I have a problem with my PowerBook 1400c.

Suddenly, as I came to do some writing in ClarisWorks I realised that it was running off the battery, even though the power adaptor was working, plugged in and switch on. I fiddled about with the power connector but it made no difference.

Luckily, the battery lasted long enough to allow me to type 1 and a half pages , but then it finally died. Now, because of the power issue, it won't switch on at all.

I have tried two different power supplies, both of which I know work. I have check the power connector on the motherboard and it seems firmly attached to the PCB. So all I can think of is that there could be something faulty on it.

It has switch on for a few seconds after the battery dies, but then went off again due to the battery not being charged enough. Now it won't come on at all like this as there is no charge left in the battery.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Cheers
Steve

You haven't mentioned the OS in use. 8.6? Certainly the best for a 1400, in grace, stability and speed, given 48-64MB of physical RAM. What you describe is conceivably a case for resetting the PMU, which gets confused and narky from time to time. This is also the technique for recovery from GLOD, which could be the next step in the PMU's forgetfulness. The (internal) secondary backup (not just a PRAM) battery, which has an essential part to play in preservation of the contents of RAM when the system battery gets terminally low in charge, may be undergoing conniptions. It typically does not recharge unless the system battery has near-full terminal voltage (10.5V upwards), not charge, so see whether you can get the system battery to near-full voltage, and then leave the battery charging for at least another day or so to take care of the backup battery.

de
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(60x) 13DT + 3PB + PTPro; (G3) 7DT/MT; (G4) 3T + PB. System 8.1 to OS 10.5.8

Hi equill.

I use OS 8.6 due to it's compatibility with the orinoco software. OS7 would be my prefered option for productivity though as it is faster. OS 8 is quite slow on the 1400.

I tried resetting the PMU and it made no difference. I also left it on charge for a day and the battery voltage didn't increase at all. It was about 10.26V and didn't change from that.

I can only assume that it is a hardware problem.

Definitely sounds like a hardware issue.

As for OS, There are Orinoco drivers for 7.6. I use 7.6 on my PowerBook 5300 with a WaveLAN card all the time.

I have decided I will replace the motherboard.

I know there are orinoco drivers for 7.6 as I have used them. I just prefer the 8.6 version, and 8.6 seems more compatible with my internet software.