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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Flashing Green LED on Power Adaptor

hgrich - Mar 6, 2008 - 10:22 pm

I have a 17" PowerBook G4 that has served well since 2004 except for this issue. The indicator on the power adaptor has begun flashing green (on and off) once the battery is fully charged. It also seems that the battery doesn't charge while the laptop is powered on and the adaptor is plugged in. I can hear a "click" while it's cycling.

I've experimented with our other PowerBook (the same except 6 mos newer and 10.3 OS instead of 10.5), spare batteries, spare adaptors. The problem persists with any combination of batteries and adaptors and this PB, and all the batteries and adaptors work fine with the other PB.

I have replaced the DC-IN card. Before I did that, the PB would charge with one adaptor but not the other. If I powered on the PB, the light on the adaptor would change to amber regardless of the battery status. After the swap, any adaptor works but now there's a new feature: when the PB is powered on with a fully-charged battery, the battery icon alternates between the "plugged in" icon and a solid icon while the green LED flashes, until the battery power goes below about 94%, then it alternates between the "plugged in" icon and the "lightning bolt" icon.

I've searched several message boards and found little mention of this issue and even fewer suggestions to fix it. (Most cite the guy who solved his problem by replacing the DC-IN/USB card.)

DeltaMac - Mar 6, 2008 - 11:08 pm

I would normally see this problem fixed by replacing the DC-in board. If you have already done that, you have multiple problems, and the next step, I think, would be replacing the battery connector. If that doesn't help, replace the DC-in board again, and the ribbon cable that carries the DC connection to the logic board. If that doesn't help, replace the logic board.
As you can see, this might take several attempts, and can get quite expensive. Take to an Apple service center for a quicker resolution. Ask about a 'flat-rate repair'. An Apple tech can explain what that means, but it is a method for fixing issues that would be a warranty failure, for laptops that are not in warranty. It'll cost $350-400
give it a try...
- Dale

hgrich - Mar 7, 2008 - 8:33 am

Thanks for your prompt & thoughtful response. I had sent an e-mail to my local Apple tech late last week and he hasn't responded yet. Maybe he's avoiding me 'cause I replaced the disc drive myself last time instead of paying his shop for labor.

I was thinking about replacing both cables, since PowerBook Medic has them for <$20 each. I'm not sure I want to invest in replacing the logic board, so I'm hoping to rule that out.

Could you confirm that these are the cables you're talking about?

Battery connector:
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/xcart1...cat=378&page=1

DC-In cable (picture's pretty fuzzy & I don't have the case open on my PB to compare right now):
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/xcart1...cat=378&page=1

I was also starting to wonder if I could swap hard drives between our two PowerBooks if the problem is with the logic board. Would there be an issue if they aren't on the same OS? The PB with the power issue was upgraded to Leopard and the other one wasn't.

Thanks for your help!
Heather G.

DeltaMac - Mar 8, 2008 - 6:38 pm

Those parts seem to be correct.
You should see no problem with swapping the hard drives.

I hope you know what you are attempting if you replace the battery connector. I think the logic board has to be removed to do that.

hgrich - Mar 10, 2008 - 7:54 am

Thanks so much for your advice. I'll let you know how this turns out.