User profile for user: Raybiere
Raybiere Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

Magsafe LED light blinking orange/green

Running low on battery, I plugged the adaptor in. At around 82% charge (may have started earlier but I did not notice until then), I noticed that the light on the magsafe was flashing from orange to green repeatedly. When it is green, the status in the top right says "battery is not charging" in grey. When it is orange, the status in the top right says "calculating...until full". It seemed as though the percent of the charge was stuck at 82% but has gradually increased to 85% since the last 20 minutes or so.

I have iStat Pro 4.6 and it says that my battery is:
Health: 72%
Cycles: 316
Charge: 85%
7:21 till charged

Please help

MBP C2D, Mac OS X (10.5.4)

Posted on Aug 6, 2008 12:56 PM

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7 replies
User profile for user: Raybiere
Raybiere Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

Aug 9, 2008 10:22 PM in response to neuroanatomist

Hi neuroanatomist! Thanks for the warm welcome..

I brought the MBP into the apple store for a chat with a genius. He pretty much said the same thing you did... the only difference being a PRAM reboot (which he did) instead of an SMC reset.

Apparently, that should do the trick, considering the fact that everything looked normal when they checked the battery stats under 'about this mac>more info..>hardware>power'. He recommended waiting it out and seeing if that fixes it before jumping the gun to buy a new battery (they said it wasn't covered by applecare because the issue would have had to arise sometime within the first year and well below 300 cycles--how convenient for my piece of equipment to fail so soon after surpassing the limit!!)

The other thing he said, which I was unaware of, is that the magsafe should be pulled out of the port before pulling out the socket from the wall. He said that could really corrupt something? (I don't remember what.. maybe the PRAM?)

Anyway, I ended up leaving it in the store for a monitor change due to a separate issue. We'll see how it all turns out.

Thanks much!
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User profile for user: WALTER-MILANO-ITALY
WALTER-MILANO-ITALY
User level: Level 4
2,256 points

Aug 19, 2008 3:16 AM in response to Raybiere

I have (probably had !!) the same problem with my MBP and the battery reported as good with less than 70 cycle.
Followed all the suggestion: recalibration of Battery gave no result - cleaned the contact and used 3 different 85 W Power Adapter - runned PRAM and SMC. After each of the above actions always the same result: ligh blinking orange/green at 1-3 seconds frequency and battery sign reported alternatively as Charge near complet - Calculating with an actual charge of about 99%. With the blinking going on after a charge time of about 6-7 hours.
Last night after SMC I left the Power Adapter connected for about 15-16 Hours and finally the Led was stable Green with Battery reported as Charged and a Lifetime of 4:08 immediately after boot.
Then I disconnected the power and I am doing a new recalibration. Using DVD and other SW the MBP remained on for about 2h:40' - there was an immediate reduction on extimated life from 4 to 3:30 while during occasional sleep the expected time was up to 5h at recover.
I was not looking to the screen while it died but I am near sure there was no alarm for low battery and no suspend... just a stop. After 10 minutes I could start again and battery was reported from 38' to 50' and MBP was able to play iTunes for about 5-6 minutes and again it stopped without alarm and no suspend. - Power was reported to be still 1507 MW compared to 4943 MW at full charge.
Now I leave it at least 5-6 Hours with empty battery (eventually with repeated starts tu fully use the remaining power) before full recharge and we will see what
happens.
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User profile for user: WALTER-MILANO-ITALY
WALTER-MILANO-ITALY
User level: Level 4
2,256 points

Aug 20, 2008 1:13 AM in response to Raybiere

ACT 2.
After my previous message the calibration could bring me back the Low Battery message. The led of MagSafe stopped blinking orange/green but last cherge after 16 hours it remained orange. The battery was reported near full loaded (99%) and if I checked the full report it was stable at mAh 4309 compared with the same value at full charge but the report said not fully charged and still in charge.
I did again PRAM and SMC. Then the report said charge and full charge over mAh 5000.
I will try again a recalibration.
But my question is:
Whi the battery still doas not seem to be completely charged ???
It has only about 70 cycles.
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User profile for user: Raybiere
Raybiere Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

Aug 20, 2008 12:37 PM in response to WALTER-MILANO-ITALY

Since my last post, I was noticing similar issues to the ones you've described. The computer was shutting down without warning at about 50-60% charge (not to mention the battery was draining inexplicably faster than it should.)

The first time it died I did not think anything of it because it was before the apple genius had reset PRAM in-store. But when it happened again after it had been serviced, I decided to more thoroughly inspect the battery.

Upon flipping the MBP over, I noticed scuff marks in the center of the battery. The shell of it was also a bit more raised than I had remembered. As it turns out, the battery was starting to bulge at the center, and the deformity was causing the computer to pivot where the scratches were found.

I searched online for similar issues and instead found this:
http://www.apple.com/support/macbook_macbookpro/batteryupdate/

I called the Apple Support Contact Number (1-800-275-2273) and after checking my serial number, they confirmed that my battery qualified for the free exchange.

Considering the amount of time it would take to send me a new battery. I opted to go in for another visit to the apple genius bar.

So far, so good. I will be sure to update with any other news.
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User profile for user: WALTER-MILANO-ITALY
WALTER-MILANO-ITALY
User level: Level 4
2,256 points

Aug 23, 2008 10:03 AM in response to Raybiere

THANKS EVERYBODY for your suggestions.
I called Apple in Italy but they refused to change the battery. Ther reason is it hat only 70 cycles and therefore it is evident I used it most of time with AC adapter connected.
No deformation on the Battery. And it lasts about 2,5 hours or more.
After several charge and discharge I noticed that the blinking green/orange is near always the result. I get only green if I leave the charger connected for more than 12 hours.
The strange behaviour is also the difference in reports few minutes after I disconnect the magsafe. Sometimes the report chenges the level of full charge or says the battery is not fully chaged even if the mAh reported is exactly the same. The report always suggested the battery was good, UNTIL TODAY with the suggestion CHECK THE BATTERY.
I think I will not complain with Apple, but I will not risk going on with this battery installed. Will buy a new one aa soon as I get near a shop and see which is the difference.

Here is a list of reports about battery of last few days: it is italian but I believe easy to understand (numbers are arabic anyway...)

Best regards.

21-08-2008 about 11:30 am after 6 hours cherging light alternates green/orange with MBP shutdown –
After Boot the magsafe ligt turn to stable green
Informazioni batteria:

Informazioni sul modello:
Numero di serie: Sony-ASMB012-3625-76d5
Produttore: Sony
Nome dispositivo: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Versione firmware: 102a
Revisione hardware: 0400
Revisione cella: 0303
Informazioni sulla carica:
Carica restante (mAh): 4989
Carica completa: No
In carica: No
Capacità a carica completa (mAh): 4989
Informazioni sulle condizioni della batteria:
Conteggio cicli: 70
Condizione: Buona
Batteria installata: Sì
Amperaggio (mA): 0
Voltaggio (mV): 12618


21-08-2008 19:30pm after about 2 hours use
Informazioni batteria:

Informazioni sul modello:
Numero di serie: Sony-ASMB012-3625-76d5
Produttore: Sony
Nome dispositivo: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Versione firmware: 102a
Revisione hardware: 0400
Revisione cella: 0303
Informazioni sulla carica:
Carica restante (mAh): 2161
Carica completa: No
In carica: No
Capacità a carica completa (mAh): 5019
Informazioni sulle condizioni della batteria:
Conteggio cicli: 71
Condizione: Buona
Batteria installata: Sì
Amperaggio (mA): -1738
Voltaggio (mV): 10341


21-08-2008 – 8:30 pm Battery discarged and magsafe connected again
Informazioni batteria:

Informazioni sul modello:
Numero di serie: Sony-ASMB012-3625-76d5
Produttore: Sony
Nome dispositivo: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Versione firmware: 102a
Revisione hardware: 0400
Revisione cella: 0303
Informazioni sulla carica:
Carica restante (mAh): 660
Carica completa: No
In carica: Sì
Capacità a carica completa (mAh): 4416
Informazioni sulle condizioni della batteria:
Conteggio cicli: 71
Condizione: Buona
Batteria installata: Sì
Amperaggio (mA): 2035
Voltaggio (mV): 11819

21-8-2008 midnight – after about 4 hours charge – light alternates green/orange

22-8-2008 8:44 after 10 hours charge Magsafe green and connected.

Informazioni batteria:

Informazioni sul modello:
Numero di serie: Sony-ASMB012-3625-76d5
Produttore: Sony
Nome dispositivo: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Versione firmware: 102a
Revisione hardware: 0400
Revisione cella: 0303
Informazioni sulla carica:
Carica restante (mAh): 3857
Carica completa: No
In carica: No
Capacità a carica completa (mAh): 4416
Informazioni sulle condizioni della batteria:
Conteggio cicli: 71
Condizione: Buona
Batteria installata: Sì
Amperaggio (mA): 0
Voltaggio (mV): 12476

22-8-2008 Magsafe removed
Informazioni batteria:

Informazioni sul modello:
Numero di serie: Sony-ASMB012-3625-76d5
Produttore: Sony
Nome dispositivo: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Versione firmware: 102a
Revisione hardware: 0400
Revisione cella: 0303
Informazioni sulla carica:
Carica restante (mAh): 4973
Carica completa: No
In carica: No
Capacità a carica completa (mAh): 4986
Informazioni sulle condizioni della batteria:
Conteggio cicli: 71
Condizione: Buona
Batteria installata: Sì
Amperaggio (mA): -1349
Voltaggio (mV): 12194

23-08-2008 18:40 after 5 Hours charge LED ALTERNATED GREEN/ORANGE

Informazioni batteria:

Informazioni sul modello:
Numero di serie: Sony-ASMB012-3625-76d5
Produttore: Sony
Nome dispositivo: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Versione firmware: 102a
Revisione hardware: 0400
Revisione cella: 0303
Informazioni sulla carica:
Carica restante (mAh): 3402
Carica completa: No
In carica: No
Capacità a carica completa (mAh): 3733
Informazioni sulle condizioni della batteria:
Conteggio cicli: 71
Condizione: Controlla batteria
Batteria installata: Sì
Amperaggio (mA): 55
Voltaggio (mV): 12521
s charge – led alternates green/orange

23-08-2008 FEW MINUTES AFTER PREVIOUS REPORT – MAGSAFE REMOVED

Informazioni batteria:

Informazioni sul modello:
Numero di serie: Sony-ASMB012-3625-76d5
Produttore: Sony
Nome dispositivo: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Versione firmware: 102a
Revisione hardware: 0400
Revisione cella: 0303
Informazioni sulla carica:
Carica restante (mAh): 4020
Carica completa: No
In carica: No
Capacità a carica completa (mAh): 4359
Informazioni sulle condizioni della batteria:
Conteggio cicli: 71
Condizione: Controlla batteria
Batteria installata: Sì
Amperaggio (mA): -1424
Voltaggio (mV): 12205




Message was edited by: WALTER-MILANO-ITALY
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Magsafe LED light blinking orange/green

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