Charger LED dim, computer wont turn on

Question

Charger LED dim, computer wont turn on

Just today I was using my computer when the battery died. After this I plugged in the magsafe adapter to charge it, and it would not charge. The LED on the magsafe is very dim, leading me to believe that the charger is not working. But, I tried using two other peoples magsafe chargers, one of which had a bright light and did not charge my computer, the other had a dim light and did not charge my computer. So does my battery need to be replaced? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

13" Macbook, 2GHZ, 160GB HDD, 2GB RAM, 30GB iPod Video., Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Feb 7, 2011 1:50 PM

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Answer 1

b leo

Level 1

135 points

Feb 8, 2011 11:56 PM in response to Anthony Lathrop

Gday Anthony,

It might be an idea to reset your System Management Controller, just follow the instructions here.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

Also, zapping the PRAM wouldn't hurt either.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

Let us know if these help!

Brendan

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Answer 2

Doc M

Level 3

785 points

Feb 9, 2011 11:32 AM in response to b leo

3 years is a decent life for a battery; it may well be time to replace it. (Especially if you take it off the charger a lot.) I've had my MacBook 2 years plus; I'm looking at possibly replacing the battery this fall. I use my MacBook hard...but leave it on the charger a lot when I do.

Resetting the SMC may not be a bad idea...but I'm not totally convinced that's your issue. (It won't hurt anything to try it, though.)

Doc

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Answer 3

Feb 9, 2011 2:30 PM in response to Doc M

It may be the case that I need a new battery. But theres something else; even when I remove the battery and try to plug my computer in and start it, it won't start with any charger, which makes me think hardware in my computer isn't working properly.

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Answer 4

Feb 10, 2011 8:54 PM in response to Doc M

Ok this is very interesting. I was able to boot my computer by leaving the charger plugged in for a few minutes and then pressing the power button. The light on the charger is still dim. The battery meter reads 5%, but does not say that it is charging, and it does not go up while the charger is plugged in. Every time I open the system profiler, the charge in mah goes up a little bit. (The battery has 472 cycles by the way). What does this mean?

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Answer 5

b leo

Level 1

135 points

Feb 10, 2011 10:15 PM in response to Anthony Lathrop

300 cycles is considered the useful life of a battery, your battery's seen quite a bit of use, it's probably time for a new one. Download coconutBattery, what's the battery capacity percentage at?

http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/

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Answer 6

b leo

Level 1

135 points

Feb 10, 2011 10:42 PM in response to Anthony Lathrop

That doesn't seem right, try quitting coconutBattery, open it again, and wait a few minutes. Also, could you post your power info by going Apple Menu > About this Mac > More Info, then selecting Power from the list, and copying the information and pasting it here?

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Answer 7

Feb 10, 2011 11:09 PM in response to b leo

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: 6N8440M0013C
Manufacturer: SMP
Device name: bq20z951
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 002a
Hardware Revision: 000a
Cell Revision: 0100
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 603
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4122
Health Information:
Cycle count: 472
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 155
Voltage (mV): 11252

System Power Settings:

AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: No
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 2
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Current Power Source: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes

Hardware Configuration:

UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

Connected: No
Charging: No

Note: It says that the AC charger isnt connected when it is. Also, coconutbattery still reads the same high wattage.

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Answer 8

b leo

Level 1

135 points

Feb 10, 2011 11:18 PM in response to Anthony Lathrop

Interesting. Apparently, your battery still has potential to hold charge, it just isn't charging. The same high wattage could be an indication of your computer drawing power from the power adaptor, so much to the point that there isn't enough current to charge the battery. Are you using the correct MagSafe adaptor for your laptop (60W)?

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Answer 9

b leo

Level 1

135 points

Feb 11, 2011 1:27 AM in response to Anthony Lathrop

It would help to narrow this down, do you access to another power adaptor and battery? If there's an Apple store near you, they'll usually be willing to let you test using some of their demo equipment. At least that way we'll definitely know whether it's the battery or the charger.

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Answer 10

Doc M

Level 3

785 points

Feb 11, 2011 7:44 AM in response to b leo

Leo, Anthony--

I'm thinking even if the borrowed adapter works a bit better, 472 cycles is a lot on a battery. It may take a charge, it might hold a charge for a bit...but it's time to at least consider a new battery. In a perfect world, Anthony would be able to borrow a charger to check this, and not have to buy a new one. Given that both a charger and a battery do not come cheaply, I'd like to not see more money expended than needed.

Doc

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Answer 11

Feb 14, 2011 2:30 PM in response to Anthony Lathrop

Ok so I borrowed my friends battery and magsafe adapter and used them with my computer, and it still didn't charge. I also used his computer to charge my battery, and it worked, indicating that the battery is still good. I did not try to charge his computer with my magsafe charger, but I think that something internal has gone wrong with my computer. Maybe the magsafe board?

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Answer 12

Lyssa

Level 8

41,405 points

Feb 16, 2011 8:15 PM in response to Anthony Lathrop

Anythony,

At this point, the only two options I see are:
1) Bad Magsafe board
2) Damaged logicboard

If you're willing to try the repair yourself (and you're out of warranty) go ahead & replace the Magsafe board. You can find instructions & parts at ifixit.com. If that doesn't help, then it's time to bring it in for service.

~Lyssa

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