Similar problem
Hello there,
Was hoping for some advice please if possible: essentially my questions are:
1. Should my next step be trying to replace the MagSafe board as per:
Installing MacBook Core 2 Duo Magsafe Board - iFixit
2. Do I need to take my new battery out of the machine in the meantime to prevent it losing capacity.
The story so far:
I have a 15" MacBook Pro aluminium case from ~2006, 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, running MacOSX 10.6.8
The battery gradually lost capacity over the past 6-7 years, and finally got to the point where I had to leave the magsafe charger connected to run the computer for more than a few minutes.
A week ago, the battery completely died, showing an "X" in the status bar battery indicator. The computer then wouldn't start at all (you could hear it trying to boot over and over), so I removed the dead battery, leaving the magsafe connected, and the computer returned to normal function.
Hoping to be able to use the computer in a portable manner, I bought a replacement battery on eBay - not genuine Mac but a compatible Chinese-made equivalent. (Hoping that's not a problem...)
I installed the new battery when it arrived but noticed that the status bar now said "Not Charging". The system profiler told me the battery had about 50% charge at that point. Thinking maybe the battery needed to be run down to be able to be recognised, I ran it off battery only (with magsafe disconnected) for a while until it shut down when battery ran out, then plugged in magsafe again and the computer again ran normally but said "Not Charging" and the System Profiler now showed the battery to be empty.
I found this thread, and tried resetting the SCM as per
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
No luck, magsafe still green and battery still "Not Charging".
Tried updating the system battery firmware as per
Battery Update 1.2
No luck, magsafe still green, battery now not even recognised by the system to exist. System Profiler said no battery installed.
Reset SCM again and battery recognised to exist again but still "Not Charging" and magsafe green. Have left it overnight and no gain in battery charge as evidenced by removing the magsafe and the system shuts down just as if battery wasn't there.
According to Coconut Battery's interpretation of the current state of affairs, the battery's capacity has decreased to 90% of it's original capacity according to this program. It was at 100% yesterday!
Here is System Profiler text grab of current state of affairs:
Battery Information:
Model Information:
Serial Number:
Manufacturer: SMP
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 420a
PCB Lot Code: 0512
Firmware Version: 860f
Hardware Revision: 860f
Cell Revision: 860f
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 0
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5057
Health Information:
Cycle count: 2
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 9849
System Power Settings:
AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 180
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: No
Current Power Source: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 180
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
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
ID: 0x0100
Wattage (W): 45
Revision: 0x0000
Family: 0x00ba
Serial Number: 0x00425230
Charging: No
So yeh - after all that - my questions for you beautiful experts out there who are cleverer than me at these things are:
1. Should my next step be trying to replace the MagSafe board as per:
Installing MacBook Core 2 Duo Magsafe Board - iFixit
2. Do I need to take my new battery out of the machine in the meantime to prevent it losing capacity?
Thanks for everything you do.