Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Just curious about the new red light on the magsafe plug on the late 08 MBP

D

damado

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 8, 2006
280
0
I bought the new L808 (late '08) MBP a couple of days ago and when charging, the LED on the magsafe plug has always been orange then green once it's charged.

Today, 2 days after owning it, I now see it turns green when I plug it in, then 2 seconds later it goes to red instead of orange. It still goes back to green when fully charged, but I'm just curious as to why it decided to charge with a red LED instead of orange. I guess I'm wondering if it's an indicator of some malfunction.

Any ideas?

Here's the battery info screen:
Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number:
Manufacturer: SMP
Device name: bq20z951
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 002a
Hardware Revision: 000a
Cell Revision: 0100
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 4569
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4581
Health Information:
Cycle count: 3
Condition: Good
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -503
Voltage (mV): 12432
 
I saw your post and was curious since I had never heard of this before. A google search doesn't show anything useful. I would call Apple and see what they say. Then, let me know to satisfy my curiosity. :D
 
abiyng87 said:
I saw your post and was curious since I had never heard of this before. A google search doesn't show anything useful. I would call Apple and see what they say. Then, let me know to satisfy my curiosity. :D
Click to expand...

I'll second the curiosity. I haven't seen any colors except orange and green from my magsafe charger.
 
All my MacBook Pros (including the latest) have charged with a red light. I've never seen an orange.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0018.JPG
    IMG_0018.JPG
    382.7 KB · Views: 1,023
Wow, broad range of responses from no light to only red to only orange...

I'll ask apple when I go back to pick up my ACD monitor that's in for service.
 
I just got a clearanced old MBP and my magsafe charger also shows a red light while charging and green when fully charged.

It *might* pass as really dark orange, but no way its amber.
 
At least you can see what colour it is! I find that my colour-blindness means I can't distinguish between the red/amber and green because its such a small light, so I just have to take an educated guess based on time whether the laptop is charged or not...

I always hate the fact they use red and green... red and blue would be much better and easier to distinguish.
 
I drained the battery completely and now it shows orange again when charging...not sure why, but orange seems more comforting to me since it's what I expect hehe.

To my eyes, the orange and red are VERY distinguishable. No way to mix them up.

I'll still ask about it when I go in to apple, but from my experience the "geniuses" probably won't know.
 
Solved!

When I first purchased my MBA I noticed the same color behavior--albeit inconsistently. Green, Orange, and sometimes Red

Here's the deal, there is no red light! There is only orange and green. However, the orange LED will *appear* red if you happen to be working near a natural light source or if your eyes were recently exposed to natural light.

The reason has to do with how the human eye adjusts to natural light--rods and cones, ghost colors, etc.

You'll notice that the "red" light returns to orange after your eyes have adjusted to indoor lighting.
 
h4lp m3 said:
What does red led mean?
Click to expand...
There is two LEDs inside the MagSafe. Green and red. They both light up to make Amber but sometimes the green is a little dimmer making the red stronger. It's nothing to worry about.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back