Macbook air a1370 won't run on battery or charge

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I am new to the Mac world, have my degree in computer user support and always had an interest in mac's. Had a chance to get a MacBook a1370 for pretty cheap, it is the mid 2011, i5, 4gb ram. The issue was that it needed the battery replaced, so the person was selling it. He had stripped the heads off a few screws since he didn't have a pentalobe screwdriver. I was able to get the screws out and the battery looked untouched. I ordered a new battery and installed it but it still will not run off battery or charge. It reads the percentage of the battery and has battery life left, it read the old battery too. It says battery needs to be replaced. I have checked for updates but it is up to date.

New to the mac world but not new to computers. I am guessing it's an issue with motherboard but am open to suggestions.
 

pigoo3

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Had a chance to get a MacBook a1370 for pretty cheap, it is the mid 2011, i5, 4gb ram. The issue was that it needed the battery replaced, so the person was selling it.

Well...there is always the chance that the seller was lying. This is a risk we take buying a laptop computer that we cannot fully test before purchasing. But let's hope not!:)

Does the computer work at all when plugged in with the power supply?

The first thing I would try is an SMC reset:

Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

This may or may not work...since when the battery was removed...that is sort of the equivalent of an SMC reset.

Good luck,:)

- Nick
 
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It runs just fine but will only run while plugged in. After booting to the os it shows the battery icon and says battery needs to be replaced and is not charging. But it does show a percentage of how much the battery does have. Showed this on both the old battery and new battery.

I will try the smc tomorrow. Thank you for the suggestion.
 

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It runs just fine but will only run while plugged in.

Ok great!:) I was concerned that the computer did not work at all...and maybe the seller wasn't honest with you.

- Nick
 
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I tested it before I bought it to make sure it worked. I tried the SMC reset and still nothing. I haven't seen a problem quite like this before. I just find it strange that it reads the battery and how much life is left in the battery but will not run off it. I could see a charging circuit going out and not charging the battery but usually it will still run off battery. Guess I learn something new everyday.
 

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Since this computer is "new to you". Have you tried wiping the storage...and reinstalling the OS?

- Nick
 
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Previous owner reloaded it before I bought it, when I got there I had go through the initial setup before I could test it.
 

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Since we've tried a bunch of things:

- the OS has been reinstalled
- tried brand new battery
- tried SMC Reset
- power supply is good

Since this is a power/charging issue...it's possible that the computer needs a new Mag-Safe board:

MacBook Air 11" I/O Board - 661-5793 922-9972

- Nick
 
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Does that board control whether it will switch over to run off battery? I know it controls whether it will take a charge. I am just used to pc's and the power port usually has nothing to do with the computer running off the charged battery. Got to ask since I'm curious.
 

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Does that board control whether it will switch over to run off battery? I know it controls whether it will take a charge. I am just used to pc's and the power port usually has nothing to do with the computer running off the charged battery. Got to ask since I'm curious.

I can't say 100% exactly what all the Mag-Safe board controls.

Obviously it's the interface between the power supply & the computer...and the other ports that are on the card. Maybe the card sends some sort of signal to the computer when the power supply is disconnected...to then switch over to battery power.

Given what's already been tried...the Mag-Safe board and logic board are pretty much all that is left. The Mag-Safe board costs about $50...the logic board costs about $300.

I think that if I was going to try one of these...I would go with the lower cost part first ($50 Mag-Safe card). Not only because it cost less...but it is also a part that is directly related to power.

If the problem is the logic board ($300)...it's probably not worth it financially to replace it. $300 for the replacement + what was paid for the computer = probably is the same or more than the cost of a 100% working unit.

So basically my strategy would be...try replacing the Mag-Safe board. If this doesn't fix the problem...then it's time for e-Bay!;) The only other possibility is...the cable that goes to/from the battery may be damaged.

- Nick
 

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