Battery is swelling

[paragon]

I have a macbook late 2006 white. the battery started to swell a little while ago. It had 506 cycles and the health stands on 72%.

How big of a problem is this, can it cause damage to my laptop?
When I say swelling I mean that the white panel is slowly rising a bit and that creates a little belly that the whole laptop is pivoting on.
Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures

[SirDice]

I'd take out the battery a.s.a.p.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium...nd_limitations

[paragon]

Quote: Originally Posted by SirDice I'd take out the battery a.s.a.p. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium...nd_limitations

The link you have provided talks about Li-Ion Polymer batteries, mine is just Lithium Ion, Does it change the picture?

[trevor]

According to Mactracker, the MacBook (Late 2006) uses a Lithium Polymer battery, not a Lithium Ion. So the link from SirDice is relevant to your battery.

If you're still interested in the differences between those two types of Lithium cells, there's a brief description in that same Wikipedia link, or else there's more detail here:
What is the Difference Between Lithium Ion and Lithium Polymer?

Trevor

[agentx]

Agreed stop using it and replace now !

[DeltaMac]

Yes, time to replace the batt.

When the batteries begin to swell (a common result of aging Li-Ion battery cells), there have been reports that the battery can overheat, even resulting in flames.
It's a good suggestion to remove the battery, and don't use again.
Even if you don't have overheating, the battery will continue to swell, and eventually may jam in place, and even cause some damage to the internals.

Many times, users first realize the battery is swelling, because it may push up against the trackpad, where the button may not depress properly, or the cursor moves erratically because of false signals from that pressure.

[acme.mail.order]

I had exactly that problem last weekend. Solved it by opening the battery and venting the cells.

Caveats:
- disassembling a battery is not for the fainthearted
- poking a sealed high-energy cell with sharp objects is definitely not for the fainthearted
- my battery isn't that old, and it wasn't swelling that much

[paragon]

Quote: Originally Posted by acme.mail.order Caveats: - disassembling a battery is not for the fainthearted - poking a sealed high-energy cell with sharp objects is definitely not for the fainthearted - my battery isn't that old, and it wasn't swelling that much

How did you open it?
I already ordered a replacement battery some chines on eBay, they say it is genuine and original but the price says otherwise. It is an old computer and I can't see much point in investing a lot for it.

[benwiggy]

Quote: Originally Posted by paragon I have a macbook late 2006 white. the battery started to swell a little while ago. It had 506 cycles and the health stands on 72%.

Regardless of the cycle count (and I think that's suspiciously low), it's a six-year-old battery. Well worth replacing.

Quote: Originally Posted by paragon I already ordered a replacement battery some chines on eBay, they say it is genuine and original but the price says otherwise. It is an old computer and I can't see much point in investing a lot for it.

I bought a new battery (a few years ago) for my old 2003 iBook, and it gave it a complete new lease of life. A 2006 MacBook should still be a pretty decent machine, so the Apple price is well worth it (versus a new MacBook). The Apple Store batteries are at least guaranteed, and it's easy to take it back if something goes wrong. While I do buy some cheap components and parts on eBay, I would be wary of "genuine" batteries from Chinese sites. (Yes, I know the real batteries are made in China.)

Quote: Originally Posted by acme.mail.order I had exactly that problem last weekend. Solved it by opening the battery and venting the cells.

"Venting the cells." Don't they do that a lot in Star Trek? A junior engineer usually dies, IIRC.

[acme.mail.order]

Quote: Originally Posted by benwiggy "Venting the cells." Don't they do that a lot in Star Trek? A junior engineer usually dies, IIRC.

They vent lots of things - I was not wearing a red (or gold) shirt at the time, thus substantially reducing the risk of fire, explosion, subspace anomalies, additional dimensionality or anything else Stephen Hawking can't explain.

[acme.mail.order]

I was writing instructions, but then I thought "if you need instructions..." and cleared the window.

There's a video on YouTube if you're that interested, you will need some precision torx drivers. Do it outdoors.

[DeltaMac]

Cycle count on the older MacBooks is still the same engineering design 'goal' of 300 charge cycles, after which the battery begins to taper off. Sometimes that process is slow, with several extra years. Others might die off fairly quickly.
The batteries in the uni-body MacBook Pro have a design goal of 1,000 cycles.
If an older batt gets up over 5-600 cycles - I think that's probably pretty good (and not much farther to exhaustion/battery death!)
I usually see about 100 cycles per calendar year for many users. A laptop that is used on battery a lot (carrying around during school day at uni, for example) may accumulate a charge cycle every day, or even more.

[benwiggy]

Yes, you're right. I'm clearly talking rubbish about the cycle count. Don't know what I was on about.

[paragon]

Thank you all. I have done as suggested and removed the bat, I'll use it only when absolutely necessary, till the new one comes.
Sorry about the misspelling of Chinese (chines) Lion did it.

I was mainly worried that it might explode or start a fire.

regarding the cycles, I suppose that even if the battery is less than five yo (think it was replaced about 2-3 years ago, this mac was sold to a fried of mine, it was refurbished and I got it from him few months later), what matters is the cycle count, and as I use this computer quite often on the road I am not surprised that I've managed to get it to 507 cycles.

to those of you who are curious about the bat's info:

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Manufacturer: SMP
Device Name: ASMB016
Pack Lot Code: 0
PCB Lot Code: 0
Firmware Version: 110
Hardware Revision: 200
Cell Revision: 102
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh): 3642
Fully Charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 3804
Health Information:
Cycle Count: 507
Condition: Replace Soon
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12395

I set this thread as solved but feel free to cary on this interesting discussion, I am sure to follow it.

Again, thanks

[paragon]

I hope you can see that, it is a scan of the battery's back, it says Li Ion.

[SirDice]

I think most Li-ion batteries nowadays are in fact Lithium-Ion Polymers. Both use the same materials except for the lamination.

[macjunkie]

My instinct tells me it is dangerous so replace it ASAP. I had a phone battery a long time ago that swelled when I used a faulty charger