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User profile for user: ReidMac
ReidMac Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

MacBook Battery not charging

My daughter has a late 2008 Aluminum 2Ghz MacBook with 4 RAM and recently updated to Mountain Lion. Last week the battery stopped working so I ordered a third party replacement through Amazon which appears to be an Apple battery. We charged the battery overnight and my daughter started using the computer the next day after removing the power cord. She used it for about an hour and the battery showed 75% life. She turned if off and later couldn't get the computer to power on without hooking up the power cord. I zapped the PRAM, reset the SCM a couple of times and have had no luck getting the battery to function. After reinstalling the battery, the mag connector shows orange, the menu bar shows the charging graphic but a constant 0% charge-- also the "time to full charge"in the menu bar is greyed out. The "about this mac" info doesn't indicate that the battery is bad but also shows zero charge. After 5 or ten minutes the mag connector changes to green and the menu bar indicates an "X" for no battery. The "about this mac" info indicates that no battery is installed. Did I get a bad battery from a third party vendor? Could there be any problems with Mountain Lion and the charging routines on this era MacBook? My daughter's original battery "went bad" within a week of her upgrading from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion. Could be just a coincidence but the old battery gave the same info as the replacement. It would act like it was charging but not get above 0%--then change to "no battery"


Thanks

Posted on Aug 18, 2012 12:02 PM

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4 replies
User profile for user: jetsmets
jetsmets
User level: Level 1
0 points

Aug 30, 2012 6:04 PM in response to ReidMac

I have had the same problem. I bought a battery from a third party store and it was not recognized by the computer. I took it to the apple store and they said that you should never buy a third party battery and that you should always buy it from them. So I did, and I am still having the same problem with the constant 0% battery charge.

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User profile for user: ReidMac
ReidMac Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Aug 31, 2012 5:43 AM in response to jetsmets

After a few more futile attempts at resetting the PRAM and SMC, the laptop's fan went into a continuous hi-rev mode, so I took the computer into the local Apple Authorized repair store here in town. They ran a two minute diagnostic test which indicated various problems within the machine rather than a bad battery. I paid the $70 bench fee for further diagnosis and was told the logic board needed replacing.


Since the laptop was out of warranty but in "good condtion", the store sent it to the Apple repair center in Memphis to be fixed for the $400 flat-rate fee. The $70 diagnostic fee I had paid was applied to the Apple repair bill. The machine came back in three days with a new logic board, new track-pad, and new battery and works fine now. Was not aware of the Apple flat-rate service plan and was happy to get a refurbed unit for $400 rather than spending $1200 for a new machine.


After all the drama, I was not sure if the third party battery worked or not, but the vendor agreed to take it back for a refund if I would ship back to them. I found it interesting that the battery problem happened about the same time as the upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion and wondered if there was any connection. The tech guy at the store said that a significant OS upgrade could put stress on an older logic board so maybe this is what happened. Wish I had take the machine into the repair store to begin with.

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MacBook Battery not charging

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