could power chord be messing up my battery life?

Question

could power chord be messing up my battery life?

I've checked everything but the power chord. Could it being so old be the reason why I can only get two hours of power out of my battery that reads to be working fine in system profiler?

15" MBP late 08 unibody, specs below.

I've power cycled my computer by taking out the battery and holding the power button for ten seconds already... seems to be calculating a longer period to charge then before... still would like to know if the power chord could effect the batter performance and whether apple can actually test to see if it's fualty.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7), 5,1 2.53gHz 8gb RAM 64 bit

Posted on Jul 25, 2011 10:11 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 25, 2011 10:13 AM in response to TheSmokeMonster

Duh! power CordS! not talking about Gwar here.

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Answer 2

w7ox

Level 4

2,407 points

Jul 25, 2011 10:17 AM in response to TheSmokeMonster

It's always possible. But in my Late 2008 13" MacBook I recently replaced the HDD. Afterward I found the cover would not quite sit flush.

Took it to Apple Store. Turns out my battery was a bit swollen. They replaced it for free even though then 30 months old.

So do have Apple check out your battery -- unless a new one.

Phil

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Answer 3

Jul 25, 2011 10:17 AM in response to TheSmokeMonster

do u mean the power brick's cord? Ur battery may be near end of life, have you checked that? Try coconutBattery or Watts to see what the cycle count is. My MBP is a bit older, and has needed a new batt.

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Answer 4

Jul 25, 2011 10:23 AM in response to coocooforcocoapuffs

sorry if I didn't mention this but I do have a new battery and my battery had expereinced swelling though I had replaced it less then a year ago because of that. good tip though because that did happen to me. But this is not the issue now.

Battery Information:

Model Information:

Serial Number: 6N8450RZB13E

Manufacturer: SMP

Device Name: bq20z951

Pack Lot Code: 0

PCB Lot Code: 0

Firmware Version: 002a

Hardware Revision: 000a

Cell Revision: 100

Charge Information:

Charge Remaining (mAh): 3278

Fully Charged: No

Charging: Yes

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 4406

Health Information:

Cycle Count: 10

Condition: Normal

Battery Installed: Yes

Amperage (mA): 900

Voltage (mV): 12075

System Power Settings:

AC Power:

System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 88

Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10

Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 88

Automatic Restart on Power Loss: No

Wake on AC Change: No

Wake on Clamshell Open: Yes

Wake on LAN: Yes

Current Power Source: Yes

Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes

GPUSwitch: 2

PrioritizeNetworkReachabilityOverSleep: 0

RestartAfterKernelPanic: 15

Battery Power:

System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 15

Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10

Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 14

Wake on AC Change: No

Wake on Clamshell Open: Yes

Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes

GPUSwitch: 2

Reduce Brightness: Yes

RestartAfterKernelPanic: 15

Hardware Configuration:

UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes

ID: 0x0100

Wattage (W): 85

Revision: 0x0000

Family: 0x00ba

Serial Number: 0x006a22b1

Charging: Yes

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Answer 5

Jul 25, 2011 10:26 AM in response to coocooforcocoapuffs

yes the power brick cord. the whole charger all together really but I guess mainly the power brick. This says it's 85w but does that mean it's getting 85watts or does that mean it is supposed to be 85watts.

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Answer 6

kisuke3

Level 3

914 points

Jul 25, 2011 10:28 AM in response to TheSmokeMonster

I agree with coocoo, you're battery may be nearing its lifespan cylce. You have to post its cycle count here. Also, have you tried calibrating your battery?

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1490

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

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Answer 7

Jul 25, 2011 10:37 AM in response to kisuke3

never callibrated this battery actually but 5 hours to leave it sleeping/on?? an apple specialist told me that the batteries don't have to go through this anymore however your link points out late 2009 MBP are whre they started doing this (presumably because you can't take them out) but mine, as we know is late 08 unibody MBP with a removable battery.I guess I'll have to do this and get back to everyone later.

the power cycle is posted I think, or is that not what "Cycle Count (10)" means?

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Answer 8

Jul 25, 2011 10:39 AM in response to TheSmokeMonster

Get Watts, it interprets all that gorp for ya. CoconutBattery does too as I recall. A lot of other free apps do as well and will tell ya if you are near end of life.

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Answer 9

kisuke3

Level 3

914 points

Jul 25, 2011 10:45 AM in response to TheSmokeMonster

Well the good news is I don't think your battery is defective(IMO)

your cycle count is really low plus the full charge capacity looks ok.

Start calibrating your battery and use it more often. You see its like a muscle, you're not using an inch of its power. You rely solely on your power adapter 😝

Just calibrarte your battery and also follow this

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1446

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Answer 10

Jul 25, 2011 10:57 AM in response to kisuke3

ok peeps, thanks for helping out.

should I notice a change right away after callibration? I usually leave the computer plugged in like a desktop, but one hour just isn't enough to do anything mobile with which is an option I like to keep open for conferences and presentations.

since this calabration is going to take me more then a day because I simply can't leave this machine idle for five hours I'll have to get back to you but I will definitely let you know how it turns out and give a correct answer if it prooved to boost this very minimal amount of power.

kisuke, should I practice unplugging it and plugging it back in when it says that it needs to be? after the battery callibration process of course. I don't think it's good practice to let it go to sleep from low battery power all the time right? sorry if this question is "simple".

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Answer 11

Jul 25, 2011 1:14 PM in response to kisuke3

kisuke3

ok
ok
ok
ok
Turn off the computer or allow it to sleep for five hours or more.
do I shut it off or do I let it sleep for five hours?
Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.
can I turn my computer on letting it fully charge again or do I leave it turned off and check by the lights on the side and on the magsafe connector?

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Answer 12

Jul 25, 2011 1:15 PM in response to TheSmokeMonster

Seriously monster, just download Watts and let it figure all that out for ya. It tells you what you should do for calibration, and when, and keeps a log, and blablabla.

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Answer 13

Jul 25, 2011 1:28 PM in response to coocooforcocoapuffs

Hey yeah, definitely but I'm just going to do it the apple suggested way first but I'll use watts after to keep up the strength. I'm following you guys just trying to problem solve. I'm still curious to know if it means that once it's turned itself off because of low battery (sleep) that I can turn it off then or if I should let it just coast in sleep mode for four to five hours? I just would like some clarification as they are specific in telling you that you can use your computer in one part but never mention turning it back on or using it in the last part. I just want to know if that's important to the process or if I could just turn it on as long as it's plugged in... or are you saying watts will tell me all of this??.. googles

edit: not trying to spend this much for something I need to learn once how to do.

Message was edited by: TheSmokeMonster

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Answer 14

Jul 25, 2011 4:56 PM in response to TheSmokeMonster

WATTS just makes it's easier, novice or expert. It's the time vs. money thing. You can learn how to, and remember how to, and set up reminders in iCal, save your own log, and all of that, or if feeble minded like I am, just pay 7 bucks and get a tool that helps the feeble-minded. Highly recommened, and I have no interests in the company nor do I know the developer, but I am sure he/she is a nice person (as most 3rd-party mac developers are).

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Answer 15

kisuke3

Level 3

914 points

Jul 26, 2011 7:28 AM in response to TheSmokeMonster

if you are ok to pay an App to do simple things then its up to you my friend

Calibration does not fix your battery but it makes sure that time remaining reflects the accurate percentage left for the battery. Its good to calibrate the battery at least twice a month,

Ultimately, you have this machine probably by 2years now but you've never left it unplugged. This is where you need to focus, Use the battery. I don't know too much about the mechanics but its like purchasing a battery and putting onto a TV remote but did not use it for 2years, of course it may degrade

Just use it until you computer shuts down. Anyway there's safe sleep feature for your macbook pro.

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