From what I can surmise from this discossion about Li-Ion batteries, there are the cells, which can have between 0-100% charge, and then there is the circuitry that allows something like a 10-100% charge. (I'm just guessing that 10% might be the safe bottom figure here, as TomLee mentioned that Li-Ion cells should never be fully discharged.)
So if the circuitry thinks that the battery is at 10%, it will turn off the Powerbook -- regardless of the actual charge left in the cells. If you plug in the 'book, then the battery will begin to charge, but probably stop when the cell charge reaches 100% or when the temp sensor tells it to stop.
If you open the battery and manually discharge the batteries with a motor (not all the way, mind you), then the cell charge will more closely match what the circuitry thinks it is at. Then your Powerbook should be able to full charge the battery withouth stopping prematurely. I don't think that this procedure "resets" anything -- just that it puts the cells and circuitry on the same page.
My Wallstreet has a similar problem. Putting the battery in the Powerbook, it will charge for about 5-10 seconds, then show a full 100% charge. If I unplug the power adapter, the Powerbook will immediately shut off. Removing the battery and pressing the button in it shows a single flashing LED. I could have sworn that this was the better of my two Wallstreet batteries, and now it is useless. Perhaps I could do a manual disharge to revive it. Any thoughts?
So if the circuitry thinks that the battery is at 10%, it will turn off the Powerbook -- regardless of the actual charge left in the cells. If you plug in the 'book, then the battery will begin to charge, but probably stop when the cell charge reaches 100% or when the temp sensor tells it to stop.
If you open the battery and manually discharge the batteries with a motor (not all the way, mind you), then the cell charge will more closely match what the circuitry thinks it is at. Then your Powerbook should be able to full charge the battery withouth stopping prematurely. I don't think that this procedure "resets" anything -- just that it puts the cells and circuitry on the same page.
My Wallstreet has a similar problem. Putting the battery in the Powerbook, it will charge for about 5-10 seconds, then show a full 100% charge. If I unplug the power adapter, the Powerbook will immediately shut off. Removing the battery and pressing the button in it shows a single flashing LED. I could have sworn that this was the better of my two Wallstreet batteries, and now it is useless. Perhaps I could do a manual disharge to revive it. Any thoughts?