Bulging battery on MacBook Pro

Question

Level 1

6 points

Bulging battery on MacBook Pro

The battery in my MacBook Pro has a massive bulge of 5mm height of 1/3 of the surface. The battery is about 8" by 2.5", and can be divided in 3 zones as seen in the photograph: on the right, a 3.5x2.5 zone that is OK, then a 2.5x2.5 central zone grossly bulged and at the left a 2x2.5 OK zone. The central zone applies great pressure on the trackpad, failing the clicking, and distorting the bottom of the unit. I believe that the Li ion Polymer battery -though still keeping charge- is very dangerous, even more though that the bulge cannot be detected from the outside; the telltales of the dangerous battery are [1] the failure of the left click of the trackpad [2] the slight distortion of the bottom. Did Apple issued a warning to look for telltales of failure? Was the battery recalled ?

Unit: MacBook Pro 13.3' A1278 2x2.4 Core 2 Duo/DDR3-4GB/SATA250GB

Picture: battery folded over to show the massive bulge lining up with the left click area of the track pad; when in position, the bulge applies great pressure on the pad.

Battery: A1322 Li Ion Polymer 10.95V 63.5Wh

MacBook Pro, OS X 10.9.5 Mavericks

Posted on Jan 29, 2017 10:42 PM

Reply

Answer 1

it2apple Author

Level 1

6 points

Feb 3, 2017 10:58 AM in response to it2apple

Update: the bulged battery was shown by the OS as healthy, holding 95% charge (2892 out of 3040) with 846 cycles. The only indication that something was wrong came first from the trackpad (left click not working) then a slight bulge at the bottom of the unibody.

Following the forum advice, I have removed the battery. Both trackpad clicks are working again. The interesting part is that the battery keeps expanding rapidly, though it is now outside the MacBook Pro and no longer connected to any power source . The bulge is now 15mm on the top (from 5mm a week ago) and 5 mm on the bottom where the label A1322 is. The innards are showing through two gaps, one 50mm by 10mm and the other 40mm by 4mm. I am taking time lapse pictures for an interesting video.

MacBook Pro A1278 2x2.4Core2duo/RAM4GB/SATA250GB/upgraded to 10.12.3Sierra

Battery A1322 Li Ion Polymer 10.95V 63.5Wh

Pictures: screenshot of Apple BAttery Information, Bulge on bottom of battery with label, gap showing the battery guts

Reply

Answer 2

it2apple Author

Level 1

6 points

Feb 12, 2017 11:18 PM in response to it2apple

The A 1322 continue to expand (outside the A 1278, and not connected to any power) at a fast rate and is now 26mm thick instead of the nominal 13.8mm I placed it in a ceramic box outside for safety with a glass top for view/camera. I found out that 30% of my unibodies have somehow swollen batteries, though not as severe as the 1st one pictured here.

Pictures: 1 week after photos of [1] gap, side 1 [2] gap, side 2 [3] nominal thickness [4] bulge thickness

Reply

Answer 3

Feb 13, 2017 12:32 PM in response to it2apple

Since you work in a school, In the US, contact educational support for advice:

Education customers
Support: 1-800-800-2775
Sales: 1-800-780-5009

There may be solutions for your school that are not available to the general public. If not, there still should be knowledgeable people there who can advise you about what to do.

Reply

Answer 4

Jan 29, 2017 11:58 PM in response to it2apple

heyy

Yeah... this happens after a number of cycles.... or there was something wrong with the charging...

I should replace the battery.. buy a new one and install it by yourself or you bring it to an apple store to let It be repaired bij apple repair service..

good luck

-dennis rodenburg

Reply

Answer 5

Feb 3, 2017 11:17 AM in response to it2apple

Lithium metal is flammable when exposed to air. You should take that Battery to your Apple dealer for proper disposal.

In Desktop Macs, large capacitors are used to smooth out the DC power supplied to the chips. In a battery-containing Mac, the battery is used as a buffer against power spikes and valleys. Your Mac should not be operated on a regular basis without a battery in place. With no battery to cushion power surges, you Mac could be damaged by random power events.

Reply

Answer 6

it2apple Author

Level 1

6 points

Apr 28, 2017 11:10 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

The expanding battery is an interesting educational science project. Placed in a sturdy fireproof enclosure, it continues to expand: it is now 37.5 mm thick. It has not vented or caught fire yet.

Reply

Answer 7

Esquared

Level 6

12,409 points

Jan 29, 2017 11:32 PM in response to it2apple

This can happen to any Li ion Polymer battery after a number of years – it isn't model-specific. It has to be replaced.

Reply

Answer 8

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,317 points

Jan 30, 2017 4:49 AM in response to it2apple

Take out the battery immediately. It will continue to expand and can do serious damage to the MBP.

Ciao.

Reply

Answer 9

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,317 points

Feb 3, 2017 11:13 AM in response to it2apple

Once the battery starts to expand, it will continue to do so, thus, as I said, can seriously damage the Mac. If everything is operating normally, consider yourself to be fortunate.

Ciao.

Reply