MacBook battery advice - cutting out without charger

[martindrums]

Hi, any advice much appreciated:

My MacBook has just started to cut out when not plugged into the mains. It doesn't seem likely to me that this is a problem with the battery itself, as it was performing fine a few days ago, lasting several hours with no problems. Now, if I unplug the mains charger, it cuts out straight away, and if I try to switch it on when unplugged, it makes a feable noise as if trying to start, but to no avail.

Has anyone else had this problem? Perhaps it could be a problem with the battery contacts - the connection between the battery and the power supply? I'm not getting any error messages, and the battery meter shows as 'fully charged' when plugged into mains.

Many thanks.

[DoFoT9]

have you been taking the battery out consistently to be able to cause some sot of connection problem? if not i would try resetting PRAM and SMC. a quick google will give you the key combinations.

[martindrums]

have you been taking the battery out consistently to be able to cause some sot of connection problem? if not i would try resetting PRAM and SMC. a quick google will give you the key combinations.

Thanks, I'll give that a try. I assume there's no danger in running those procedures?

Hadn't taken the battery out at all, so there shouldn't be a sudden connection problem. Only took it out after the event to clean the contacts in the hope that would solve the problem.

[DoFoT9]

Thanks, I'll give that a try. I assume there's no danger in running those procedures?

Hadn't taken the battery out at all, so there shouldn't be a sudden connection problem. Only took it out after the event to clean the contacts in the hope that would solve the problem.

no dangers in running at all :) very simple set of keys to hit when you restart, really easy to perform.

battery connection doesnt seem to be the problem then by the sounds of it. how often do you calibrate the battery? (run it completely flat)

[martindrums]

no dangers in running at all :) very simple set of keys to hit when you restart, really easy to perform.

battery connection doesnt seem to be the problem then by the sounds of it. how often do you calibrate the battery? (run it completely flat)

I don't let it run completely flat very often to be honest, just from time to time. Will try the procedures and see what happens. Thanks.

[DoFoT9]

I don't let it run completely flat very often to be honest, just from time to time. Will try the procedures and see what happens. Thanks.

your battery could do with a good condition by the sounds of it then. its recommended to let it go completely flat every 30 cycles or so. goodluck with it

[martindrums]

your battery could do with a good condition by the sounds of it then. its recommended to let it go completely flat every 30 cycles or so. goodluck with it

Right, tried those procedures and still no change I'm afraid. Forgive my lack of knowledge - what do you mean by giving the battery a good condition? Thing is I can't now run the battery flat as I can't run the Macbook off the battery at all. Incidentally, just before the problem started the battery had run completely flat.

[DoFoT9]

Right, tried those procedures and still no change I'm afraid. Forgive my lack of knowledge - what do you mean by giving the battery a good condition? Thing is I can't now run the battery flat as I can't run the Macbook off the battery at all. Incidentally, just before the problem started the battery had run completely flat.

conditioning the battery means just that. you let it go completely flat so that the battery 'knows' when it has lost all of its power (sometimes it will forget for some odd reason), however in your case im afraid that you cant seem to do this!

what is the charge information of your battery as shown in the "Power" section of System Profiler?? (you can get there by hitting :apple: button top left corner ->about this mac ->More info.)

[martindrums]

conditioning the battery means just that. you let it go completely flat so that the battery 'knows' when it has lost all of its power (sometimes it will forget for some odd reason), however in your case im afraid that you cant seem to do this!

what is the charge information of your battery as shown in the "Power" section of System Profiler?? (you can get there by hitting :apple: button top left corner ->about this mac ->More info.)

I checked this and it says:

Full Charge Capacity: 4889
Remaining Capacity: 4675
Amerage: 0
Voltage: 12422
Cycle Count: 123

According to coconutBattery the charge is at 95% and the capacity at 97%.

[martindrums]

I checked this and it says:

Full Charge Capacity: 4889
Remaining Capacity: 4675
Amerage: 0
Voltage: 12422
Cycle Count: 123

According to coconutBattery the charge is at 95% and the capacity at 97%.

Any further suggestions on this would be really very much appreciated :)