[iBook] iBook G4 sudden loss of battery capacity?

[Michael Elliott]

My mid-2005 iBook G4 has suffered what I THINK is a precipitous loss  
of battery charging capacity.  At this point it will only show about  
20 minutes of charge in the battery menu item, and this is confirmed  
by real-world usage.  Also, the lights on the back of the battery  
only light up one light with what should be a full charge. During  
charging, that one light blinks as they always do, but I think that  
with a "good" battery, it usually blinks all of them during  
charging?  (Now I can't remember).

I'm fairly certain that I was gettin reasonable charges (over an  
hour) before this started a couple of weeks ago.

No injuries to the iBook, overheating, etc. noted.  But around the  
time that this started, I noticed full power loss while I was using  
the iBook on battery power, with no shutdown warnings or anything to  
suggest that there was about to be a problem.

I have tried zapping the PRAM, disconnecting the power adapter for  
extended periods (clearly the adapter works, since it's able to  
charge the battery partially), and resetting the power managment unit  
by holding down shift-control-option-power, letting go, then waiting  
5 seconds and then starting the computer. No dice.

Any suggestions before I buy a new battery? Now I REALLY wish I had a  
battery that falls in the recall serial number range!

Thanks :-)

Michael