MacBook Air battery intermittently not recognized

[Jesse333]

MacBook Air 7.2 13” Early 2015 Intel Core I5 1.6Ghz

Memory 8GB Storage capacity 250GB El Capitan 10.11.6



About two months ago upon startup my Mac occasionally showed the red low battery icon and would not start up without power cord. If I plugged the cord in, it would start up and show good battery indicators, and I could immediately unplug MagSafe and it would run and look fine.



That scenario hasn't happened for a while, and now occasionally upon startup and rarely even while plugged in and being used it shows a no battery icon [battery with X in it], and "No Available Battery" [via option & battery icon keystroke combination], as well as Battery Installed: No [in the System Report/Power info]. Still starts normally with MagSafe in, but when the no battery icon is showing and I unplug the MagSafe, the screen goes dark and I need to plug the power cord back in and press the power button for about three seconds to bring up the screen I was working on.



At all times the MagSafe shows orange [or green for a flash if I reset the SMC], and the clock shows the right time.



Same issue after running disc first aid and resetting SMC & PRAM several times, and starting in Safe Mode.



So far, if I wait awhile, the battery symbol comes back on as charging, I can unplug it, and it shows the following Battery Information:



Model Information:

Manufacturer: SMP

Device Name: bq20z451

Pack Lot Code: 0

PCB Lot Code: 0

Firmware Version: 511

Hardware Revision: 000a

Cell Revision: 1200

Charge Information:

Charge Remaining (mAh): 6279

Fully Charged: No

Charging: Yes

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 6840

Health Information:

Cycle Count: 118

Condition: Normal

Battery Installed: Yes

Amperage (mA): -2

Voltage (mV): 8359



I live in South Africa, where mac repair centres are few and far away, so any help would be hugely appreciated.

thanks

Jesse

 

[pigoo3]

Thread moved to better area (was originally placed in the desktop section).

Thanks,

- Nick

 

[chscag]

I live in South Africa, where mac repair centres are few and far away, so any help would be hugely appreciated.

Welcome to our forums.

The first thing to try is replace the battery. You can lookup the instructions for doing that at this US web site: www.ifixit.com

I'm not certain if your battery is user serviceable or not. I suspect since it's a 2015 model the battery may not be. You may have to try to find an authorized Mac service center or someone who is knowledgeable that can do the work for you. Finding a replacement battery may also be a chore. And the uncertainty of this is that the battery may not be the culprit causing your problem.

 

[ferrarr]

Maybe try these resets?

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

 

[Jesse333]

Yes, thanks. Clearly an option, although an expensive one considering that most of the time the diagnostics and use show that the battery is in good condition. Hoping that the specific behavior as described could allow for something else to be tried first.
Additional specific behavior now observed is that if I am plugged in and have an X on the battery and then close the unit for 12 seconds, when I open it is charging and shows ok for another 12 seconds, and then goes back to an X. Also sometimes when I unplug it it seems fine, but stays at 100% unless I unplug and replug it then shows the correct percentage and continues to work fine.

 

[Jesse333]

Thanks, Nick
And Ferrar, as mentioned, I have tried resetting the SMC and the PRAM several times, without it helping.

 

[chscag]

Yes, thanks. Clearly an option, although an expensive one considering that most of the time the diagnostics and use show that the battery is in good condition. Hoping that the specific behavior as described could allow for something else to be tried first.
Additional specific behavior now observed is that if I am plugged in and have an X on the battery and then close the unit for 12 seconds, when I open it is charging and shows ok for another 12 seconds, and then goes back to an X. Also sometimes when I unplug it it seems fine, but stays at 100% unless I unplug and replug it then shows the correct percentage and continues to work fine.

Try the least expensive things first like swapping out the MagSafe Charger Adapter and then the battery itself. Perhaps you can purchase those items and get a refund on them if it turns out they are not the problem? If it's a logic board problem with the charging circuitry, that will be a very expensive repair; hopefully it's not that.

 

[Jesse333]

Thanks chscag

 

[rawtiger]

battery issue

Thanks chscag

Any success? I had the same situation with my MBA11 2012!

 

[Jesse333]

Any success? I had the same situation with my MBA11 2012!

I did nothing, and after about a month it came right by itself

 

[rawtiger]

I see.. It seems if I shut it down, then the battery issue does not happen..

 

[Jesse333]

That's different than mine was.
Good luck