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Macintosh Portable Battery Rebuild

Macintosh Portable Battery Rebuild Troubleshooting 34 posts Mar 2, 2013 — Nov 12, 2013
Basically what you want to do is use Nail Polish Remover, Set the battery upside down in a tubber ware and fill up about a 1/4 inch past the seam,

let it soak for about 4 hours... ( this i did not do ) i was impatient, finished with a dremel.

you can see the seam that i did let it soak some and it came right apart with the twist of a flat head.

Anyways I found a good replacement, It's 6v and 5.0 AH, Fits nicly!

19.99 at batteries plus.

Check pictures for exact model #

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Its pretty much complete, just letting it sit for a while to make sure the GOOP holding the +/- pads sets up before I try it.

I like it this way because, i can just peel off the tape, and install another battery once this one dies, this model of battery is very common.

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Mine pried apart much more nicely that that with a flat screwdriver. I also soldered and put exact match batteries in. Figured it would last at least a long while that way.

They had that updated composite cyclon replacement but they were 33 + TX , he said its a Z-deck item, I guess that means when they sell all the stock there is not going to be any more ordered, so this is the alternative I found.

good plan n your part. i didnt see any shortage on any battery site so i just bit the bullet and paid 35 dollars shipped. im sure ill get bored well before they die, even if they do the powerbook cords run it without battery.

That looks exactly like the "Exit Sign" batteries I've been looking into for a similar thing. I just wanted to make an external battery pack with the charging circuit and battery from the sign.

I don't see myself lugging the portable to a WiFi Cafe! How many AMP/Hrs is (was) the original battery pack spec?

6 volts 5 ah is what is marked. You dont need a battery at all if you use a powerbook 100 series cord. Its just grey instead of white. Same voltage as original adapter but higher amperage so it can run with battery removed.

couple things:

Personally I would not run it with out a battery, it will work yes, I feel there is still not enough wattage to really run it safely, especially the backlit version.

One example do not use a external disk drive, with out a battery installed, on disk eject it reboots the portable :(

i didnt see any shortage on any battery site
That might be the case, the manager of batteries plus was just talking about their in-store stock.

Trust me, I am all about OEM stock replacement. Might still be able to buy them online just as easy for a good long time.

This 6v 5ah battery I chose happen to work out quite well, and will remain in-stock

over all i am happy with the 20 dollar bill i spent on this battery project. I think its going to work out just fine!

Oh one thing, This battery I bought, It comes with a 12 month free replacement warranty :)

use Nail Polish Remover, Set the battery upside down in a tubber ware and fill up about a 1/4 inch past the seam,let it soak for about 4 hours
Acetone (nail polish remover) fumes are quite toxic - with this procedure you would want to make sure there is good ventilation.

Another way to crack the glue bond is to use a fine paintbrush or sponge applicator for the acetone (Goof-off is similar chemically) and keep running that around the seam area while prodding and prising away with a sharp but strong steel blade, loosening one corner first. Once you can lift one corner enough to get the blade in, just paint away at the next stuck part of the joint and follow it around as it loosens.

Rick

a fine paintbrush
Like, say, the one that comes with a bottle of nail polish remover ;)

Pointed water color brush: cheap set from any art supply store.

Touch up brush set that looks the same from a home improvement emporium.

ok update.

You want the 5.0 AH cyclone replacement for this.

They are not acutely 6.0VDC, They are 6.7 to 6.6 VDC

and this (.6 - .7V) is critical to make the hard drive work properly!

* theres no way around it * trust me.

( if you are interested in running the HD from battery )

This battery I have chosen sits fully charged at 6.4volts.

It will run Spin/boot from that hard drive, but only for about 10 to 15 minutes (max)

(Once freshly disconnected from the charger) Then as soon as the battery goes below 6.4Volts (witch does not take long)

the HD will stop and not spin back up, even if you are already booted into the os.

If you are booting the os with out a HD or are maybe using Single or Dual Floppy drives or external(tested), It will run for hours and hours no problem, on this alliterative (non cyclone) solution.

When mine comes ill test (after recapping so give it a week). Ill post how long cyclones last.

I am heading to batteries plus to get the cyclone 5.0 ah replacement.

One near my work, not my home.

I can open up an account with them, for my work and get 10% off he said.

He told me 27.99 (minus) 10% +tx

(2) - in stock

Only 2? that sucks, need 3. If its only 2 thats a horrible price as i paid just 30 online for a set of 3.

ok bought a battery pack,

they only had 2 packs left and i got one:-) gave me a good deal!

23.95 gave me commercial pricing… lol opened up an account for my work :)

this should solve my HD issues with my portable...

so 23.95 for a set of 3 batteries already connected?

yeah for sometime, do not know how long... They have been sold as one unit, a cyclone unit. not 3 separate 2.0v cells, like how the packs were built originally.

Screen shot 2013-03-11 at 11.09.31 PM.png

I saw those, I didn't get it because it didn't look as big as the 3 batteries put together. It is cyclone , just wasn't sure if it was good enough.

That's the same pack that's in my rebuild.

i must have something else wrong... this new battery is doing the same as the old one.

Basically the hard drive will only work if its plugged in.

if the HD does work off the battery it will only run for about 5 to 10 minutes max.

something aint right and its kinda pissin me off.

any ideas?

well in some google searches, looks like my issue might be a little more serious then i thought.

I guess the back-lit portable's have voltage regulator IC issues...

because it clearly states in other threads the hard drive should spin even at battery voltages of not less then 5.7 VDC.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13918

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12145

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=10569

I bought the three separate batteries and soldered them together. Exact fit batteries. When my backlit unit gets here next week ill recap it and tell you if I have the same issue. I know the hard drive failing and backlight decrease battery life but mine goes 16 hours use. (Without backlight).

wether your works ... or doesn't work isn't going to help me.

I already know this integrated cyclone replacement works great, because mcdermd has the same one. He's been running it for more then 5 years now in his portable.

Besides my original battery solution should work fine because the HD should spin all the way down to 5.7 volts, My issue is a onboard voltage regulation.

But right now i'm not tearing this thing down again. Its going to remain in its state until, I get some expert advice from someone that has dealt with this voltage regulation issue. So far in the Threads listed, is no known solution for the back lit version...

Batteries are engineered for specific duty cycles. If yours is indeed a replacement battery for an exit sign, it probably expects a low power continuous charge and then a low power drain requirement. The Portable battery is likely designed for a bit deeper discharge at startup and a higher power drain while under load.

That's a WAG based upon a rudimentary understanding of the differences between Marine and Automotive batteries, BTW.

He got a cyclone set in there trash.

Uni I was hoping that I can help you with the issue or if we have the same issue I can help find a common failure point.

And I appreciate that!

However, the hard drive staying on when running from battery issue (only with the back-lit portable) is the regulators, they have already talked about voltage regulator IC issues in the other threads I have listed above.

I hope yours does not have the same issue... because it sounds like there is no fix.

I guess if I converted mine to dual floppy, it would work out just fine. after all 6.0.8 boots up pretty fast from floppy.

He got a cyclone set in there trash.
OOPSIE, I missed that part of the thread. :-/

I don't meant to state the obvious, but the HDD will spin down for power-saving reasons after a period of time. Is it not spinning up again when you need it?

Yes your are correct.

in my situation, the HD will run for some odd minutes between 5 or 10 minutes power down and will try to power back up , but just will not spin up it will even make noises as its trying but, not successful.

however if i leave it plugged in, the hard drive spins up and down, with power management as intended.

Okay. I just wanted to be sure that we were all on the same page here.

mp.ls