macbook 13" no battery power although it says "good" & only 226 cycle counts

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I bought my black MacBook 13" used in 2009, and have been using it daily for work since then. Most of the time I have the MagSafe power adapter connected, and at least once a month I unplug it to let the battery drain out and connect it again when it goes to sleep from being almost drained.
Every night for at least a year I would close all the programs, sleep the computer, and unplug the MagSafe power adapter, and the battery power would be enough to keep the Macbook asleep for about 12 hours, so in the morning I simply opened the computer and it would still have some power, so I would again plug the MagSafe power adapter and continue working

Since yesterday even though the battery says "100%" when the MagSafe power adapter is connected, if I disconnect it it only lasts about 15 seconds before it goes to sleep, and it won't wake up unless I plug the power again.
I've already done a Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) and it didn't solve anything.

I'm getting ready to buy a new battery, but the battery information says its in "good" status with only 226 cycle counts! So I wonder if there is anything I haven't yet tried to get some more life out of my battery and not have to buy a new one!

Additional information: Just now - after unplugging the MagSafe power adapter to see how long it would take it to go to sleep - an X appeared over the battery icon. This is the second time this happens, the first time it was two days ago - right before my battery problems - and I handled that by turning off the computer, taking the battery out, putting it back in, and turning it on again, which is what I will do right now after posting this...

I was thinking on turning the computer off and leaving it without the battery and without being connected to the power for about 10-12 hours to see if in the morning anything was different. Do you advise against this idea?

"Battery Information:
Model Information:
Serial Number: DP-ASMB013-351b-2817
Manufacturer: DP
Device name: ASMB013
Pack Lot Code: 0001
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0102
Hardware Revision: 0300
Cell Revision: 0100
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 65337
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 65337
Health Information:
Cycle count: 226
Condition: Good
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -11
Voltage (mV): 10698

System Power Settings:

AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes

Hardware Configuration:
UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:
Connected: Yes
Charging: No"
 
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chas_m

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If the computer is completely shut down and you take the battery out for a while (an hour would be more than sufficient) and then you put it back in, that will reset the SMC which may help.

I think you are probably right that the battery is starting to go bad, it's a shame to see one so "young" do this.

You might also want to download Coconut Battery which will provide you with alternative (hopefully more accurate) information on the battery. It's free.
 
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I bought my black MacBook 13" used in 2009, and have been using it daily for work since then. Most of the time I have the MagSafe power adapter connected, and at least once a month I unplug it to let the battery drain out and connect it again when it goes to sleep from being almost drained.
Every night for at least a year I would close all the programs, sleep the computer, and unplug the MagSafe power adapter, and the battery power would be enough to keep the Macbook asleep for about 12 hours, so in the morning I simply opened the computer and it would still have some power, so I would again plug the MagSafe power adapter and continue working

tamaras,

Unfortunately your charging regime has probably had a negative effect on your battery life.

Constant recharges from the red-zone and beyond are known to damage lithium batteries. They should never regularly be run down to oblivion either, only infrequently to recalibrate the smart bit of your Macbook battery which is related to the fuel gauge.

Mac OS X 10.6 Help: Calibrating a portable computer battery

Basically with Lithium, smaller more frequent charges are recommended over big fuel swings and frequent charger disconnects.
 
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Thank you for your replies.

The coconutBattery 2.7.2 information is:
"Batttery charge
Current charge: 65337 mAh
Maximum charge: 65337 mAh
100% (full green colored bar)

Battery capacity
Current capacity: 65337 mAh
Design capacity: 5020 mAh
1301% (full green colored bar)


Details:
Mac Model Macbook1,1
Age of your Mac: 63 months
Battery load cycles: 226
Battery temperature: 30.1ºC
Battery power usage: 0.0 Watt"

It looks like the same information than the one System Profiler gave me (except that the coconot battery app says my battery is at 1301% capacity! what's up with that info?!?)... what I don't understand is why the System Profiler or CoconutBattery would say my battery is 100% charged but as soon as I disconnect the MagSafe Power adapter it goes to sleep after a few seconds (meaning the battery has really no charge).

I'm not sure if the calibration will work if the battery says "100%" but as soon as I unplug the power it goes to sleep (in the calibration you are supposed to "run down" your battery by using it, but in my case it only lasts 10 seconds)?

I was also thinking of downloading this update but I am not sure about it Battery Update 1.2...

Thanks so much for your help!
 
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Mate,
Your Macbook according to this is 5 years old and the battery and/or it's charger will be showing it's age.
It's possible that the battery's protection circuit is spuriously activating which will turn it off if over-discharged or if it thinks the conditions are similar.

I don't think that there is a way to momentarily boost your battery so that it will start to take a charge properly (you could try removing the battery whilst the mains is connected and then re-insert the battery whilst the macbook is still under mains power), and by the time you've gone 'all around the houses' you'll probably kick yourself for not getting a new battery sooner.
 
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Thank you Pendlewitch for your quick response.
My macbook is quite old but as I understand it wasn't very used before I bought it in 2009 (bought it used), which is why the cycle count is so low.
I was merely looking for any input of why my System Profile says the battery's health is "good" with only a cycle count of 226, and it shows 100% full, when actually it has barely any charge... I guess there is no good explanation other than it is wrong! :S

I am buying a new battery, I looked directly at Apple store, in ebay, and amazon, and I am not convinced with any as there is so many mixed and bad reviews in all of those, so I'm going to buy this one which I read is recommended by several good members from this forum: NewerTech BAP13MBB56RS NuPower 60.5 Watt-Hour... in stock at OWC When I receive it I will be careful to follow the instructions to try to make it last as much as possible.
Thanks so much Mate!
 
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What I don't understand is why your battery is reading such a high capacity. 1305% capacity?
 
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What I don't understand is why your battery is reading such a high capacity. 1305% capacity?

I don't understand either! Its the reason I posted this thread, to see if anyone could decipher the statistics I get from System Profiler and from CoconutBattery... right now all I know is that the results I get are wrong because my battery has barely any charge once I unplug the MagSafe Power adapter (it lasts 10 seconds before going to sleep due to lack of battery).
 
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The "bad stats" from Coconut Battery prove that the battery is hosed. It will need to be replaced.
 
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Way... way too many specs to list.
That and the fact that it just drops out from under the load, I'd say it's impedance is probably pretty high.
 
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I don't understand either! Its the reason I posted this thread, to see if anyone could decipher the statistics I get from System Profiler and from CoconutBattery... right now all I know is that the results I get are wrong because my battery has barely any charge once I unplug the MagSafe Power adapter (it lasts 10 seconds before going to sleep due to lack of battery).

Hi tamaras82,

GIGO I think ! Garbage in, garbage out - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Best of luck with your new battery it sounds like a good choice.

Cheers
Liam
 
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Thank you Liam. Definitely GIGO! Thank you for the definition and for pointing this out!
I'm looking forward to my new battery. It was shipped today. Hopefully it will last longer than 6 months which is the average "life" I read on reviews for the apple original batteries.
Best to you all, and thanks so much for your time in answering and helping me!
:)
 
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Thank you Liam. Definitely GIGO! Thank you for the definition and for pointing this out!
I'm looking forward to my new battery. It was shipped today. Hopefully it will last longer than 6 months which is the average "life" I read on reviews for the apple original batteries.
Best to you all, and thanks so much for your time in answering and helping me!
:)

Not at all tamaras82..we all pitched in. (you could use the reputation system on the left to spread some joy about;D)
 
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Thank you again. I have spread some joy with the reputation system! :D
 
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Thank you Liam. Definitely GIGO! Thank you for the definition and for pointing this out!
I'm looking forward to my new battery. It was shipped today. Hopefully it will last longer than 6 months which is the average "life" I read on reviews for the apple original batteries.
Best to you all, and thanks so much for your time in answering and helping me!
:)

Hi tamaras82, did you get your new battery? Just wondering..always nice to hear how folks get on.
 
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Not yet :S
It did get delivered already to the address in the US, but I am in Mexico and I am waiting for my aunt to come as she will bring it with her. As soon as I test it and check it out I will put some feedback. I have a good feeling about OWC! :D
 
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Not yet :S
It did get delivered already to the address in the US, but I am in Mexico and I am waiting for my aunt to come as she will bring it with her. As soon as I test it and check it out I will put some feedback. I have a good feeling about OWC! :D

Good news...hope everything goes ok:)
 
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Hi Pendlewitch,

Just wanted to let you know that I have received, calibrated, and I'm using very happily my new battery from OWC! :D
Their delivery was really fast, but it took a long time for my aunt to bring it to México.

Only bad thing is that the plastic left top corner "cover" (not the battery itself but the outer plastic that holds it) was a bit too big (about half a millimeter), but it still fit well so I could test and calibrate it. Once I saw that it worked great I filed down that half a millimeter as it bothered me that it was forced in place because of that extra plastic... and after that it fits perfectly.

I'm happy as it was cheaper than Apple and the reviews are much better... hopefully it will last for a long time. When it dies or starts to die I will come back and update this post to see how much it lasted! :)
 
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Hopefully it will last longer than 6 months which is the average "life" I read on reviews for the apple original batteries.

Where were you reading this, meth-fueledfantasies.com?

If Apple batteries lasted six months, I think we'd hear about it on every media outlet all the time, as that would be a distinct dealbreaker that would prevent any Apple notebooks from being sold.

So IOW, that's a load of ... um, not-credible garbage.
 
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Where were you reading this, meth-fueledfantasies.com?

If Apple batteries lasted six months, I think we'd hear about it on every media outlet all the time, as that would be a distinct dealbreaker that would prevent any Apple notebooks from being sold.

So IOW, that's a load of ... um, not-credible garbage.

Unnecessary in my opinion as that was just a figure of speech surely and too way back in the thread to be of any significance now that the new battery is achieving.
 

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