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TomLynn

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 26, 2014
1
0
Hello all,

In late 2012 I bought my 2007 black MacBook from a friend. The machine was in excellent condition and working perfectly. Unfortunately, shortly after buying the computer, I spilled a small amount of nail polish remover on my desk and a bit got onto the left-hand side of my laptop, near where the batter connector and USB ports are. Since then the laptop only works when plugged into an outlet via the MagSafe charger. I took it to Apple for an appointment with a Genius who ensured me that both my battery and charger are in perfect working order, but he could not tell me the exact problem without a full diagnostic. He told me that his best hunch was that the battery connector got fried (cheap fix) or that the logic board must be repaired (more expensive fix). Being a full time student, I wasn't able to part with my computer for an unknown amount of time, so I've let the whole thing ride until now.

I'd like to emphasize that the machine works absolutely perfectly, besides the annoyance that is having a laptop that only works when plugged in. At first, it was trickle charging (lights on the battery would light up one by one) and after being plugged in for 30 minutes or so it would remain on, but now the five lights on the battery don't light up anymore. The computer does not turn on without being plugged in and will turn off if the charger is moved out of place. If one closes the computer and let it go to sleep and then unplugs it, it will resume to whatever one was doing when plugged in and opened again.

This is my first MacBook and I do not know much about computers in general, so any guesses on what the problem is would be helpful! I already tried PRAM and SMC to no avail /:

Some specifics:
-The light on the MagSafe always glows green, never orange
-The battery icon that appears on the task bar always has an X through it
-When one clicks on the battery icon it says, "No batteries available. Power source: Power adapter"
-Hardware overview:
Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook3,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.2 GHz
Serial Number: W8745F2HZ64

Thank you for reading this novel I've written, and for any help you can provide!
 

DmbShn41

macrumors 6502
Jun 22, 2009
295
2
Hands down, my expert opinion says that the spill caused the issue you are currently having....

Your battery is fried most likely. Unfortunately, only way to confirm this is to have another battery to confirm (or another Macbook like yours that will accept that battery in question). If a good know working battery exhibits the same issues, then its the charging circuit of the laptop. If a good known working battery shows fine, then the battery in question is the problem.

Try eBay, can get some decent 3rd party replacement batteries for $30-50.
 
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