Macbook shuts down at random

I recently picked up a Macbook, 2009, Core2Duo, 13", 4GB, 160HD. The owner had replaced a new non-apple battery. I need something with a firewire for video capture and that would be all it does.

Problem - It will shut down at random. I put it on a cooling pad that has a fan in it to see if it was a heat issue. That did not help. There is no pattern. Sometimes it will run for hours and never has a hick up. Other times it is on for 10 minutes then shuts down as in a hard shutdown and has to be powered on an reload the OS.

I have the energy saver and screen saver shut off. I can't have it shutting down as that really kills the video capture.

I did remove the battery and so far that seems to have fixed the problem. I left it on for hours and it was fine. Could the battery be the issue? Would buying it an OEM battery potentially fix the problem or could it be an issue with the inverter?

Lisa

It's not the inverter the 2009 macbook's where known for logic board failures do to the nvidia graphics card inside the macbook.

when they start to go there is nothing that can be done third party battery or no third party battery.

i would recommend trying something easy run the macbook for 12 hours without the battery installed if it shut's down again its the graphics card.

Already did that. Ran all night without shutting down with the battery removed. I plan to put the battery back in and see if it shuts off again.

Lisa

I did remove the battery and so far that seems to have fixed the problem. I left it on for hours and it was fine. Could the battery be the issue? Would buying it an OEM battery potentially fix the problem or could it be an issue with the inverter?

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It's not an inverter issue because that only impacts the backlight and even if the backlight goes off the machine will remain powered up. I'll second your suspicion and say it could be a battery problem. But before buying an OEM battery (which will be expensive) I would let it run for a day or so to see what happens. You might also consider purchasing a battery from Mac Sales instead of Apple.

Okay, I can do that. I will turn it on an leave it for a couple of days. I have no idea where the battery in it came from - no brand name.

I just remembered something that I did not include in my post some other symptoms. I have had times when the battery icon would have an "X" over it yet the battery was present and fully charged. I would take the battery out and reseat it and that would fix it with the battery showing up as 99% and charging. It would be ok for a while and then it would show up again with the "X" over the battery icon. A reseating of the battery would correct the problem.

This computer is running Yosemite 10.10.2. I will let you know how the leaving it on for a couple of days with no battery installed goes.

Lisa

Okay two days of the laptop being on constantly and no shut downs. I have had the battery removed the whole time.

Now my question is if I purchase a new battery from some place like OWC will this allow me to have a battery installed with no more random shut downs? Is there potentially another issue that is being triggered by the battery being in place?

Lisa

lclev said:

Okay two days of the laptop being on constantly and no shut downs. I have had the battery removed the whole time.

Now my question is if I purchase a new battery from some place like OWC will this allow me to have a battery installed with no more random shut downs? Is there potentially another issue that is being triggered by the battery being in place?

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Now that you tested it with the battery removed (and things seem stable)...have you tried reinstalling the battery to see if the problem starts again?

- Nick

I can do that tomorrow. Should I reset anything first?

Lisa

Whenever stuff like this happens...I always like to do an SMC Reset and PRAM/NVRAM Reset.

- Nick

Now my question is if I purchase a new battery from some place like OWC will this allow me to have a battery installed with no more random shut downs? Is there potentially another issue that is being triggered by the battery being in place?

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Unfortunately there's no way to tell until you try it with a new battery. However, I have some doubts that the battery could cause the shut downs. It could in fact be the DC input board to the logic board which is causing the shut downs. No way to tell though. I hate to suggest the shotgun approach to trouble shooting something like that, but sometimes that's the only way to fix the problem. It can get expensive though....

That is my concern chscag. I will do the resetting of the smc and pram/nvram that Nick suggests, reinstall the battery and see what happens tomorrow. We have an event to record so I will try it then - I will have a backup recording also.

I will decide then if I want to chance the new battery. I can continue to use it without a battery. It just is nice to have a battery in place to make it feel balanced.

Lisa

If the SMC & NVRAM reset don't help...and reinstalling the battery results in the same problems...I was going to end up in the same place as "chscag".

I think that the DC-In board is less expensive than a new battery. But for us "DIYer's"...hard to know 100% if they are truly "bad"...other than to replace with known good parts.

- Nick

That would be a new experience! I have not replaced a DC-In board - or anything else for that matter. My little friend who comes in to help me during the week has done a lot of mix and match with powerbooks we got off Ebay with a lot of success getting several working. I might pick up the part and let him have a go at it. He has a lot more patience and finger dexterity than I do.

I will keep you informed of my progress.

Lisa

Did all the resets, put the battery back in, and so far no shut downs. Since it was so random I will have to continue stressing it to see if that fixed the issue.

Thanks for all the help. At least now if it reoccurs I have a direction to go.

Lisa

lclev said:

Did all the resets, put the battery back in, and so far no shut downs. Since it was so random I will have to continue stressing it to see if that fixed the issue.

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Fingers crossed the things tried so far did the trick.

- Nick