When unplugged, MacBook turns off? Full battery

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Level 1

1 points

When unplugged, MacBook turns off? Full battery

So this started about a day ago. The status indicator in the top left says the battery is fully charged. When I hit the button on the back of the battery, all the little green lights light up. The computer works perfectly fine when its plugged in. However upon unplugging it it stays on for about a second and then completely turns off. Leaving it unplugged when I try to turn it on it makes that noise when it first starts up (before the bwooong noise) Is it an issue with the battery, or an internal problem. The thing is that its out of warranty (Purchase December 2006) and my closest apple store is in Charlotte (im in asheville nc). This is like my 3rd problem with it and I've had none with my iMac so I'm assuming that because its portable its less stable? I know for sure on my next laptop purchase from Apple I will buy the Apple care.

I'm not dissing Apple because before I 'switched' the longest a Windows laptop ever lasted me was 8 months. By a year they didn't start up (no clue why, just wear and tear). So this suprised me with how long its holding in there. The thing is I dont want to purchase a battery to find out that thats not it, so what do I do.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.4.10), Intel Core 2 Duo

Posted on Jun 25, 2008 9:41 PM

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Answer 1

Jun 25, 2008 10:06 PM in response to jjuiop

Open up the "System Profiler" application from the /Applications/Utilities/ folder. Take a look at the "Power" information under the "Hardware" section. How many cycle counts does your battery have? Does the Mac OS X 10.4.x version report the "condition" of the battery? (I have Mac OS X 10.5.x installed on my MacBook now, so I don't remember what options are visible in the previous version.)

It would seem a little early for your battery to expire. They should last for around 300 charge cycles and/or two years (even if they're never used, they have shelf lives of about two years). If it's sooner than that, there could be something else wrong.

Have you been "calibrating" your battery? Letting it run out and charging it completely at least once a month? This will help insure that the reported percentage or time remaining is accurate.

You might try resetting the SMC.

-Doug

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Answer 2

jjuiop Author

Level 1

1 points

Jun 25, 2008 10:16 PM in response to Douglas McLaughlin

I cannot calibrate it if it won't let me use it is the thing. Yes I have removed the battery, unplugged it and held the power button down for 5 seconds. Did not work. Here is a direct copy from system profiler

AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 20
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 3
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 1
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes

Battery Information:

Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 4373
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 4371
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12539
Cycle Count: 520

AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes
Charging: No

Hardware Configuration:

UPS Installed: No

Also, this computer is running 10.4.11

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Answer 3

Jun 25, 2008 11:31 PM in response to jjuiop

Cycle Count: 520

Your battery has been discharged completely and then recharged 520 times. The usual lifetime expectancy is about 300 cycles. You'll need to buy a new battery.

-Doug

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Answer 4

jjuiop Author

Level 1

1 points

Jun 26, 2008 5:11 AM in response to Douglas McLaughlin

Is there a way for sure that I know its the battery? Cause I don't want to shell out $130 bucks to find out its the motherboard or something like that

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Answer 5

Jun 26, 2008 8:11 AM in response to jjuiop

I can't rule out the possibility that you have TWO problems, the battery and the logic board, but your battery is most likely no longer functioning. If you do visit the Apple store, you can make an appointment with the Mac Genius (for free even if you're out of warranty) and they can put in a second battery to test for you before you buy one.

-Doug

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Answer 6

jjuiop Author

Level 1

1 points

Jun 27, 2008 8:56 PM in response to Douglas McLaughlin

Douglas McLaughlin wrote:
I can't rule out the possibility that you have TWO problems, the battery and the logic board, but your battery is most likely no longer functioning. If you do visit the Apple store, you can make an appointment with the Mac Genius (for free even if you're out of warranty) and they can put in a second battery to test for you before you buy one.

-Doug

The problem is that I don't live near an Apple store. I will be visiting a town with one in it at the end of July. I will try then. Thanks!

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