Macbook Air Battery Won't Charge

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I have searched far and wide to try and solve this issue but have had 0 luck.

I have an early 2015 Macbook Air (A1466) that I've kept in great condition over the years. It's never really left my room/desk and I've gone far out of my way to keep it in this condition because of how much I like this computer.

So, it had been a few months since I last used it (new job, work computer, travel all the time) and I realized the charger had been disconnected at some point meaning the battery had been likely sitting there completely dead for days, weeks, possibly months which I understand is not great for a Lithium-Ion battery?
I just tried to power it on for the first time the other day and it boots up, while plugged in, and loads seemingly normal but when the computer is finally completely started up the battery is indicated as "not charging" when clicking on the icon from the taskbar and the percentage is stuck at 1%.

The orange light on the MagSafe charger is on when plugged in.

The steps I've taken so far.
-Reset SMC a few times
-Reset PRAM a few times
-Option clicked on the battery to see a report and it shows as "normal"
-Downloaded coconut battery and that also shows as "normal"
-Checked the cycle count which is currently sitting at about ~310 which seems well under the expected failure point
-Removed my battery and checked the inside of my computer for corrosion or any other type of damage, found nothing
-Inspected the battery for any oddities or swelling, found nothing.
-Tried multiple MagSafe chargers
-Charged another Macbook using my MagSafe charger

A friend of mine had me take some photos of the IO board to see if he could figure it out and isn't sure but seems to think there might be something up with that? IO Board - Album on Imgur - IO board pictures.

I understand I might have a broken component somewhere but I just want to find out so I can avoid paying Apple $500, which they quoted me before even understanding the issue themselves.
 

chscag

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Welcome to our forums.

It's difficult to tell from the photo of the board, but it appears there is some corrosion present (could be a grainy photo) which might be the cause. You could try a new I/O board. I also suspect your battery may not be as good as you think it is. Leaving a Lithium-Ion battery in a complete discharged state for an extended period of time is not good for the battery. It's usually best to leave them charged up to around 50% or a bit more.

It can be expensive replacing both the battery and the I/O board.

How long did you leave the battery on charge when you first started it up again? It may take a while to revive the battery assuming the I/O board is okay. I have heard of batteries like yours coming to life again after being on charge overnight or even longer.

Let us know.
 

pigoo3

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So, it had been a few months since I last used it (new job, work computer, travel all the time) and I realized the charger had been disconnected at some point meaning the battery had been likely sitting there completely dead for days, weeks, possibly months which I understand is not great for a Lithium-Ion battery?

This would be my concern as well.

A friend of mine had me take some photos of the IO board to see if he could figure it out and isn't sure but seems to think there might be something up with that? IO Board - Album on Imgur - IO board pictures.

I understand I might have a broken component somewhere but I just want to find out so I can avoid paying Apple $500, which they quoted me before even understanding the issue themselves.

If this computer was always at home (on a desk)...and carefully taken care of...why would there be a broken component somewhere?

- Nick
 

pigoo3

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How long did you leave the battery on charge when you first started it up again? It may take a while to revive the battery assuming the I/O board is okay. I have heard of batteries like yours coming to life again after being on charge overnight or even longer.

Agree with what chscag said here. I have a 2010 MacBook Air that's basically plugging in almost all the time...and acts "real funny" if I unplug it to travel. When I get to my destination hours later...many times it will not start up...but if I leave it plugging in for a while...it always eventually starts up & operates normally. I haven't really investigated it much...since it's not my primary computer.

- Nick
 
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This would be my concern as well.



If this computer was always at home (on a desk)...and carefully taken care of...why would there be a broken component somewhere?

- Nick

I’ve got no clue! He was just guessing so I did as instructed.
 
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Looking at the picture, at the ATC module, there seems to be some discoloration on one of the contacts. This could mean excessive heat, which could mean a defective ATC module. Then again, without knowing what the ATC module even is (voltage regulator? Automatic Temperature Control?) it may be nothing.


Pete
 

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