I recently purchased a Powerbook G3 266 Wallstreet from ebay, it will run fine from the mains power but will not charge the batteries. I have bought a new battery which was supplied with low charge that has managed to power the computer with the mains power unplugged - but it won't charge the battery when plugged back in. There is no charging symbol at the top of the screen but the battery is recognised.

When I first received the Powerbook it had lost its date and time settings but the computer seems to have managed to recharge the PRAM battery because it now keeps time unless left for days not plugged in.

I have replaced the PMU board with a used board pulled from another Powerbook - whether its faulty as well I don't know.

What will fix this?
PRAM Battery?
Sound/AC Input Board?
Power Charger Battery Board?

Any help much appreciated.

oh ... Do you ship to the United Kingdom, cos I live in good old Blighty.

Have a look at this topic on the forum - it may help.

http://powerbookmedic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=502

I am in the UK if it helps.

Gareth

My son had the PBook kicked while at school, and then the only way it would work was if it was plugged in. Battery would show 4 lights, but discharge quicker than 15 seconds when unplugged.

I took a deep breath, and followed an Apple Take apart manual (I can send you the pdf if needed), which was a bit tricky, but not impossible.
I didn't know about Powerbookmedic.com, so got my parts from Powerbookfixit.
WallStreet Power & Charge Card - SKU PBF0308 - $24.95
WallStreet PMU Board- SKU- PBF0338 - $29.95
I also took the opportunity to replace the PRAM Battery, and upgrade the hard drive to a 160Gb at the same time (Hey - I'm not going back in there for a while!)

Anyway, as it happens, I replaced the above components, and all now works fantastic.

The only regret I have is that I didn't take it apart before buying the parts, as where the Charge card connects near the front of the Wallstreet, there is a pin connector, and this was loose!

I think that maybe I could have gotten away with pushing the board back onto the pins and all would have been ok. However, I did replace the parts as I had bought them.

Like I say, all now working well. Using OSX 10.2.8 and the 160 Gb drive is quiet.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Regards

Thanks for your reply, I've already replaced the PMU which didn't fix the problem so I will replace the PRAM battery - which has expired - the date and time keeps getting reset. I've read this has fixed some users powerbooks with the same battery problem.

I might also order a new charge card that sits between the two batteries.

I've had the PBook open and the power board at the back of the computer seems fine, but the plug was very slightly loose so I resoldered the connectors at the side.

Its fixed, for others with the same problem i will mention what fixed the battery not charging symptom on my Wallstreet.

new PRAM battery - didn't fix
replaced PMU - didn't fix
new battery - didn't fix

replaced the battery charger board and power/sound card - that fixed it.