Early 2014 rMBP 15 trackpad battery swell?

[ColdCase]

I have noticed that once in while the trackpad is reluctant to click, similar in the old days where a battery would swell and push up on the underside of the trackpad. Does these newer rMBP have the same issue?

Sometimes I can prop up the left and right edges and get better trackpad response.

I tried the search but did not find anything relevant.

I think this is considered a late 2013 model, purchased March 2014.

 

[werpu]

have your machine checked a swollen battery is dangerous and could lead to a battery fire/explosion.

 

[ColdCase]

I'm not sure if it is the battery or something else.

Looks like I still have three weeks of Applecare coverage left, so I made an appointment to check it out.

 

[leman]

Battery swell is a fairly expected behaviour if your battery is malfunctioning or simply too deteriorated. The battery is designed to swell rather then explode (which is a good thing). What does your battery status say?

 

[ColdCase]

Health 99%; Cycles 43; 97% charged, but it has been on the charger for awhile. The battery/laptop are almost 3 years old.

Model Information:

Manufacturer: DP

Device Name: bq20z451

Pack Lot Code: 0

PCB Lot Code: 0

Firmware Version: 702

Hardware Revision: 1

Cell Revision: 1206

Charge Information:

Charge Remaining (mAh): 8062

Fully Charged: Yes

Charging: No

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 8353

Health Information:

Cycle Count: 43

Condition: Normal

Battery Installed: Yes

Amperage (mA): -1

Voltage (mV): 12695

 

[ColdCase]

So the genius thinks there is either some minor battery swelling or the trackpad is flakey. They are replacing the top case (includes trackpad an battery) for free under applecare. They would have charged $478 as a walk in ($399 parts $80 labor) Reading through the iFix tear down for the early 2014, it seems that just about everything comes out. Hope they get it back together. There is a 90 day warranty.

 

[jerryk]

So the genius thinks there is either some minor battery swelling or the trackpad is flakey. They are replacing the top case (includes trackpad an battery) for free under applecare. They would have charged $478 as a walk in ($399 parts $80 labor) Reading through the iFix tear down for the early 2014, it seems that just about everything comes out. Hope they get it back together. There is a 90 day warranty.

I doubt they will have any issues. Most Apple stores have had years of practice doing the top cover/battery replacement.

 

[ColdCase]

So I received the notice today that the repair is completed. Stopped by the Apple Store and found that it still has the same trackpad problem. Tech thinks perhaps the new part was defective. They apologized for not checking it before I came in and said they will overnight another part, maybe it will be ready Saturday.

 

[ColdCase]

In case anyone is following this saga, or interested, they replaced the top case with a second part at the local store yesterday, but that did not solve the trackpad issue. So its probably not a battery problem. Tech thinks perhaps its the logic board but they do not have one in stock. This is a maxed out BTO rMBP. They suggested that, since its under warranty, the best thing would be to send it up the chain for repair/refurb. Another week or so.

 

[ColdCase]

I received the laptop back from Houston today with a new upper case, new logic board (they found USB problems) and new airport card (they found the original to be weak). It seems to be working fine. It came back with most of my settings intact, but I did have to enter some of the app license data and a few passwords.

 

[ColdCase]

Well the laptop started to intermittently just quit, go dead.

I was on battery power at maybe 70% the first time it happened Monday. I pressed the power button and the laptop rebooted and I used it for a couple more hours without incident.

The next day the same thing happened within 5 minutes of waking it from sleep, but this time no response from the power button. It was just dead.

Still dead the third day. So I tried reseting SMC, etc... but got nothing, although the little power adapter connector LED went from yellow to green while doing the reset procedure (there was no chime). I presses the power button a few more times, gave up and scheduled a genius bar visit. I'm at 105 days since the previous repair, which has a 90 day warranty.

So I'm sitting at my desk a few hours later using the desktop computer and the laptop spontaneously boots (its lid was closed). I opened the lid and its been working fine for hours... I don't see anything jumping out at me in the logs, although there seems to be several blank (empty) log pages for the other day. I thought I'd post here before I put it to sleep.. and can't wake it back up.

Edit: Its starting to sound like a battery problem, one where the laptop will just shut down without warning when running at less that 50%. I left the power unplugged over night and this morning it was dead. A few minutes after plugging in the charger, it spontaneously booted.

 

[smbu2000]

You should try taking it back to that Apple Store. Since it is just past the 90 day warranty, they may give you a break and provide free service on it. It can't hurt to try anyway.

 

[pallymore]

I had the same problem on my late 2013 mbp a few months back. (and just a month out of AppleCare+) They replaced the battery and the bent panels for $299. (and it took them about a week to do it)

using a swollen battery is dangerous. plz take it to the Apple Store asap.

 

[ColdCase]

They had replaced the swollen battery/top case three months ago, along with the motherboard, and the airport card.

The Apple Store thinks this time it may be a flakey power chip /solder joint on the motherboard as they disconnected the battery and it still is unresponsive. They will extend the 90 day repair warranty a few days and replace the motherboard. Applecare expired in April. They also ordered a top case with battery just in case they need it. Near $1000 in parts and labor if out of warranty, although I think there may be a flat rate alternative. 3 to 5 business days.

 

[ColdCase]

If anyone is interested, the logic board was replaced under warranty and things seem to be working well again.