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Charger not charging

MacBH928

MacBH928

macrumors G3
Original poster
May 17, 2008
9,134
4,175
I got macbook unibody '08. There is some weird issue with the charger.

When my battery need charging, the green wire on the charger will lit green not red. My battery icon in the menu bar would show continue to decrease in power and I will see a "plug in battery" icon, not the electricity/thunder like icon.

It only happened recently and if I flip the charger head upside down it would usually work or adjust the a bit.

Whats going on? iStat pro says my battery is 54% healthy
 
MacBH928 said:
I got macbook unibody '08. There is some weird issue with the charger.

When my battery need charging, the green wire on the charger will lit green not red. My battery icon in the menu bar would show continue to decrease in power and I will see a "plug in battery" icon, not the electricity/thunder like icon.

It only happened recently and if I flip the charger head upside down it would usually work or adjust the a bit.

Whats going on? iStat pro says my battery is 54% healthy
Click to expand...

Try an SMC reset. My MacBook Pro is the same way if I have the adapter facing towards the ports rather towards the back of the machine.
 
Ok my battery finally completely died. The wire is not charging any more. I did some research and found out that I can run the macbook without a battery but in my case that is not happening so I am guessing the problem is with the magsafe,

I went to my local store but they didn't have a magsafe like mine ( has a white rectangular head) . They had magsafe 2 and magsafe that is thin and silver , I think this may be macbook air's. Will any of those connect with my macbook?

please help I am with no laptop and using iPad to type this
 
If your sure it's magsafe related, then on this age of MacBook I would suggest e-bay or Craigs List as your best bet to buy another. They do come up new, but expect to buy a used second hand one. There are no moving parts so as long as the cable and plug end is in good order you should be ok:cool:
 
MacBH928 said:
Ok my battery finally completely died. The wire is not charging any more. I did some research and found out that I can run the macbook without a battery but in my case that is not happening so I am guessing the problem is with the magsafe,



I went to my local store but they didn't have a magsafe like mine ( has a white rectangular head) . They had magsafe 2 and magsafe that is thin and silver , I think this may be macbook air's. Will any of those connect with my macbook?



please help I am with no laptop and using iPad to type this
Click to expand...


You cannot use a MagSafe 2 adapter but you can use the newer MagSafe "L" style adapter. That has a silver tip you describe.
 
Altemose said:
You cannot use a MagSafe 2 adapter but you can use the newer MagSafe "L" style adapter. That has a silver tip you describe.
Click to expand...

Are you sure all L shaped magsafe will work with my macbook? Because it costs like $100 here ( not in USA).

I am guessing its a magsafe issue because I did research and learned that a macbook will work even if the battery is dead, but in this case its not working at all with or without a battery So I am guessing its the magsafe
 
MacBH928 said:
Are you sure all L shaped magsafe will work with my macbook? Because it costs like $100 here ( not in USA).



I am guessing its a magsafe issue because I did research and learned that a macbook will work even if the battery is dead, but in this case its not working at all with or without a battery So I am guessing its the magsafe
Click to expand...


Yes. Both the white T style and the silver L style MagSafes will work. The MagSafe 2 is T shaped with a silver tip. Note that if your adapter is fraying you may be eligible for free replacement.
 
Ok thanks, this is great help . I am just surprised that the T magsafe are so hard to find.
 
Thanks, I wish I knew that before I had to double visit the store. Anyway, the problem was the magsafe and now I got the L shaped one and its working! ($100)!

The only issue that remains is my slightly inflated battery. I don't want to drop $120 to change it, because this machine is old and I plan on changing it in the next half year or so (next major macbook update). Whats the worse that could happen if I keep using this one?
 
MacBH928 said:
Thanks, I wish I knew that before I had to double visit the store. Anyway, the problem was the magsafe and now I got the L shaped one and its working! ($100)!

The only issue that remains is my slightly inflated battery. I don't want to drop $120 to change it, because this machine is old and I plan on changing it in the next half year or so (next major macbook update). Whats the worse that could happen if I keep using this one?
Click to expand...

The worst is that it could leak battery acid and cause a health problem. Chances of that are extremely slim. If it is swelling up then a replacement should be purchased to avoid damage to the other parts.
 
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