06-29-2006, 01:43 AM

For the last week my Macbook Pro has been experiencing erratic power behavior, mostly shutting off randomly, battery not charging, battery not being recognized, etc. Today while sitting at the airport, my computer shut off completely, just turned off. I turn it over to check the battery (using the LED lights) and all that happened was the first light started blinking, and not the normal "your battery is dead" blinking, but blinking really fast.

I got to my destination, plugged it in, and checked the battery, now my charge icon says 0:17 to charge, but when I open it, it says the battery percentage is 0%. I turned the computer over and the first light of the battery is just blinking, now the normal "your battery is dead" blinking. When I take it out, I get the crazy fast "oh no somethings wrong!" blinking.

I tried the Power Unit reset (pulled out everything, let it sit, held down the power button for 10 seconds, let it sit some more, and plugged everything back in), and it still shows the battery as 0%. As soon as I take out the AC Adaptor, the computer just turns off.

Is the battery completely shot? Are there more steps to trouble shoot it? Am I missing something obvious? Please help!

Also, the computer shipped middle of March 06, if that helps.

06-29-2006, 01:52 AM

You still have your warranty. Call Apple or stop by an Apple Store.

06-29-2006, 02:05 AM

to see if its really your battery, dl this program: http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/


it will show battery capacity and all that stuff, gl!

06-29-2006, 10:43 AM

Alright, I plugged the computer in over night hoping this would somehow jump start the battery. When I woke up the morning, the charger was green, and the computer recognized the battery as being full. This is good!

I downloaded that problem and took a look at it, and now I think I know whats going on. The charge showed 100%, however, the capacity only showed 152 mAh out of 5500 mAh. Now, I have no idea what a mAh is, but I definitely know 152 IS NOT equal to 5500.

After about 15 minutes running on power, the capacity now shows 5521 out of 5500, which is great, but still weird. I guess I'll take it to the Apple Store as soon as I get a chance and see what can be done about it.

Thanks for the help!

[Edit] However, after running only 15 minutes on battery, the computer promptly turned off as if the battery were dead, which leads me to believe the battery is still only at 150 something capacity.

06-29-2006, 11:23 PM

yea it sounds like you have a shot battery, bring it to them and ask for a new one

06-30-2006, 03:22 AM

If still under warranty, get another - better safe than sorry! At least the current battery is working

06-30-2006, 12:02 PM

Well, I called up apple yesterday and they determined that the battery was in fact a bad one, so they sent me a replacement one, which should be here within a week.

Thanks again for all the help!

06-30-2006, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by PFerrara

Well, I called up apple yesterday and they determined that the battery was in fact a bad one, so they sent me a replacement one, which should be here within a week.

Thanks again for all the help!

No problem! Let us know if it works!

01-16-2007, 03:06 PM

so i used coconut and it said my current capacity is 4335mAh out of the 5200.( i have black macbook)it is at 83% capacity and I have had it for 8 months. It also says there have been 209 load cycles. I have noticed that it doesn't last as long as it used to. I keep it on ac as much as possible. I was wondering if there was a post that goes over the basics...

like if the light goes green on powercord is it okay to leave it connected for 8-10hrs.
should you charge it fully and then drain it as low as possible before plugging it back in to ac power
is there anyway to get back some of those mAh or prevent further deterioration of battery capacity etc...

also on another note is it inefficient to have it running with a 512 and one of the original 256 chips or should I balance those out and run on 2 -512's.

any advice, threads, or other wise would be greatly appreciated.

j

01-16-2007, 03:16 PM

Originally Posted by jeremiah3003

so i used coconut and it said my current capacity is 4335mAh out of the 5200.( i have black macbook)it is at 83% capacity and I have had it for 8 months. It also says there have been 209 load cycles. I have noticed that it doesn't last as long as it used to. I keep it on ac as much as possible. I was wondering if there was a post that goes over the basics...

like if the light goes green on powercord is it okay to leave it connected for 8-10hrs.
should you charge it fully and then drain it as low as possible before plugging it back in to ac power
is there anyway to get back some of those mAh or prevent further deterioration of battery capacity etc...

also on another note is it inefficient to have it running with a 512 and one of the original 256 chips or should I balance those out and run on 2 -512's.

any advice, threads, or other wise would be greatly appreciated.

j

Coconut is a nice app, although it just gets its information from the System profile which you can find when you select 'About this computer'.

As to your questions, I think its easy to get paranoid over battery maintenance and the fact is, no one ever treats them perfectly. However here are some basic tips that should be good for you.

- Regular deep discharges and recharges are not good for this type of battery. Try and recharge after a 50 - 70% drain if possible
- A full deep discharge and full recharge one every 2 or 3 months can help recalibrate the battery (i.e. show its true condition) and to keep it in good condition. To deep discharge the battery, wait until your Mac goes to sleep, then wait for the snooze light on the front to go out completely. When this happens, charge to full (i.e. wait for the green light).
- Try not to leave the battery fully discharged for any length of time, especially after a deep discharge
- Ideally (although I personally never do this) if you're going to use your MacBook via the mains for a very long time, remove your battery. Your battery is best stored around 40% charged (don't ask me why).

BTW, these things do not last forever. Expect, under normal use, that your battery will lose around 50% of its capacity within 2 years.

Your RAM configuration will not affect battery life, although having more RAM can help because your HDD is being used less.

01-16-2007, 03:58 PM

3 weeks ago, my laptop wasn't charging one bit.

I connect my power cable and it just lights up as green, not the orange

battery ran out and the laptop pretty much died. Rang up apple and after 2 weeks of repair. It's all good.

Apparently, the internal power system needed to be changed and somehow my battery needed to be changed as well!

Apple first moaned to me how i needed to take it to a nearby apple store, as they don't do the mail order fixing anymore. Since there were no nearby apple stores, and after some persuasive talking, they arranged to pick my macbook pro and fix it.

it's all good now, i even had some paint removed just below my spacebar and it was all repainted!?!

talk about service.