LC III refuses to start up :(

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2011, June 4 - 6:30pm

dougal

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Joined: 2011 May 20

LC III refuses to start up :(

Ok, so basically when i bought my LC III from a carboot sale and took it home and tried it, straight away it would do the chime and start booting up, no problems.

Then after a while it would need about 30 seconds - 1 minute to chime and start up.

About a week later it would need 5 mins. And after that 10 mins +

Now its been switched on for 1.5 hours and still refuses to chime and start up.

I dont get it because when i bought it it looked unused for years, it was filthy etc.. Why now that it is in use its been declining and now to the point where it wont even chime or boot?

I tried re-seating the ram and also the v-ram. I also tried pushing down the roms and the co-processor and also tried without the v-ram.

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2011, June 4 - 7:10pm

24bit

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Joined: 2010 Nov 19

What about the P-RAM battery? Did you exchange it already?
Rebuild the desktop file, that may help. TechTool was pretty good at fixing things.
http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/techtool
Boot Norton Utilities from your CD-ROM and let DiskDoctor and SpeedDisk do their jobs.
http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/norton-utilities-353-0

2011, June 5 - 6:31am

(Reply to #2) #3

dougal

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Joined: 2011 May 20

I didnt change the pram battery yet. Would just removing it (for now) help?

I cant rebuild the desktop because it won't even chime for me.

2011, June 5 - 7:02am

(Reply to #3) #4

MikeTomTom

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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

LCIII's and some other 68k Macs are notoriously difficult to boot up if the PRAM battery is dead. Removing would not help, if your problem is battery related. Replace it if the voltage has dropped below 3 volts (should be 3.6 preferably).

2011, June 5 - 10:23am

24bit

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Joined: 2010 Nov 19

I usually order my stuff here:
http://www.reichelt.de/Lithium-Batterien/TEKCELL-AA02/index.html?;ACTION...
but you have to shop for € 10,- as a minimum.

2011, June 5 - 12:07pm

(Reply to #5) #6

dougal

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Joined: 2011 May 20

Ok will try that.. Lol € 10 is how much i paid for the LC III

2011, June 6 - 4:50am

(Reply to #6) #7

MikeTomTom

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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@dougal: If you're in the US you can find a replacement battery for approx. $7 shipped. See "The Upgrade Box" on this Low End Mac page.

2011, June 5 - 2:09pm

Protocol 7

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Joined: 2010 Aug 7

I don't know if a dead battery would necessarily stop a LC III from starting up, but I had mine running fine with no battery at all.

I'd be more inclined to look at the capacitors on the logic board or psu. My Classic II had that occasional wait before chiming and then sometimes vertical stripes. Eventually it wouldn't go any further. I washed the board in distilled water, left it to dry for a couple of days and it boots fine now. I don't know how much time a logic board wash will buy you before you have to replace the capacitors, but it's one thing to consider.

2011, June 5 - 3:37pm

24bit

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Joined: 2010 Nov 19

You could try to connect a external 4,5V power source to your battery´s connectors on the board.
If that would not improve things, you might save the money for the Li Battery.
If your logic board is really filthy, washing it might help.
If ELCO´s start leaking, the corrosive electolytics will ruin the board sooner or later and the caps wont work as specified.

2011, June 5 - 7:52pm

#10

bertyboy

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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

The batteries are just a few $ each if you get them from the Stotes, OWC (macsales.com) is where I get mine. Be prepared to pay for postage, so it only gets cheap if you buy 6 or so, handy if you have a small collection of pre-Intel Macs. Can't remember how many I bought last time, I only have one left - handy if one of the NZ members needs it in a hurry I suppose.

2011, June 7 - 10:15am

(Reply to #9) #11

MikeTomTom

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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@bertyboy: When I was last in NZ I had to find a replacement 3.6v battery. I found it quite a challenge finding one locally. I then discovered Jaycar Electronics stocks and sells them in bulk. NZ$14.50 for a single item, which isn't too bad considering currency conversion to Sterling or even an Aussie $. Good if you have a Jaycar store handy and you're in a hurry

Catalog # sb1770 on the jaycar.co.nz site

2011, June 7 - 6:41pm

#12

bertyboy

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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

MikeTomTom, thanks for that, added to my favourites. There's about 5 in Auckland, including one in Newmarket, which I'll pass everyday to and from the office. For a cosmopolitain shopping area, it has a lot of Mac friendly shops, it also has the Apple shop.
All my Macs have new batteries, so I wasn't planning on needing any more, but I found myself searching through trademe and trade & exchange last night looking for a B&W G3 tower (none), a 20in Cinema Display ($20), an old AppleTV (more than the new one, new), and a selction of early G4 desktops (too expensive), so I may need more soon.

2011, June 8 - 2:37am

(Reply to #12) #13

MikeTomTom

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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

@bertyboy: Ah Newmarket, hub of the (Auckland) universe - My favourite strip to drive through at 5 PM on a week night

There is one G3 tower on trademe, no bids, start price $30 and ending this Friday (its located in Auckland too). - Listing # 382322771

I want one of these myself. Love the look of them and haven't owned one as yet. I went from beige G3 to a G4 tower.

2011, June 8 - 6:29am

#14

dougal

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Joined: 2011 May 20

I dont think its the battery. I tried connecting a 4.5 volt power supply directly to the battery holder and it didnt make any difference.

What i noticed is that the LC III after a while is making those sounds through the spreaker just before the chime comes in, kind of like 2 or 3 clicks/sounds and then usually the chime right after but its not chiming.

2011, June 8 - 8:53am

#15

bertyboy

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Joined: 2009 Jun 14

doh, how did i miss it last night. but $30 is too much. I bought one in the Uk for £0.99 ($2) but sold it before I left. Shame.

LCIII: clicks - a dead hard disk ? but that's more like a rattle. the clicks used to mean a dead power supply, but if you're getting power anywhere it's not that.

2011, June 8 - 9:14am

(Reply to #15) #16

dougal

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Joined: 2011 May 20

Not hard drive or power supply clicks. They come from the speaker and they always did it just before the chime, even when it was working fine. Once i hear those clicks it meant that the chime will come right after and the machine will boot. They sound like something initializing.

2012, November 3 - 4:02pm

(Reply to #16) #17

dougal

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Joined: 2011 May 20

This machine is still dead and i cant figure out how to get it working again. I switch it on and nothing comes up on the screen and it does not beep or anything. The fan switches on but that is it.

I tried:

Reset PRAM, Replace ROMS, Replace Battery, Remove HD, Remove Floppy drive, clean logic board

Anything else ?

2012, November 5 - 11:52am

(Reply to #17) #18

MikeTomTom

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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

Or the PSU is on its way out, with barely enough energy to kick the fan over...

Keep your options open. If you can't find a way of resurrecting the LCIII and you really want to have a running LCIII, wait patiently for a working replacement to show itself on ebay, etc. Time & perseverance will be on your side.

Then use your existing LCIII for spare parts.

2012, November 5 - 8:58pm

(Reply to #19) #19

dougal

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Joined: 2011 May 20

Could be but i tested the voltages and they are fine. I also plugged in the hard drive and that started up too.

2012, November 5 - 10:30am

#20

themacmeister

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Joined: 2009 Oct 26

Surface mounted chips. My G5 needed re-beading, and it had this nuisance click instead of the chime.

If not CMOS chips, possibly swollen/leaking capacitor. Should be easy to spot/smell, not so easy to replace.

2012, November 5 - 10:19pm

#21

themacmeister

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Joined: 2009 Oct 26

There is an LC1, 2 & 3 (sans screen) on trademe.co.nz

2012, November 8 - 7:46pm

#22

Temporary Joe

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Joined: 2009 Nov 14

That does sound like the PSU might be bad. My iMac, which I am *still* disassembling over a year later, had a dying PSU, where it would suddenly shut off to an extent where monitor goes off, power button flickers, and the fans slow down to what I could best describe as a whuff-whuff-whuff sound.

P.S.: From what Wikipedia says, car boot sales are basically garage sales and is difficult to trace back. Did the seller give any description to whether it worked or not?