Searching for other things on Apple's site, I found the below info.
According to this, the PowerBook needs a service call... I'd try a
different battery first, if possible.
Question 4 : My PowerBook G3 Series battery does not seem to charge
when the PowerBook is running. It will charge when
My Pismo had the same problem during a power outage. I was always
showing 4 lights and then the power went out and the battery was dead. A
good question to consider is how old is the battery? Three years is
about max life on those according to Apple. In any case, I bought a new
BTI battery.
