[AUUG-Talk]: Re: [BUGA] Replacing/repairing Apple Powerbook power supply?

[Andrew Rutherford]

At 12:48 PM +1030 16/1/06, Greg 'groggy' Lehey wrote:

>  > mmm that sounds like a cracked solder joint.  They can do this, work
>>  fine when the unit is cold but as things warm up the joint goes open
>>  circuit making the unit misbehave.
>
>One possibility.  I think the goo points in a different direction.

Agreed. Do the bar-fridge test - stick the unit in a small fridge, 
run cables through the door, and see what difference that makes to 
the run-time. I had a wireless unit once in a remote area (no easy 
replacement) with a dry joint that caused the unit to lose power 
after it had been going for around 20 minutes, and sticking in a 
bar-fridge with cables running through the closed door was sufficient 
to make it keep going.

If it's a heat issue, the life should be significantly affected. If 
it's an issue with the electrolyte suffering from ion migration while 
current is applied, the life will probably be marginally extended.