another battery issue

I would like to start out by saying sorry if anything I am asking has been covered already.

15" MacBook Pro (purchased about April 2007)
OS X 10.5.2
battery 36 cycles

I really haven't utilized the portability of my computer until this summer. I usually keep it on my desk plugged into the AC adapter, but this summer I have been doing a lot of work which requires me to be on and off the charger. Today is the first day my computer has ever acted up, aside from an occasional freeze from time to time.

Today when I woke up, I noticed my charging status light kept flashing between orange and green. I found this a little odd because it had been charging all night. Ironically enough I was planning on doing a battery recondition today(it would have been my first), so I was trying to use my battery all the way down to zero. I had my MacBook Pro on my bed and I was doing some work. The weather was pretty hot today but I really didn't think anything of it. All of a sudden around 50% charge, my laptop turned off. I figured it could have been an overheat issue, so I waited a little before I turned it back on and it started loading and then turned off right away again. I went and put it back on the charger and it turned on just fine.

I was pretty frustrated by this point so I called Apple Care. I explained the issue and they informed me how my warranty had expired and how my battery wasn't up for recall. We did go through two different types of resets and she told me if the issue continued, I most likely needed a new battery. She recommended I take it to an Apple Store to get it checked for overheat damage as well. She claims MacBook Pros are not really "laptops" but "portable computers" and really shouldn't be used on beds. I really never realized there were vents on the computer until I looked really hard today and found them around the LCD joint.

So after my call to Apple Care I kept using my laptop and once again at around 50% charge it turned off without warning. This has to be one of the most frustrating Apple issues I have ever dealt with. I have always been a loyal Apple supporter and have always put so much faith in their products. I don't want to lose out on my $2k investment because of this.

So is anyone familiar with this issue? Anyone think it's a battery issue? How can I tell if I have heat damage?(the computer works fine when connected to the AC adapter) If it is a battery issue, should I keep bothering Apple for a free one or should I just buy one?

If it is at all helpful, the two resets I did with Apple Care were the remove battery and hold power button down for 10 seconds one and the hold option+apple+R+P+the power button one till you get three chimes.

Also, I upgraded from Tiger to Leopard.

Ughhh... So frustrated. The closest Apple store is about an hour away and I really don't want to throw big $$$ into getting this fixed.

I haven't suffered from this myself... but from what you've described im pretty decided on it being just a duff battery! The fact it works plugged into AC makes me pretty sure it would be that.

As for further heat damage id say just get a replacement battery run your mac for a while and see where it takes you first, if you still experience problems then id take it somewhere to be inspected.
At the end of the day if you spend $200+ atleast your $2K notebook is functioning!

Should I keep bothering Apple for a free battery? I've heard about people having luck with this, especially if their battery cycles were low.

Just an update, my battery will only charge to 97% now.

Calibrate the battery as you were going to do.

I've been having the same issue in the last week, but I know it could be my battery as it has been charged many many times. My cycle count is 388 and the full charge capacity is only 1768mAh. When I took the machine into Apple recently to see if I could get a new battery, because the charge only lasts under 1 hour, I was told a high cycle count like that is not covered under the extended warranty I paid good money for because it was considered ware & tear.

Anyway, now when the charge is still very high (65-74%), I've had the machine shut completely down. It only happens some times, not always. I plug it in and I can boot again.

I'm planning on buying a new battery to see if that fixes the problem. Probably this coming weekend. Sure hope it solves the issue, as this is not 'normal' behavior.

UPDATE

After my third call to Apple, the CSR finally said she would speak to her supervisor and I ended up getting a free battery replacement.

rothko said:

If it is at all helpful, the two resets I did with Apple Care were the remove battery and hold power button down for 10 seconds one and the hold option+apple+R+P+the power button one till you get three chimes.

Also, I upgraded from Tiger to Leopard.

Ughhh... So frustrated. The closest Apple store is about an hour away and I really don't want to throw big $$$ into getting this fixed.

Click to expand...

OK I feel really stupid right now. I'm trying to reset the way you describe.
I remove the battery with the AC attched. Press and hold power button for 10 second and I would hear long beep then I press and hold option+apple+r+p+power (I need extra hand for that) the laptop would boot up and it just go right into log in screen and I didn't hear any chimes.
Did I do it right?

I would call Apple.