Member Avatar for mah300274

Hi I have an apple powerbook G4 1.67GHz 15" Screen etc.... (a1138).

I bought it and am working on it (fix computers here and there)

I had to replace the bottom case because it had a few large dents (one was by the charging port so I had to buy a new bottom).

I also bought a new charger because it did not come with one.

I took everyting out (being careful, anti-static mat and etc....)
Replaced everything in the new case.

When I went to power it on, nothing.

I woke up, and had a dream that I forgot to screw down the down cable from the charging area. The dream was right so I screwed it down. Went to power it on, and head the speaker making a weird buzzing sound, so I unplugged it and it turned off. I returned it on and the speaker did it again but I could here it making booting sounds through the buzzing in the left side speaker. With my headlight I could see the screen barely and could move the mouse around and etc. I turned it off and messed with the cables to hope to brihten the screen but I went to turn it back on and nothing.

I also need to mention that the battery on the bottom (where if you press the button then it will show how much juice is left) does nothing when you press it. So I do not think it is charging. But with a volt meter I could see it is sending a current down to it. I also checked a few capacitors on the mobo and they are recieving power.

I looked online some said a hard reset would work, it did not. I tried resetting the ram, nothing. Another form said that a 45watt charger would not work after a while (what I bought) so I am wondering if I should buy the 65watt charger (on the fourm it was a mac support person or somthing that told him to try it).

Thanks for the help in advance!! :)

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Dani AI

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Good call by to check the power side first. The combination you describe (brief successful boot with a faint image and speaker buzz, then total silence; battery LED not responding) narrows the likely problem set to: power-delivery (adapter / DC-in / battery), display backlight or its inverter/cable, or a reassembly-related short/loose connector. Start with safe, low-effort checks and work toward the more invasive ones. (ifixit.com)

Quick, ordered troubleshooting you can run now:

  1. Safety first — disconnect AC and remove the main battery, then press-and-hold the power button 5–10s to drain residual charge before touching anything.
  2. Reset the Power Management (PMU) and then PRAM/NVRAM (use the model reset button or the keyboard reset combo Apple documents). Try powering with AC only (battery out) and again with battery only (AC unplugged) if possible. (support.apple.com)
  3. Verify the adapter and DC-in: read the adapter label, measure the adapter tip with a multimeter to confirm it outputs the labeled DC voltage, and check the DC-in connector and its cable to the logic board for damage or a loose pin. If the adapter LED/voltage is flaky, eliminate that first. (ifixit.com)
  4. Display check: if you can faintly see the desktop when shining a strong light on the panel, the backlight/inverter (or its cable) is suspect. Test with an external monitor — if external video is fine, focus on the inverter/LVDS connections. (ifixit.com)
  5. Because you replaced the bottom case, inspect for misplaced screws, standoffs, or pinched ribbon cables that can short or intermittently contact the board. Re-seat all internal display, battery, and DC-in connectors. (a.osmarks.net)

If the unit powers with a known-good adapter but dies when a screw is tightened, or the inverter swap fixes the faint-screen symptom, the path is clear (replace the offending part). If none of the above isolates the failure, the logic board (or the DC-in circuitry on it) is likely at fault and professional board-level diagnosis is the next step. (ifixit.com)

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Member Avatar for poppycock

Well I do think you should be using the 65W charger with the Powerbook G4. The 45W was for the ibook and whilst you can use the 65W with the ibook ( it takes what it needs) it doesn't work the other way around.

Member Avatar for mah300274

Ok, I just bought the 65watt charger. (When I bought the other charger it was just the first or second lsting I saw, I did not even think about the wattage).

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