MacBook battery and shutdown issue

martintyler · Mar 8, 2008

I know there's been lots of threads about MacBook battery life etc, but I didnt notice anyone describe the issue the same as what I am seeing - but i apologise if i missed some threads on this.

I have an 18 month old MacBook, which is plugged in to the mains most of the time. I let the battery run down now and then, but its only had about 40 cycles.

The problem isnt the battery life, although it is pretty low, the issue is that it shuts down with no warning at around 40-50% - and this only takes about an hour! When i plug it in and start it up it still says 50%

coconutbattery says it has 85% capacity

So what is meant to happen? I have never had any low battery warning in all 18 months of ownership. 1 hour of light web browsing isnt very good really!

wanda · Mar 8, 2008

i had a similar problem but mine was doing it at 10% or 12%. I turned off my macbook...took the battery out, then held the power button down for about 5 seconds with the battery still out. then put the battery back in, and reset the PRAM when in restarted.

Seems to have fixed the problem for me.

Incidently, is a coconut battery a third party battery? Have you ever calibrated your battery?

martintyler · Mar 9, 2008

Thanks

wanda said:
and reset the PRAM when in restarted.

is that something i have to do explicitly, or will taking the battery out etc do that for me?

wanda said:
Incidently, is a coconut battery a third party battery? Have you ever calibrated your battery?

coconut battery is an app that tells you about your battery.

If by calibrate you mean running it down etc, yes, i cant help but do that as it only lasts one hour

I'll try taking the battery out etc.

I am happy to buy a new battery, doesnt cost that much, but want to make sure that the shutting down early part is the fault of the battery and not something else.

MilesChatterji · Mar 9, 2008

I have had the same problems, Mine have not yet gone away either tried doing what was said above and still no luck

. I have a new MBP 2.2 That I have had for less then 12 months and only 50 cycles.

Pacer69 · Mar 9, 2008

MilesChatterji said:
I have had the same problems, Mine have not yet gone away either tried doing what was said above and still no luck . I have a new MBP 2.2 That I have had for less then 12 months and only 50 cycles.

Have you called Apple? Your machine is under warranty for 12 months from date of new or Apple-Store refurb purchase. I'd be calling them pretty quick if I were you.

To the OP, you can also call Apple although they may charge you for it. But I think you can take it into the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store and they'll look at it for no charge. (?)

There is also a basic thing that might help called "Repair Permissions" that everyone should do about once a month. Go to Applications--Utilities--Disk Utlity--click your hd in the DU window--click Repair Permissions.

wanda · Mar 9, 2008

martintyler said:
Thanks

If by calibrate you mean running it down etc, yes, i cant help but do that as it only lasts one hour

.

By calibrate i mean, running it down to the point where you get the "reserve power" message, then turning it off, letting it stay off for at least 5 hours...then plugging in and leaving it plugged in until the charge reads 100%. obviously if your not getting the "reserve power" message due to the problem it could be kinda hard to do.

the taking the battery out and holding down the power button was something the applecare folks had me do when i was having battery issues as well. hope something works for you.

furcalchick · Mar 9, 2008

i've been having the same issue as well, and it's been happening earlier and earlier. it used to be that it shut off with 5 minutes still left, and just now, it still had 30 minutes left and it shut down. i'll see if that method works, as i don't want to get to the point where it shuts down with 99% batter.

and here's how to reset the pram: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238 (i heard the clock will reset and stuff, what else should i expect if i do this?)

martintyler · Mar 11, 2008

Last night i tried running without the mains for the first time since taking the battery out etc..

after a few minutes of normal web usage i wanted to upload some new photos from my camera (via usb), this caused the fans to kick in etc.. but after a minute or two of this the machine shutdown! this was at 85% battery!

This is clearly more than just a battery that doesnt last as long as it should do.

I need to take this to the apple store i think

furcalchick · Mar 12, 2008

i tried the reboot w/o the battery thing last night and it didn't work (15% remaining when the power went down after i did it). i'll try it again in the next day or so and if it doesn't work, i'll hop over to the local apple store and see if they can help me out with this problem.

furcalchick · Mar 20, 2008

after failing to recognize the battery completely, i reset the smc on the macbook and the battery is running at normal for now at least.

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MacBook battery and shutdown issue

martintyler

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wanda

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martintyler

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MilesChatterji

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Pacer69

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wanda

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furcalchick

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martintyler

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