Macbook says the battery is not charging when plugged in

Run System Profiler and see what it says about the condition of the battery.

Part of the screen you copied should have "Battery Information." On my MBP with Snow Leopard, the Battery info is the first thing on the "Power" screen. Those numbers are important to know for diagnostic purposes. If the battery is defective then it can't charge.

That looks like a very good battery, although aging. To have that remaining capacity (4626mah) at 340+ cycles indicates you've taken very good care of it. If yours is a 15" MBP that's at 82 percent health, and 73 percent if it's a 17-inch.

Apple says a battery should hold up to has 80 percent health after 300 cycles, but you've gotten more life than many of us. Snow Leopard is quick to report a battery bad, so you are doing fairly well.

The battery, unless it has a dead cell, is probably not the problem. That leaves the DC-in card, the A/C adapter, and the logic board as potential issues.

Has the adapter been replaced with the newer style that has a right-angle connector? Some people are reporting those don't properly fit pre-Unibody MBPs and won't charge.

I am having a similar problem, my MBP will only charge if the power adapter is plugged into the laptop backwards (the cord runs from the mag-connector across the front of the ethernet and USB ports. If I run the charger cable in from the back, it will power the laptop but the battery is not charging (LED light does not light on the mag-connect).

This started happening to me right out of the blue. I tried resetting the PRAM, the SCM all sorts of things. It did the same thing on two different power adapters. I had the "plugged in" icon but "Battery is not charging" next to it.

Finally I was jiggling the power connection and I tilted it back slightly to watch when it went to battery power. Suddenly the tiny light blinked on the mag-safe connector and it turned on. Now it's back to normal and charged up from 29% to 36%. Yet another fix for "Jiggle The Cable".

This started happening to me last week. I have an early 2006 macbook 4,1. I have 260 cycles and 0 mAh remaining and 0 mAh capacity.

Sounds like you have the newer "L" type MagPro connector. Unless you have replaced the original power adaptor that had "T" rather than "L" connector. your MBP is newer that those covered in this forum. If your MBP has black keys, its power issues and specs are different from the older MBPs (silver keys) that this forum covers.

Is that's the case, you should start a new thread in this forum section created for the late-model MBPs:

http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=251

I know some web forums don't like people starting new threads but, around here, it's preferred. When you tag on to a thread the someone else has started, it makes it harder for the community to help the original poster, and you don't get the attention your issue deserves.

It can be hard to figure out how to start e new thread around here (hopefully that's changing). This article will help you do it:

http://discussions.apple.com/ann.jspa?annID=650

No I have the older silver key MBP.

Yes. I'm aware of that. Your description was spot-on. I was responding to TonyP927 who seems to have the newer model based on his description. He's new and I wanted to help him find the best way to get help. Tagging onto a preexisting thread for a different model wasn't going to get him what he needs.

I'm pretty much out of ideas. About the only thing you can "DYI" at this point is to find your original install disks and run Apple Hardware Test. If it turns up an error, the codes are pretty cryptic so you may have to get an Apple Store genius or an AASP to translate.

Info on how to run AHT is here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509

Are you using the 3 pronged grounded cable or the two prong adapter? Whichever one it is try the other and see what happens.

I'm having the same exact problem. I replaced the battery about a year ago and haven't had any problems. I replaced the power adapter about 2 weeks ago and didn't have any problems. Then just this week it started with the "Not Charging" nonsense. I've tried all suggested remedies and it still is not charging. Battery health seems to be fine - just won't charge. Let me know if you come across a fix.

Hi I have just got my macbook pro 2 days ago and the battery wont charge. the light on the adaptor is orange is this right? I have seen lots of people saying the light is green. here are the details i hope you can help me.


Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: 9G0380APAD3MA
Manufacturer: DP
Device name: bq20z451
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0201
Hardware Revision: 0002
Cell Revision: 0158
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 1017
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5808
Health Information:
Cycle count: 1
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 11197

System Power Settings:

AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Current Power Source: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 2
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes

Hardware Configuration:

UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes
ID: 0x0000
Wattage (W): 0
Revision: 0x0000
Family: 0x0000
Serial Number: 0x00000000
Charging: No