New Battery not recognized on Macbook Pro 13-inch (late 2011)

Question

New Battery not recognized on Macbook Pro 13-inch (late 2011)

I realize this is a fairly common question, but I couldn't really find any with the exact same symptoms I'm seeing.

Macbook Pro 13" (Late 2001) with High Sierra, tried changing the battery (the original one had begun swelling, among other problems). Put the new battery in, battery LED indicator in the side shows ONE light always one (3rd from the front).

MagSafe shows only green light, doesn't seem to be charging. Macbook will only turn on with MagSafe plugged in (turns off if unplugged).

System reports says NO battery installed. Battery icon not showing up in the status bar. If I go in System Preferences - Energy Saver and click on Show Battery Status in Menu Bar, icon shows for less than a second before vanishing again (and the box 'unticks' itself).

Tried resetting SMS a few times to no avail.

Now the funny thing is even when I tried plugging the old battery in, I'm getting the same issue (i.e. old battery not being recognized as well).

I'm at a loss as to what's going on or what I can do to try and fix this. Hopefully someone here has seen these symptoms before.

At any rate, I'll be glad for any assistance. Many thanks in advance.

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.13

Posted on Feb 11, 2020 2:35 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 13, 2020 12:54 PM in response to HWTech

So I tried resetting the SMC from the Option Boot menu, but I'm not getting the Mafsage LED to do anything. I'm following the procedure laid out here: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201295

Am I doing something wrong or is this sign of something wrong with my hardware?

Thanks again.

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Answer 2

K Shaffer

Level 8

35,314 points

Feb 25, 2020 12:23 AM in response to vincentlpratte

There is a possibility the DC-in Board may have failed; this is less costly than a logic board.

And odds-on favorite to see (and hope) if that's the cure. Usually all parts involved in this

could include new battery, new magsafe adapter, & the DC-in Board. To be certain of cure.

Of course any 'new parts' of these ~ need not be replaced; but DC-in Board is suspect.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=DC-in+Board+replacement+Macbook+Pro+13-inch+(late+2011)&ia=videos

Some of the links in search result include sources of parts, & reference numbers; + other info. Note iFixit.

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Answer 3

HWTech

Level 9

60,362 points

Feb 12, 2020 8:54 PM in response to vincentlpratte

Seems like the Logic Board is bad and one of two things happened (assuming everything was fine before the battery swap):

1) The replacement battery damaged the Logic Board.

2) You may have accidentally damaged a component on the Logic Board when you disconnected the original battery. I know some of the batteries can be very difficult to disconnect.

The quality of third party Lithium-ion batteries is extremely poor even when purchased from a reputable vendor such as OWC.

To make sure the SMC reset is being activated Option Boot the laptop by holding down the Option key just after the startup chime. While the laptop is sitting at the Apple boot picker menu perform the SMC reset using the built-in keyboard. If successful the laptop should power off and you should see the Magsafe LED go dark and change colors (amber/green).

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Answer 4

HWTech

Level 9

60,362 points

Feb 14, 2020 7:13 PM in response to vincentlpratte

Make sure you are using the laptop's internal built-in keyboard to perform the SMC reset. Also make sure to use the keys on the left side of the keyboard. An external keyboard will not work.

If the laptop does not shutdown from the Apple boot picker menu when you attempt to perform the SMC reset, then you likely have a Logic Board issue.

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Answer 5

Feb 24, 2020 11:42 AM in response to HWTech

Yup, did all that. Built-in keyboard... left keys... Macbook did shutdown as soon as I hit the power button (with other required keys held down). But no change to magsafe lighting. And the new battery is still not detected.

At any rates, I guess that means the problem is likely to be either the connectors to the battery or the logic board, doesn't it?

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