quite a bit and is still going strong according to coconutBattery. The battery is almost four years old...

coconutBattery provides a LOT of info about your battery. The free utility is a must-have for portable Mac users.

"coconutBattery isn't just a tool which shows you only the current charge of your battery - it also shows you the current maximum capacity of it in relation to the original capacity your battery had as it left the factory.
You also get information about the battery-loadcycles (how often did you fully load your battery), the current charger (coconutBattery even warns you if you plugged in a wrong charger for your Notebook) and last but not least information about the age of your Mac.

coconutBattery gives you all these information just in time because of it's live-feedback interface!

Of course you are able to save the current maximum capacity of your battery - with just one click! coconutBattery uses Apple's new and really powerful technology named "CoreData" to realize this comfortable saving option."

[sandbox]

Hey Chris, I posted this so some could see how the battery tells you it's dying. A new Battery has the juice to keep the warning at bay until the level is at 4% but as time goes on the warnings come sooner, 5-6-7-8-9%
So if you have a battery going south you may see this same ever growing trend to reserve more power. 9% warning of a battery with 50% life left is about right, compared to 4%  warning at 89% which is what my battery was when new according to Capacity Meter.

Mayo, CoconutBattery does not have software for Panther. I do use CoconutWifi though, and it works quite well.

[sandbox]

New battery arrived with the capacity of 4594 charge to the level of 53%.
My original battery had a capacity of 4099  out of a possible 4600

The  the battery was shipped instantly it seems, I ordered it on the 27th it arrived on the 29th in my mailbox. Outstanding!!

[Gregg]

QUOTE(sandbox @ Oct 27 2008, 03:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I found a replacement at Amazon for $69 + $5 shipping and that should resolve the anomaly.

QUOTE(sandbox @ Oct 30 2008, 06:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The battery was shipped instantly it seems, I ordered it on the 27th it arrived on the 29th in my mailbox. Outstanding!!

So you got a charge out of how much they charged you on your charge card, eh?
Not to mention the faster-than-a-lightning-bolt delivery...

[chriskleeman]

Good deal! Now let's hope that sucker lasts a good-long while!

Chris K

[sandbox]

chris, the iBook has been a pleasure to use since the battery was changed. The first run lasted 3 hours 44 minutes with Entourage, Firefox, Word and Wifi running open. I let the battery run all the way down to dead, as instructed and recharged it all the way back to 100%. Now i get 3 hours 56 minutes of run time on the battery with the same open apps.
I was lucky if I got 45 minutes before i switched. And the week before it was 1.5 hours. it happened suddenly, like a cell burned out, there was an odd mild odor that i couldn't quite identify either, even when plugged in. The battery, if it stands up to my usual use and last half as long, it's worth half the price of the same battery at Applestore costing twice as much.
I usually run with at least those 4 apps on at all times, 50% of the time GoLive, Preview and Photoshop are also open. I'll see how it does straining the memory chips and get back to ya.

[kimmer]

Informative thread, especially for this new MacBook Pro owner.

QUOTE(chriskleeman @ Oct 27 2008, 07:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The only suggestion I'd make is that Apple recommends that you run the iBook on battery power until the machine puts itself to sleep once a month or so to "recalibrate" the battery...

So I'm guessing we should do the same?

Is it a good idea to totally dump the battery and then charge it back up?

[sandbox]

QUOTE(kimmer @ Nov 3 2008, 03:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Informative thread, especially for this new MacBook Pro owner.

QUOTE(chriskleeman @ Oct 27 2008, 07:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The only suggestion I'd make is that Apple recommends that you run the iBook on battery power until the machine puts itself to sleep once a month or so to "recalibrate" the battery...

So I'm guessing we should do the same?

Is it a good idea to totally dump the battery and then charge it back up?

Yes it is periodically but especially when it's new.
I had an app in OS 8.6 that would do this for you but i haven't seen one for OSX panther
http://lowendmac.com/wares/amnesia.html

ops...I meant to add that the new Books have different batteries so the application or method may not apply.

[Xairbusdriver]

Unlike the old acid-based batteries, the new one (NiCad, Lithium, etc.) were favored specifically because they maintain their voltage on a more horizontal slowing curve. The flip side is that when they reach a certain point, hey 'fall off the cliff," leaving precious little time for the device to be shutdown, 'landed' or found! 'Back in the days' of my RC flying, it was easy to know when the NiCads were dead, if you were airborne. The controls froze where ever they were and that usually meant a poorly designed and trimmed and heavy 'deadly weapon!' Those batteries were often the biggest thing left of the machine on 'landing!' Assuming it didn't fly off to the next county!