Mac Book power problem

I have a MacBook Core Duo 2.0 that wasn't charging and would only run on the AC so I checked every thing I know about and figured it may be the MagSafe board so I got one and now it charges and the battery reports in System Profiler as good but when I pull the MagSafe off it shuts down. I did the SMU reset and AppleJack and still the same deal. Do you think a MOBO is at fault?

What about the battery condition? If when you pull the magsafe plug...and the computer shuts down...that seems like a no power situation (no charge in the battery).

So the battery could be bad/worn out.

I would have investigated the battery before replacing the magsafe board.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

What about the battery condition? If when you pull the magsafe plug...and the computer shuts down...that seems like a no power situation (no charge in the battery).

So the battery could be bad/worn out.

I would have investigated the battery before replacing the magsafe board.

- Nick

Click to expand...

When I replaced the MagSafe board it then began to charge.

The two batteries I have show normal and 4 lights and the menu reports 100% charge with a green light on the MagSafe. I think it may be an issue with the Logic board?

FatherTime said:

The two batteries I have show normal and 4 lights and the menu reports 100% charge with a green light on the MagSafe. I think it may be an issue with the Logic board?

Click to expand...

You may be right about the magsafe board.

Regarding the battery condition...4 lights and 100% charge can sometimes mean absolutely nothing. An old battery that's worn out can show 4 lights and 100% charge...but only have 15-20 minutes (or less) runtime on it (when unplugged).

If your battery is worn out...it's worn out. You didn't mention how old your battery is...or how many charge/discharge cycles it has...so it could be in great shape...or terrible shape.

Since this is a core 2 duo MacBook...if it has the user replaceable battery...and if it's the original battery...it could/would be at least 2-3 years old...maybe older.

Just throwing this battery info your way just in case. Don't want you scratching your head about the magsafe board or logic board...if the actual issue is old battery/batteries.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

You may be right about the magsafe board.

Regarding the battery condition...4 lights and 100% charge can sometimes mean absolutely nothing. An old battery that's worn out can show 4 lights and 100% charge...but only have 15-20 minutes (or less) runtime on it (when unplugged).

Just throwing this battery info your way just in case. Don't want you scratching your head about the magsafe board or logic board...if the actual issue is old battery/batteries.

- Nick

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This is what I found so I'll clean it up and cross maybe??

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/77bzdzqt7da6obz/ESjq2ghT-l

FatherTime said:

This is what I found so I'll clean it up and cross maybe??

Click to expand...

Thanks for the photos. So far in this thread (in terms of boards)...we've primarily been discussing the mage-safe board. Unless I'm mistaken...the photos are of the logic board. I didn't think that the logic board's "health" was in question (although you did mention "MOBO" in the original post).

I'm thinking that the problem is either the mag-safe board (which you replaced)...or the battery.

I know that you said that you have two batteries...how about posting how many charge/discharge each battery has?

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Thanks for the photos. So far in this thread (in terms of boards)...we've primarily been discussing the mage-safe board. Unless I'm mistaken...the photos are of the logic board. I didn't think that the logic board's "health" was in question (although you did mention "MOBO" in the original post).

I'm thinking that the problem is either the mag-safe board (which you replaced)...or the battery.

I know that you said that you have two batteries...how about posting how many charge/discharge each battery has?

- Nick

Click to expand...

Yes the OP started as "MacBook power trouble" a power problem, the AC had to be connected to boot and when booted the battery showed no charge so as stated I replaced the MagSafe board and the batteries began to charge all the way to 100%.

However upon disconnecting the AC (even though the batteries (2 of them) report as normal and fully charged) the machine shuts down so I pulled the logic board and found the battery connector board socket to be damaged hence the picture of the logic board.

So I'll post the detailed battery info after I get it back together. So far I'm sure of one bad MagSafe board that may have contributed to the fried socket for the battery connector explaining why the battery can now charge but can't boot the machine.

FatherTime said:

So I'll post the detailed battery info after I get it back together.

Click to expand...

Yeah...I forgot that the computer may be in pieces at the moment...and unable to get the battery data!

As far as the battery cycles. Just want to know what that situation is like...so we can eliminate or not eliminate that as a possible area to focus on.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Yeah...I forgot that the computer may be in pieces at the moment...and unable to get the battery data!

As far as the battery cycles. Just want to know what that situation is like...so we can eliminate or not eliminate that as a possible area to focus on.

- Nick

Click to expand...

Well it's back together and now and it's not charging at all so the cleaning of the burned socket didn't help any. The battery count is 439 on one of them and the other is 101 and both report as normal condition. So I need to get a MOBO?

FatherTime said:

Well it's back together and now and it's not charging at all so the cleaning of the burned socket didn't help any. The battery count is 439 on one of them and the other is 101 and both report as normal condition. So I need to get a MOBO?

Click to expand...

You never really mentioned the exact MacBook model this is...but I'm going to assume it's an older one with the user removable battery. Regarding the batteries. These batteries are supposed to be rated for 300 charge/discharge cycles...so the one with 439 is getting "up in age". The other one with 101 cycles is much better.

Yes...that burned socket on the logic board where the battery engages would certainly sounds like it could be the problem. This is a problem that we don't hear about very often.

My questions are:

- Do you know what caused this burned socket?
- Have you had this computer for a long time?
- Is this computer something you bought cheap...and are trying to fix?

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

You never really mentioned the exact MacBook model this is...but I'm going to assume it's an older one with the user removable battery. Regarding the batteries. These batteries are supposed to be rated for 300 charge/discharge cycles...so the one with 439 is getting "up in age". The other one with 101 cycles is much better.

Yes...that burned socket on the logic board where the battery engages would certainly sounds like it could be the problem. This is a problem that we don't hear about very often.

My questions are:

- Do you know what caused this burned socket?
- Have you had this computer for a long time?
- Is this computer something you bought cheap...and are trying to fix?

- Nick

Click to expand...

The model is a MacBook Core Duo 2.0 GHz A1181 the original. It belongs to a friend's daughter and I'm fixing it for her. I think It's due to the connecting board coming loose just a little plus a lot of very loose screws hence the on and off charging in the beginning,

I'm going to get a battery board and see if it may be the cause. Outside of the black on the socket after cleaning only a little is left and all the pins look good. I see no other damage on the board.

The board is pictured below. One of the pica shows the pins that connect to the logic board.

Amazon.com: NEW OEM Original Genuine Apple MacBook 13" A1181 Battery Connector 20Pins White 820-1968-A: Everything Else