Ideas as to what is wrong with my MBP

[stevebni]

Several weeks ago I purchased a pre-owned Mid 2010 17in MBP from a reseller. After a week it developed a fault: it would just dies at around 18% battery life. Coconut Battery told me it was a new battery, but it didn't appear to be genuine. To restart the MBP I would need to connect the charger and perform an SMC reset.

I contacted the seller who shipped it back and replaced with a new battery, which, they say, is NOS genuine. Coconut Battery says it's a DynaPack, is 170 days old and now in its 7th cycle.

The machine worked OK for a day, now it cuts out at about 8%. Not every time, but it's done it 3-4 times now.

Contacted seller, who is being very good about things, and has offered to have it collected and refund me. Before I do this, I'm keen to explore all possible fixes, as it is a hard machine to relocate, and I did get it at a good price (or not, depending on your POV!).

Seller has agreed to help with any remedy if one can be found.

So, things I have tried so far...

1. New battery. Lowered the cut-out point, but didn't eradicate it.
2. Alternative HDD tried. No difference.
3. Tested RAM, appears OK. It's loaded with 2x4, tried running with 1x4, but no difference.
4. Checked all internal connections: as far as I can tell, all good.
5. Installed SMCFanControl. Fan activity and temp appear normal. Although, worth noting this machine appears to run a little hotter than previous models. But not excessively so.
6. Re-install OS (Sierra). No change.

That's about it.

Does anyone out there have any further troubleshooting ideas?

Thanks.

 

[Audit13]

The Macbook pro is getting up there in age, same as is mine which is the mid-2010 15" i5 version.

The original battery swelled while in my backpack. Thank goodness it didn't do any permanent damage. I replaced it with a cheap 3rd party from eBay and Coconut identifies it as an SMP with 2 cycles and 120 days old.

I calibrated the battery a couple of times and the Macbook would power off when it hit around 9% so your numbers are not far off. I was trying to find an original Apple battery but I could not find a new one. I don't trust eBay seller even though they are advertised as "genuine OEM".

For the money I paid, I'm keeping it as I don't want to invest too much money in it anymore. You may want to do the same if you are getting decent battery life.

 

[Fishrrman]

Well, if it "cuts out" at around 8%, just remember to put it on the charger when it drops below 15%...

 

[Gav2k]

To be honest decent 17” mbp are getting hard to come by. If your happy with it I’d use it for a while then consider swapping the battery out.

If you want a better battery ifixit sell them. There not going to be original but it’ll be a decent quality.

 

[stevebni]

Thanks for the replies.