MacBook not working on battery
 

Hi, I was travelling through some very hot country and subsequently found my MacBook would only work when hooked up to the power adaptor.
It may be that the laptop got pretty hot - I thought I'd buried it enough to avoid the heat but maybe not.

Anyone know what might have happened? Or how to fix it?

TIA,
Grahame

Hot and dry, or hot and humid? Pop out the battery and look at the contacts - bright brass colour or dull and mottled?

It was hot and dry. The heat was mid 30s so not too extreme and it wasn't in direct sunlight - but the laptop did feel hotter than might be good for it.

The battery may or may not be U/S but the problem is simply that it is not charging (works fine on the adaptor). But I will take your suggestion and try pulling the battery out.

Cheers, G.

Li-Ion doesn't like the high temperatures and it might have failed because of the high-temp.

What Model Macbook. What year. How long was the battery life before the fateful trip.

Loosely speaking before Apple switched to the case less Batteries, a battery was good for about 500 full charge discharge Cycles, now supposedly new caseless ones last 1000.

Should be a good thing to see what the battery condition is now. Click on your Apple Menu, then About this Mac, and click on the More Info button.
That will open your System Profiler, so click on the Power tab, where you can find Battery Information. Come back with the numbers for Full Charge Capacity, also Cycle Count.
Charge Remaining will help you find out how much of Full Charge Capacity is available right now, so that would be a good number to show here, too.

We average early-mid thirties here in Southern Thailand and my batts are fine. Couple crapped out over time, but they do have a lifespan after all.

Thanks Delta-Mac. Details as requested:

Charge remaining: 0
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity: 0
Cycle count: 44
Condition: Check battery
Amperage: 0

Does that help?
TIA,
Grahame

Sorry Anthlover. Hope this answers your question.

Didn't regularly test the battery life but when I did I seemed to get plenty of time from it.


Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook5,2
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz

Hmm According to my http://www.everymac.com/ that is a 2009 model. I am assuming you do not have an extended warranty. Here is a good replacement source:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple...cBook_13_White

About 3 years old is around when Regular Lion batteries give up ghost on that most people run through a 100-200 cycles a year.

Your cycle count seems off, but I am not sure how well kept that info is if the battery dies or system is re-imaged. My Colleagues here might know better.

I am perplexed that you are getting what seems to be a completely dead battery condition as opposed to just one that is only lasting you 10-45 minutes toward the end of its life cycle.

With your battery dead these steps probably already happened on their own but here is a reset procedure that might help ....

Shut down the computer.
Disconnect the MagSafe power adapter from the computer, if it’s connected.
Remove the battery.
Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
Release the power button.
Reconnect the battery and MagSafe power adapter.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.

Are you near an Apple store, doubt there anything wrong, other then the battery?

*** You probably going to have to buy a new battery. By the way do not be afraid to leave the battery on the charger for a 24 hours, I have seen a battery that was totally dead and would not charge come back to life, though that is very unusual.

Thanks for that info. I will have a closer look at what you suggest tomorrow. But one quick comment. The cycles count may be accurate as I rarely use the laptop off the mains power. I always have the power cord connected - even on the road. Don't know if that is relevant.

Cheers. G.

Sometimes the battery will not be recognized, if the battery went completely dead (maybe because it was sleeping, and left disconnected from power for several days)

Try an SMC reset - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

I will usually try to reseat the battery (carefully), while the MacBook is booted to the desktop. With the battery removed - you should see the battery icon in the menubar change to an X, meaning no battery. Reinsert the battery, and the icon should change to the battery icon with the little power cord symbol in the center, meaning that a battery is there, and you're running on the power adapter. The adapter plug should be green. If the battery would begin to charge, the adapter plug should change to amber, and the battery icon should show the lightning bolt symbol, indicating charging.
Leave the MacBook for a minimum of 10 minutes, and see if charging ever begins. Look at your System Profiler again, power tab, and monitor if there is any change in the charge status for the battery. If there's any improvement, let it charge. If no change, consider replacing the battery.
You should also verify that the charging circuitry is good by trying a known-good battery.

Agreed
 

Agreed, but as I mentioned i have seen times where a dead as a door nail battery will say not charging and after a long period after the aforementioned steps will finally charge. I would not give up after 10 minutes. Leave it for a few hours or overnight. One last thing while LION batteries do not need to be conditioned like old fashioned re-charables that had to be fully discharged and charged, there is no memory effect. But there are some things to do for the life to be good. Use them. They electrons as they say should flow back and forth. Use the battery some. The other not leave the computer off a charger for more then a month aka storage. Most home users would never do this, but a company with a fleet of laptops it can happen.

Hi, thanks for all the advice.

I have tried the reset - no difference.

I removed the battery while on charger and everything worked according to the instructions - except for it recharging.

Obviously trying another battery may be the next step - to see if it is a battery or charging problem.

Two problems.

Just checked Apple store locations - and I'm a few thousand kilometres from one!

To check the battery or charger presumably would need someone with an identical MacBook or are some of these things generic?

Try also from Amazon.

Sorry try what from Amazon?

I think ron meant buying batteries. Indeed you can find cheaper batteries there, quality is sometimes dubious.

Macsales sells good stuff and will generally have a longer run and lifetime and less possibility if an issue. That said as you will note from Amazon reviews you might find something serviceable for 1/2 the price.

**As to No Apple Store you never confirmed that you had no AppleCare and thus might still be under warranty. Apple does offer mail in service. They provide a free box and shipping. Of course if your not under warranty they reserve the right to charge you around $100 for the evaluation. A local Apple store would be free evaluation. You might have a local Non Apple Store. You did not say where you lived

Well I would never refer you any site to buy batteries. You had better go to the near by shop and look if you can get a battery from some trusted brand. Remember beware of the chinese brands. Although, 80% of batteries in the market are chinese brands but you must buy some branded stuff.

Most batteries are made in China (some still in Korea and Japan) regardless of the brand. That said as I mentioned Macsales carries a good brand newer technology and stands behind them. Apple is also an option there about $130 vs $99 for the ones Macsales sells.

OP already said he is not near apple store so only options are local repair shops or ship in service to apple if the op he wishes. Can call Apple and confirm there charges for an evaluation or simply buy a battery. I would probably just buy a battery unless being without the computer for at least a few days is not an issue. As Always back up. If the Apple eval can go toward the battery there is no harm other then being without the computer.

I have a 2009 MacBook, and I recently took it to an Apple Store because the battery wasn't holding charge while asleep.
It had a surprisingly low number of cycles -- around 30 -- so Apple gave me a new one, free of charge.
You may find that Apple will replace yours too, even if you're out of warrantee.

I realise you're a long way from an Apple Store, but if you're going that way in the near future...

Just for the record I'm in Darwin - capital of the Northern Territory (Australia).

Not sure this is the way to go but I've seen a guy here with a MacBook and I could ask him if I can hook his adaptor up to make sure it is a battery problem.

I'm assuming that with the adaptor light showing green and it not charging then it is the battery - ?????

As far as not using the laptop while I get a new battery - can I just take the battery out and continue to use the laptop?

The Short Answer to your question is yes, could use the Computer with out the battery. Whether Apple would take the Battery back without the computer to state its charge cycles is another matter. Not sure if there is firmware in the battery that can keep that info. I think the computer keeps that info.

Its not the charger. You would have to borrow someones battery to proove something weird was not going on (unlikely) in your computer


Here is a look up for Apple Authorized Service by you I saw two in the 5 to 8 Km range of Darwin

http://www.apple.com/au/service/

Thanks immensely for all the postings. I never cease to be amazed how helpful and patient you guys are.

Much appreciated. :)
Grahame

POSTSCRIPT

I was in Perth for Easter and took the MacBook to the Apple Store. The diagnostic agreed that the battery had only done 44 cycles but the reason for its failure was not related to the no of cycles. Thus out of warranty, thus no free replacement.

New battery $150 - which is dearer than online alternatives - but with warranty, fitted on the spot etc. Plus they sorted a couple of minor issues (screen resolution etc) for me. Not the cheapest but the easiest solution.

Cheers, and thanks again.
Grahame

PS: this time I will be following the manual and giving the electrons a bit of exercise!! :)

Ekk Pretty penny. Was that Aussie dollars... Ah never mind their pretty close.
At the moment a quick look up: 1 Australian dollar = 1.0292 US dollars.

At least it is working. And truthfully Im sure shipping would have brought the price closer to parity at least the macsales one. I usually do not like to throw money had older computers but a battery and a portable is really a necessity and makes using the system suit its purpose of being mobile.

What was their explanation of the failure of the battery? An Actual Apple store might have had more leeway to be generous. An Authorized service center does not usually have the same leeway. Apple Phone support might have been a way to get one shipped to you free, but immediate gratification can be good.

It was an actual Apple Store (in Perth). The explanation was just that the battery was U/S - and not related to no of cycles. The technician said she would be bound by the diagnostic result - and it showed the battery was U/S. As to why is was U/S ... well I don't know. But she certainly wasn't moved by any pleas that it had only done 44 cycles.
In fact she strongly suggested to get better life I should follow the recommendations on the Apple website i.e. monthly discharge etc. She said contrary to common opinion these Lithium batteries do get a memory. Apparently the newer ones don't.

And it was an experience going to the Apple Store - it looked like there was new release happening or even a convention - nope just a normal Saturday!!

Cheers, and again thanks, Grahame

Hmm
 

Well Lion batteries do not have a memory effect they do not need to be fully discharged and then recharged like Nickel Cadium used to be. They do need to be used periodically, at least a little bit. I think the circuitry in most of the computers, Ipads, phones etc. do do some discharging and recharging for that purpose keeping them "almost" fully charged discharging them a bit over and over again. I do not know when Apple or other manufactures started doing that.

The newer Macbook Pros with case less batteries introduced in 2010 I believe were pro-ported to have double the lifespan. 1000 Charge/Discharge Cycles instead of 500. I still think Apple and others recommend using the batteries.

Memory effect is based on battery technology, and Lithium batteries do not have memory effect, no matter what some technician told you. Old or new, big or small, Lithium Ion or Lithium Polymer, it's true of any Lithium battery--no memory effect.

The monthly discharge recommendation from Apple is so that the tiny microcontroller in the battery can correctly report the remaining battery capacity. The procedure 'calibrates' what that microcontroller can see and report. Not allowing a full discharge does not negatively affect battery life, it just means that the battery doesn't necessarily report correct information.

It is true that with Lithium batteries, you need to allow the battery to power the device sometimes, keeping a laptop always-plugged in will negatively affect battery life. But this is not the same thing as requiring a full discharge.

Trevor

Like the way you said it better:)