MacBook Pro suddenly turns off when on battery, power adapter may not charg

Question

MacBook Pro suddenly turns off when on battery, power adapter may not charg

Sorry for the misspelling in the thread title, it's all I could fit in the name. Basically, this is a problem that I've been having since last night. My Macbook Pro, which I bought in late 2010, has been having some battery/charge issues. Googling it, it came up with a lot of the issues that seem endemic to the 2008 battery problems that Macbook Pros have, but this is definitely a newer machine than that.

Last night, I was working on the machine (playing a game with 3D acceleration, on my Boot Camp side, but this happened again in OSX) when it suddenly turned off. It wouldn't restart for about a minute, and when it did the power adapter was not charging, and there was no light there (it was plugged in the whole time). This happened again today, and I managed to get the power adapter to charge some. I'm not clear on if these issues are connected with one another.

I suppose it's possible the cord has some kind of stress fracture under the wire - this happened on previous, non-Apple computers I've had. If so, replacing the adapter should help. That wouldn't explain the sudden shutdowns, though.

Macbook Pro purchased new late 2010, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Feb 12, 2011 5:11 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 12, 2011 8:46 PM in response to The Else of Something

1. The power adapter should have a light at all times when plugged in. However it might not have if it's unable to make a good connection for whatever reason. Check that the pins are not bent, that there's no crumb or grit in the connection, etc. If you can borrow another charger from a friend see whether it works OK. When you've ruled out the charger itself as the problem you will know to look further.

2. Use System Profiler - go to the Apple menu/About this Mac/More info and select Power in the screen that comes up. Past the details here for us to get a better picture.

Neville

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Answer 2

Feb 12, 2011 9:32 PM in response to Neville Mayfield

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: W00454PFAD3LA
Manufacturer: SMP
Device name: bq20z451
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0201
Hardware Revision: 000a
Cell Revision: 0165
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 3898
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5459
Health Information:
Cycle count: 34
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -1558
Voltage (mV): 11587

System Power Settings:

AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 15
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 15
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

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Answer 3

Feb 13, 2011 3:13 PM in response to The Else of Something

Thanks for this. The battery appears to be ok. From this it is saying the charger was not connected at the time you took this information. Is that correct?

If the charger was connected take it and the computer back to the store to get it checked. I presume you did check the connector visually for any possible cause for lack of contact.

As for the shutdowns, I suppose it's possible that the game demands at peak might be more than the battery can cope with. Whether this could cause a shutdown - I wouldn't think so. If however the computer overheated, eg resting on your lap and unable to ventilate adequately, I don't know whether there is automatic shutdown to protect it from heat damage. If there is it would explain why restarting couldn't happen immediately as it would have to wait until the temperature had dropped to within specs.

You might download one of the heat sensor display programs which can display temps while engaged in other programs, eg Temperature Monitor, and check what temps are reached during the game.

Neville

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Answer 4

Feb 16, 2011 8:45 PM in response to Neville Mayfield

For random shut down issues always remember:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

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Answer 5

Mar 3, 2011 6:25 AM in response to The Else of Something

I have exactly same issue with my MacBook pro (early 2009) with removable battery. Also my problem is that the "Service battery " symbol seen. It charges normally and even with sudden shutdown the green dots are full showing good charge. This problem is there since last 4-5 months. The battery profile shows : 116 cycles and significantly low total max charge remaining ( less than 3000mMAh ).
At service center the Genius told me that this is a normal age related issue which is hard to digest. The only solution they suggest is to replace the battery - which is not covered under warranty.

My problem is
1) At 116 cycles how can someone say it's loosing it's charge as normal process.
2) if its because of "normal ageing of battery" why there is no loss of charge shown from green dots.
3) the machine runs fine after another restart for another 30 - 45 mins before next sudden shut down. And this goes on for good 3-5 hrs of usage without charger connected.

The service center people are ****-bent on selling me a new battery.

Any clues for what should I do ?

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Answer 6

eww

Level 9

53,028 points

Mar 3, 2011 6:39 AM in response to chinmaybhalke

The "Check battery" notation means you need a new battery. It isn't covered by warranty because your warranty has expired, and it isn't covered by AppleCare (if you have AppleCare) because the battery is a consumable item, not a permanent part of the computer. I agree that it's disappointing to have a two-year-old battery die with only 116 cycles on it, but the average lifespan of a lithium-based battery is 2-4 years, and yours has unfortunately been on the short end of that. You'll just need to ante up for a replacement.

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Answer 7

Mar 3, 2011 6:55 AM in response to eww

Not really sure the battery is dying or dead.
As I mentioned it's causing cycles of sudden shut down. It runs the system for good 3-4hrs before showing discharge from green dots,(like a normal battery) without the charger connected.

Also as from the this article http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1764220 , it's well understood that batteries do not live by luck / chance / Devine interventions. They should give a life of 80% after ~300 cycles.

I we check this forum and Some threads from macrumors etc, people have replaced battery and yet continued with this problem.

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Answer 8

eww

Level 9

53,028 points

Mar 3, 2011 7:02 AM in response to chinmaybhalke

Well, you have a choice: you can waste your time arguing with me, or you can talk to Apple, who may or may not decide to give you a new battery. I suspect they won't, but I know I'm not going to give you a new battery, so I suggest talking to Apple instead. Be aware that that isn't what you're doing when you post in these forums: they are user-to-user forums, not a direct line to anyone at Apple.

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Answer 9

Mar 3, 2011 7:14 AM in response to eww

I understand "eww". I am just waiting for sunrise..
Thanks.

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Answer 10

ehaase

Level 1

4 points

Sep 22, 2013 9:05 AM in response to The Else of Something

Just wanted to say I have the exact same issue. MacBooc Pro mid-2009.

No sudden power loss when on A/C.

But when on Windows in BootCamp (had version 4, now have version 5 - yes you can do it!) it suddenly just loses power. Have not yet experienced this in OSX yet -- so could well be a software issue. But I didn't use OSX much lately.

My battery is brand new, and my "old" battery holds charge well still and is not swollen or anything.

I swapped batteries because of the issue but it did NOT go away.

I am wondering whether there's a windows driver problem (but heck: no bluescreen!) or whether maybe the System Management Controller SMC needs to be replaced or anything.

/Enver

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