[Ti] TiBook/400 Battery Burned Out :(

[Kynan Shook]

I saw this once at the AASP I work for, also on a PBG4.  From what I 
could tell, a large crumb of something had made its way into the 
battery bay, and then shorted out the contacts.  I'm reasonably sure 
there's a fuse in the battery to keep from starting a fire, so 
afterwards the battery was no longer recognized.  Replacing the battery 
fixed it.

The extra heat you noticed is probably just normal, though I'd say it's 
more likely caused by something besides the missing battery.  Also, 
there is a rechargeable internal battery that stores the date and time, 
though if your computer is unplugged a lot with no main battery, it 
might not have had a chance to recharge for a while.  To recharge it, 
leave the computer plugged in (in use or not) for 48 hours.  The 
official test to see if it's working or not is to then power off the 
computer, unplug it, and remove the battery for 10 minutes.  If the 
date has not reset after 10 minutes, the battery is judged to be OK.

Before you put in your other battery, check the contacts on the 
computer, and make sure they're clean.  Remove any debris from the 
battery bay.  You might also remove the keyboard and check the battery 
connector on the logic board and make sure that there's nothing 
abnormal there, such as burn marks.  If the burned part was just at the 
battery connector end, it was probably a piece of debris that got in 
there, and the battery is the only damaged part


Kynan Shook
kshook at mac.com
http://homepage.mac.com/kshook/index.html.

"Leo D. Venezuela" <levenezu at myrealbox.com> writes:
> Just wanted to ask the forum if anyone's experienced a burned out
> battery on a TiBook.
>
> Last night, I had some difficulty in waking up my PB from sleep. It
> took me quite a while to finally get it up and running (by holding on
> to the power key for some time) with the AC adapter attached. It
> restarted. I thought it was just some temporary glitch. But after
> that, while working away on my TiBook, I decided to move locations, I
> pulled the AC adapter plugged and the notebook just died. Sensing
> that something was wrong with the battery, I removed it. Near the
> contacts portion of the battery, I noticed black burn marks on the
> plastic portion of the battery around the contacts. It also had a
> burned out odor. Sh#t! My battery just got deep-fried! :(
>
> Some observations and questions:
>
> 1. I can now run the PB only when it's attached to the AC adapter.
> What could've caused the battery to burn out? Was it a short circuit?
> What could've caused it? I remember holding it exposed (not in a bag
> or case) while walking in a light drizzle for less than five minutes
> (office to parking lot) last week. Could this be the culprit? If so,
> why wasn't the effect immediate?
> 2. I also notice that the left front (where the AC adapter is plugged
> to the PB) and center front under sections of the notebook get
> unusually hot. Is it just me or is the extra heat a symptom of
> running the TiBook without a battery? Or does it mean that there's
> something wrong with my computer other than the battery? Other than
> the resetting date and time, I haven't found anything wrong with it
> when it's in operation (late last night and the whole day today).
> 2. The date and time reset to 1970 even when I properly shut down the
> machine before unplugging the AC adapter. Doesn't the TiBook have
> some internal battery that will keep the time and date settings
> current even without the battery attached?
>
> Luckily, I have an extra battery with me that I can easily put into
> the TiBook but I'm afraid that there might be something wrong with
> the machine and installing it might again fry it.
>
> Advice and inputs from a list member who has experienced this similar
> situation would be highly appreciated.