macbook pro charge issue

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macbook pro charge issue

My 2011 Macbook pro charges fine up to 100%, then it's as if the current reverses and it starts to discharge. The orange charging light is still on and the icon shows it to be charging, but it will drain all the way to 0% if I let it. The battery is old but condition normal, and holds a charge perfectly. I've done a NVRAM and SMC reset and thought that did the trick but today the draining issue returned. When it is draining the amperage becomes a negative figure. Any ideas??

(running OS 10.6.8, planning to upgrade shortly)

Charge Information:

Charge Remaining (mAh): 6034

Fully Charged: No

Charging: Yes

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 6096

Health Information:

Cycle Count: 799

Condition: Normal

Battery Installed: Yes

Amperage (mA): 598

Voltage (mV): 12563

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jul 27, 2015 12:01 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Ralph Landry1

Level 8

41,850 points

Jul 27, 2015 12:04 PM in response to riomhaire

Try using a different charger if you can and see if that does the same thing - if so it sounds like an internal fault. You might want to take it to an Apple store genius bar and have the techs run their diagnostics, that is free, to see what faults show up.

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Answer 2

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jul 27, 2015 12:16 PM in response to riomhaire

An Apple Hardware Test may offer a clue:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201257

Note that an error free AHT is not definitive.

Ciao.

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Answer 3

riomhaire Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 27, 2015 12:46 PM in response to Ralph Landry1

Thanks Ralph, I did try it with another charger but because it doesn't happen every single time, or straight away every single time, it wasn't a conclusive test (it did work ok with other charger at the time). Before this I was connected to an extension reel and the charger was acting up, had to wiggle it a lot to get it to charge at all. (This charger is very short, it came with my 2007 MBP and I switched back when my other one died). Without the extension reel it's connecting and charging fine, until it decides to discharge out the power cable. Although when I pull it out and put it back in again, it starts to charge again. I live in the country and my nearest genius bar is 6hours return (ie about €80 petrol). Can't even get a new charger in my nearest big town! One of the major drawbacks of apple in Ireland.

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Answer 4

riomhaire Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 27, 2015 7:13 PM in response to riomhaire

The plot thickens... Will no longer charge to 100%, seems to have almost given up charging and for the first time this evening the adaptor head became VERY hot to the touch.. does this ring any bells?

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Answer 5

Jul 27, 2015 7:28 PM in response to riomhaire

There could be two things going on here, a faulty charger and/or a bad battery or charging circuit. Any of which would take more to diagnose than is available to the average user. Since a trip to the Apple Store Genius Bar is not a very good option, you could contact Apple Support and see about sending it to them, see Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Ireland is a beautiful country, we spent three weeks there in May, Dublin, Cashel, Kilarney, Galway, Balynahinch, Derry, Belfast, and back to Dublin. Decided there is so much we did not get to see we need to go back 😉

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Answer 6

riomhaire Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 12, 2015 1:05 PM in response to Ralph Landry1

Thanks again guys - this did turn out to be a faulty charger - sometimes the simplest solution huh. It still took quite a few days to suss it out and quite a few days waiting for a new charger to come in the post - wouldn't want to have any pressing work eh? Couldn't even buy a charger in my nearest big town. Crazy. Apple is fine if you live in a city only. Ralph, you missed out on the best bit - Donegal! Although you did get around some nice spots. Put Donegal on the list for next time!

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