Battery / power issue

Question

Level 1

4 points

Battery / power issue

Hey all,

I am having some power issues with my Macbook (White, 1.83Ghz). A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the battery wouldn't charge. The icon just showed the battery with an "x" inside of it. The light on the charger is always green, but the battery will not charge.

So, I bought a replacement battery from eBay and it arrived today. Before installing it, I pressed the button on the battery to see if it was charged at all. 3 out of 5 LED's lit up, and I installed the battery and booted up the computer. With the new battery installed, the icon says that it's fully charged, but the percentage only reads 62%. Again, the LED on the charger is lit green. When I disconnect the charger, the battery seems to last for a minute or so, then the computer shuts down.

All of my software is up to date, and I have tried resetting the SMC, to no avail.

Can anybody help me with this one?

Thanks in advance,

M

Dual G4

Posted on Sep 27, 2010 5:37 PM

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Answer 1

Sep 27, 2010 6:20 PM in response to meetch25

Is this an Apple battery? Or one of those Chinese knockoffs?

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Answer 2

meetch25 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 27, 2010 7:29 PM in response to Jay Bullock

The dead one is an Apple, the new one is a knockoff.

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Answer 3

Sep 28, 2010 6:00 AM in response to meetch25

People here have reported sketchy results using non-Apple batteries. If you had access to a known-good Apple battery, you could put that in and we could see if the problem was your Mac or this new non-Apple battery. Failing that, I would bet that the battery is faulty, not your Mac.

Are you near enough an Apple Store to visit a Genius Bar? They can test your Mac to make sure it's working properly and sell you a real battery.

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Answer 4

meetch25 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 28, 2010 7:32 AM in response to Jay Bullock

Thanks for the reply. I'm about 90 minutes from the nearest Genius bar. The dead battery is a replacement from Apple that I received less than 2 years ago. It just failed to charge one day, it wasn't a gradual thing. When I have that battery in and the charger connected, the light on the charger is green, but the battery doesn't charge. This is why I don't think the battery is at fault. The new battery shows 3 of 5 LED's, and reads 60%. If I unplug the charger with the new battery installed, the charge % of the battery does gradually decrease, so it seems as though it is working fine, besides not recognizing the charger.

M

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Answer 5

Sep 28, 2010 10:43 AM in response to meetch25

Well, do a full calibration cycle with the new battery and see if that lets it get to 100%:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/9036.html

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Answer 6

meetch25 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 28, 2010 1:13 PM in response to Jay Bullock

I'll try that tonight. Many thanks!

M

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Answer 7

meetch25 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 28, 2010 3:55 PM in response to Jay Bullock

Unfortunately I can't perform the calibration cycle because the computer shuts down shortly after removing the charger/MagSafe. When I connect the old battery and open System Profiler, it says there is no battery installed. When I open System Profiler with the new battery installed, it says this:

Battery Information:

Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 5474
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 2534
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 11424
Cycle Count: 1

AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes
Charging: No

I've also tried a couple different MagSafe adapters, but the outcome was the same. Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

M

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Answer 8

Sep 28, 2010 4:33 PM in response to meetch25

Two possibilities: One, a bad battery. Two, a problem with the power source on the mother board.

Which is why you need to test it with a known-good battery instead of continuing to put the long-dead one back in. This is worth the trip to the Genius Bar; make an appointment and have this checked out.

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Answer 9

meetch25 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 30, 2010 5:59 AM in response to Jay Bullock

I just wanted to report that the people I bought the knockoff battery from sent me another one, and all seems to be well.

Thanks,

M

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Answer 10

Sep 30, 2010 6:25 AM in response to meetch25

Glad to hear you got it resolved.

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