Brand new Macbook - Battery issue

[desistyle]

Hi there,

I just purchased a MacBook, have had it for less than a week. Overall, i'm loving it. It's much faster than my old iBook G4.

I was using my Macbook today, and at about 8% battery left the computer just died (i though it was supposed to go to sleep). I then plugged in the computer and turned it back on. I went to system profiler and saw that the max capacity of my macbook went down from 5100 to 4496!

I then freaked out, shut down my macbook and let it charge. After charging for a bit, I turned it back on and system profiler now shows the max at 5076.

I'm using it now as it charges. What should I do to make sure the battery is working properly? Shouldn't the macbook have went to sleep? I'm worried the battery may be defective.

Hopefully someone out there can help..thanks!

 

[one1]

You are spending entirely too much time obsessing over numbers.

Get some mileage on it and let the battery have a few cycles before you get fruity about the battery numbers.

 

[desistyle]

I don't think i'm obsessing over numbers. What upsets me the most is that my computer dies without first going to sleep.

 

[doubleohseven]

When the battery only has 8% left, your MacBook is running on reserve power.
I had it on 8 percent once and I got a message that said to turn off my computer and connect it to a power adaptor, and if I continued to use it, it would just switch off by itself. Did you get a message like this when you were on 8%?

I'm guessing that the numbers went down on the max capacity was because your MacBook was using reserve power.

I hope this helps.

 

[macguymike]

Shouldn't it go to sleep mode before shutting down?

OP - did you calibrate you battery?

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284

 

[CalBoy]

It sounds to me like your battery needs to be calibrated.

Follow the steps on Apple's website (poster above has provided you with the link) and then tell us what happens.

 

[desistyle]

Hey folks,

I was lazy to do a calibration for awhile, so I just did one. I used the instructions found here:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh2339.html

I plugged in my comp while I used it and let it charge to 100%. I then left it on (while still plugged in) for 2 hours. After that..I unplugged it and let it get to low power. It gave me a warning at 9% that the computer was on reserve power and would sleep momentarily.

But again, the computer never went to sleep..and it just died and completely shut off at 3%. I let it rest for a few hours and it's now charging.

What now? Think my battery or comp is defective? Should I call Apple?

 

[CalBoy]

I think the computer "dying" at 3% is part of the calibration process. It now "knows" that you actually have less capacity than it estimated originally.

What kind of battery life did you see while letting it drain (please include what apps you were running and for how long, screen brightness, and whether or not you used the optical drive)?

Also, when you say that you let the computer sleep for a few hours, how long exactly? 5 hours minimum or the calibration might be slightly off.

 

[aquajet]

No, the computer suddenly dying is due to a sudden and unexpected drop in battery voltage. This might be due to a faulty cell.

You could try to calibrate again. Maybe the battery's circuitry can cope with it, but in my experience, this type of behavior has never been correctable. Contact Apple if the trouble continues.

 

[CalBoy]

No, the computer suddenly dying is due to a sudden and unexpected drop in battery voltage. This might be due to a faulty cell.

But he did get the warning message, and IIRC, after the warning, the computer will simply automatically go to sleep once power runs out. He didn't experience a sudden loss of power; that would indicate a faulty cell.

 

[aquajet]

But he did get the warning message, and IIRC, after the warning, the computer will simply automatically go to sleep once power runs out. He didn't experience a sudden loss of power; that would indicate a faulty cell.

...It gave me a warning at 9% that the computer was on reserve power and would sleep momentarily.

But again, the computer never went to sleep..and it just died and completely shut off at 3%...

The warning message is irrelevent. A sudden shutdown isn't normal under any circumstance.

If it continues, you should definitely contact Apple.

 

[CalBoy]

The warning message is irrelevent. A sudden shutdown isn't normal under any circumstance.

I'd really like to know what the OP considers "sudden shutdown."

Was the light pulsating after the screen went dark?

Does it still do this after a batter calibration?

If those aspects can be answered definitively, then I think the OP would do well to call Apple.