Success! Fixed a power problem...

[Jamie Pruden]

Hi all,

Just thought I'd pass on some info on a little repair I just completed. 
Thanks are in order for the mac2400 site and Ivan Drucker for his 
take-apart instructions. Went like a charm on *both* machines

History:
I bought a 2400 a few months back from someone on the LEM Swap list. I 
was an original 2400 owner and loved the form factor... my current job 
requires that I have something that can do SCSI disk mode on occasion, 
so I made the jump back. Once I got it, I booted it and all was well... 
at least when running off of the battery.

I got the flashing screen thing going once I hooked up the power supply 
to recharge the machine, so I figured that I was sunk since I really 
didn't want to pop for a new power board or a repair trip to DT&T (I 
live pretty close... I could drop it off if necessary.)

After checking out the machine a little more closely, I found that the 
backup battery was toast, but the screen was clear and I was able to 
get my WaveLan card going with little difficulty using a Farallon 
ethernet PC card to get it hooked up to the internet.

I wanted a second battery and more ram for it, so I jumped at the 
opportunity to purchase a GLODed 2400 with 80 MB of RAM for cheap.

Today, I tore down the GLODed machine. I've been working on portables 
for years (LOTS of duos,) so I found that it wasn't nearly as scary as 
many make it out to be. I would tell anyone who wants to try it that it 
is *very* important to do the tape and label thing while disassembling 
the unit, however. The GLODed machine had incorrect screws all over the 
place based on my disassembly of my other machine. I removed the backup 
battery (which had been replaced) and the RAM from the GLODed machine 
and started taking my other machine apart.

After getting it all taken apart, I noticed that the contacts on the 
back of the power connector on the power board were funky... it looked 
like someone had soldered it without knowing how to solder. The joint 
was not shiny at all and appeared to be a blob on top of the connector. 
I used my desoldering iron to suck off all of the old solder and 
resoldered. Put it all back together and it charges!!!

Wooooo Hooooooo!

I'm going to reassemble the GLODed 2400 to see if I can get it going as 
well. With the PRAM battery removed, I'm sure that I can get the power 
manager reset... ;)

Three things to pass on:

1. It's FAR easier to reassemble the 2400 if you break off the back 
last inch of the divider between the logic board compartment and the 
battery compartment. Grab it with a pair of pliers, break it loose from 
the bottom of the case and wiggle it back and forth until it breaks 
off. Don't break it off too far, though...

2. There are two ribbon connectors for the keyboard. The right hand one 
goes UNDER the little clippy thing to attach, the left hand one goes 
OVER the clippy thing to attach. I neglected to see how it came apart 
and wasted almost 5 minutes trying to get the left one to go under the 
clippy thing. Most of the other machines I've worked on had the ribbon 
connector under the clippy. ;)

3. If you're trying to change the PRAM battery, make sure you note the 
routing of the cable... I didn't and it took me a couple of tries to 
get it right.

Well, I guess that's it for now.

smiles,
Jamie