MBP A1278 MD101LL/A power issue

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MBP A1278 MD101LL/A power issue

Hi,

First time poster.

A few weeks back my MBP model MD101LL/A shut down unexpectedly and then seemingly developed issues relating to system power. When the magsafe is connected it's indicator LED is lit very dim green. Additionally battery indicator LED's are not lighting at all on pressing the battery charge level indicator button so potentially its looking like a battery failure. The upshot now is the machine will not boot normally, after around 3 seconds after pressing the power button and a normal boot starts the display, fans and HDD die/power off, this being with or without battery connected.

The oddest thing is if I constantly move the trackpad mouse or constantly press a key during boot the machine will boot normally although I have to constantly keep moving the mouse or press a key for the machine to stay up and the fan is constantly running high. As soon as I stop mouse movement or keyboard input the machine shuts down / powers off within a couple of seconds.

I have checked the system report and can see there is no battery being reported, further evidence of battery failure. I have disconnected battery completely and I still have the same behaviour.

I have carried out SMC and PRAM resets with just AC power and AC plus battery connected but the fault remains. I wont be able to source a replacement battery for a couple of weeks.

As I can get the machine to stay on (with AC power) by giving a constant mouse or keyboard input I have access to terminal/logs/console etc. albeit it's a little awkward to keep that input going whilst I'm navigating around the machine.

In the absence of a seemingly serviceable battery is there some way of altering the current config to stop the machine abruptly shutting down and forcing the fan to run normally whilst running on AC power?

Many thanks in advance!

MacBook Pro

Posted on Jan 3, 2019 3:41 AM

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Answer 1

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Monvillez Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 6, 2019 8:47 AM in response to BDAqua

Further news, de-installed logic board and powered up on desk. Now getting full orange charge light on Magsafe when battery connected to board and full green light when battery disconnected. Additionally the fan speed has dropped to normal speed and as far as I can tell the board is booting normally as it stays on.

Clearly there is an influence from one of the external connections on to the board, keyboard, mouse, hard drive, optical drive, etc... Just need to work out which now.

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Answer 2

Monvillez Author

Level 1

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Jan 4, 2019 3:45 PM in response to BDAqua

Same behaviour with battery de-installed, battery does not appear deformed and I can’t see any signs of mechanical disruption to the bay where the battery sits.

I’m hoping that a replacement battery may correct the issue but I am thinking that there may be some kind of additional associated hardware failure. Potentially AC charger, DC in board or, hopefully not, the MB. So frustrating when a constant mouse or keyboard input is enough to let the machine run as normal... I’m wondering if there is any interrogation I can carry out via terminal or console that may point to something definitive

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Jan 4, 2019 3:56 PM in response to Monvillez

Well, maybe with difficulty...

Post a report from this please...

EtreCheck is a simple little app to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac.

http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

But since CMD+r does the same thing I'm thinking it has to be HW issue.

Oh, Does single User Mode work, holding CMD+s keys?

Oh, another one if you have a quick eye Verbose Mode, holding CMD+v on startup.

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Answer 4

Monvillez Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 4, 2019 1:32 AM in response to BDAqua

Thanks for your reply.

Safe Boot - on reaching the login screen and releasing the Shift key the machine powers off if I do not keep the mouse moving or a key pressed. I am able to log in but again machine powers off if I stop mouse movement or keyboard input.

CMD+R - same scenario, can only get to recovery menu if I keep mouse moving or key pressed.

The evidence is pointing at a SMC issue I think, I have tried resetting on numerous occasions but fans continue to run high, no keyboard backlight and ambient light sensor not operative. Its just really strange that if I keep the mouse moving or key pressed for all intents and purposes I can use the machine without issue, if I stop movement or key press for more than a second the machine powers off. Is there a way of scripting a background key press or mouse movement?

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Answer 5

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Jan 4, 2019 8:26 AM in response to Monvillez

This is one of the strangest cases I've ever heard of!

Could the Battery be swelling & pressing on the KB or Pad?

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Answer 6

BDAqua

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Jan 6, 2019 9:16 AM in response to Monvillez

Great work!

Or a short/break in the solder on the board?

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Answer 7

Monvillez Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 5, 2019 4:25 AM in response to BDAqua

Thank you for your continuing support.

EtreCheck report as requested;

EtreCheck Report

Same scenario with single user mode and verbose. I can see in verbose mode previous shutdown cause is code 0 - power disconnected, this is the case if I attempt to gracefully shutdown or stop the mouse/KB input.

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Answer 8

BDAqua

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Jan 5, 2019 12:01 PM in response to Monvillez

Shutdown Cause=0, Power disconnected.Check power supply/battery on a laptop, or the power supply for a Mac without a battery. On a laptop, the Mac should hibernate before the battery becomes so discharged it is unable to shutdown correctly, therefore if you see this shutdown cause on a laptop it may indicate a hardware issue with the battery or with the battery controller for reading the charge. Try resetting the SMC by connecting the switched off computer to power, holding ⌃control+⌥option+⇧shift and pressing power.

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Answer 9

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Jan 3, 2019 9:09 AM in response to Monvillez

Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), does that work?

Does CMD+r keys work to boot?

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MBP A1278 MD101LL/A power issue

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