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MacBook Battery Fire

While the incident is certainly disturbing, it is unknown how widespread the issue is.
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One thing's for sure: it's hardly an isolated incident. Appledefects.com has reported frequently and impartially on this issue for many months.

With most of the Apple press being less than critical in their keenness to promote and ooh and aah, we are unlikely to know the scale of the problem from them. And that's a pretty sad comment on the Apple press.
 
SiliconAddict said:
They never told me. In the end the replaced the entire system the 5th time because of a screw. When it went into depot for the 4th time someone was a little too enthusastic about tightening the screw and torqed it to the point that when you try and unscrew it, it just sits and spins. The threads were toast. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but I wanted to upgrade the hard drive to my Seagate 160GB. Took it into the Apple store again, and spoke with the store manager. He took it into the back, after 20 minutes he came out and said after looking at the log of all the issues I've had they would replace it outright. Since then *knock on wood* no problems at all. If you want to know all the issues I had:

...

All told I didn't have my system for about 3 weeks total in all of this. thankfully the batteries were a walk in replacement. the other stuff....gah. I will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER buy first gen Apple anything. And even when the come out with a rev B version I will wait a few weeks.

So far though the current system, see below, has been flawless.
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Well that sucks. Yeah, my PB had a slew of problems that finally was determined to be the Logic Board. It worked great after that for a year and a half and then I had some weird problems that seemed to be fixed with reloading Tiger. I gave it to my brother recently and it seems to be having similar Logic Board problems again. I've had no problems with my 1st gen MB and very little with my old iMac (minor things). *Knock on wood*

Glad it has worked out so far knock on wood again. Sounds like minus the screw, you got a bad machine. I was hesitant to get a 1st gen MB given how critical it is but I had to upgrade my system so I bit the bullet.
 
someone may have already have said this, but the popping battery thing is simply a safety feature, found on all batteries. Sometimes your AAs will pop, so they dont explode and cause serious harm. There is just an abundance/ improper handling of the gasses made by the chemical reaction (how batteries store electricity). Although it is rare, it will happen, most likely because we drive technology at such a rate that sometimes these lapses happen, but its what you pay for being on the cutting edge.
 
Cassie said:
Well, maybe, but you've got to remember this was a very rare incident. Its not a common occurrence. The chances of this happening are less then 1 in a million, so I wouldn't be worried.
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When my eMac started crashing in Jan06, no one believed it was more than just an oddity. By Feb06 hundreds were reporting the problem. By June06 Apple issued a Repair Program.

May be the tip of the iceburg... May be nothing... I followed the guy's posts over on Mactalk.com.au from when he first reported it happening. I know if nothing else, it needs a thorough investigation. The battery was not on the recall list. He stated that clearly.
 
SiliconAddict said:
System would wake by simply shaking the unit...same shaking you get while walking with the laptop in the bag....replaced system board (about 7 days)
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I'm intrigued as my system also wakes if I closed the lid and flip it in my hands. What did you really need to say or do besides show the geniuses the problem? Why exactly was the logic board replaced, as in what component on it was causing the problems?

Thanks,
-Brian
 
Lots of Battery "Bulging"

The battery on my MacBook Pro 17" (single core) started bulging a couple of weeks ago. By going to Apple's online store and reading reviews for the battery I have, I found out that other people who have owned their MacBook Pros for a similar time period have begun having the bulging problem as well. I'm not sure if there's a difference between "bulging" and "popping." Unlike the photos another user posted in this thread, the metal backing on my battery has stayed on, but it has a huge bulge right in the middle of it. The battery has grown more and more unreliable since the bulging began, and now the battery indicator in the menubar simply displays an "X", as if the battery is totally worthless. Fortunately I have AppleCare, and they're supposedly mailing me a new one. In case no one else has posted this yet, you can see all of the other people having this problem by looking at the reviews at the link below:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=6C04E099&nplm=MA458G/A
 
CardboardCanary said:
I'm not sure if there's a difference between "bulging" and "popping." Unlike the photos another user posted in this thread, the metal backing on my battery has stayed on, but it has a huge bulge right in the middle of it.
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The reason why your metal backing hasn't come off yet is because the bulge is in the middle. Mine and other's batteries happened along the edge, thus the metal backing easily popped up. You mention that you still have the battery in, TAKE IT OUT! There's obviously some fault within the battery, and by keeping it plugged in, you're sending more juice into it. I took mine out and set it on my desk as soon as I saw the bulge. Over the course of the next several days, the bulge increased to bout triple or quadruple the size, and that was without being forced with power. By leaving it in your laptop, I think you are setting yourself up for a possible fire.

-Brian
 
brianbobcat said:
The reason why your metal backing hasn't come off yet is because the bulge is in the middle. Mine and other's batteries happened along the edge, thus the metal backing easily popped up. You mention that you still have the battery in, TAKE IT OUT! There's obviously some fault within the battery, and by keeping it plugged in, you're sending more juice into it. I took mine out and set it on my desk as soon as I saw the bulge. Over the course of the next several days, the bulge increased to bout triple or quadruple the size, and that was without being forced with power. By leaving it in your laptop, I think you are setting yourself up for a possible fire.

-Brian
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Yeah, I suppose that would probably be a wise thing to do...heh, heh. Hopefully Apple isn't just replacing the defective batteries with the same models again. I hope they or Sony have made some updates to the new one they're mailing me so that this doesn't happen again.
 
synth3tik said:
I am not all to familiar with the innards of the MacBook, but that does seem to be an cause by an electrical short and not a battery explosion.
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Are you not reading about the bulging, exploding, batteries? My power cord on my Titanium was too hot to touch (replaced it) but this is clearly something else.

I've learnt from you guys that allowing the machine to sleep rather than shutting down is preferable for a number of reasons. Apple seems to suggest this themselves. So the question is given this instance - one that is statistically small and anecdotal...until it happens to you - should I go back to shutting down and recharging?
 
Macrumors said:


Apple's laptop batteries are once again feeling heat after one MacBook owner's laptop caught fire, apparently stemming from the battery.

macbook_batt_fire_300.jpg




According to the user, the laptop was charging at the time but not in use (asleep with lid shut). Last summer, multiple PC vendors (develop Li-Ion battery standards.
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Forget the Mac Book, did any one else notice the nasty couch and crack house like linoleum floor? Where does this person live? lol :p
 
CJD2112 said:
Forget the Mac Book, did any one else notice the nasty couch and crack house like linoleum floor? Where does this person live? lol :p
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RANT/
Before making comments about the couch and floor, perhaps one should actually go and read the ENTIRE posting by the original poster, NOT the abbreviated MacRumors version...

for you lazy people here's the link again
/RANT
 
Corran Horn said:
RANT/
Before making comments about the couch and floor, perhaps one should actually go and read the ENTIRE posting by the original poster, NOT the abbreviated MacRumors version...

for you lazy people here's the link again
/RANT
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Simmer down, fruit cake, it was a JOKE. :D
 
How to react if this happens to us

I picked it up and blew on it and swung it around to put the flames out.
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How do we properly put a fire out anyway? (Does this count as an electrical fire? Chemical?) I figured that choking the fire with a rug would be more appropriate and effective.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
I have a brand new macbook pro, and at one point the battery displayed an X... should I be worried?
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that X means you don't have a battery installed. Try removing th battery and putting it it again. If it still says "x" and everything goes off if you pull out the power plug, either the battery is dead or you got some other problem.

I got my Macbook battery replaced too this week. it's from the first bulk of gen 1 black Macbooks. only 80 cycles and under 30% battery, power was gone, and above 90%, the battery switched between draining and charging every 2 seconds. NOw they gave me a new one.
 
MrCrowbar said:
that X means you don't have a battery installed. Try removing th battery and putting it it again. If it still says "x" and everything goes off if you pull out the power plug, either the battery is dead or you got some other problem.

I got my Macbook battery replaced too this week. it's from the first bulk of gen 1 black Macbooks. only 80 cycles and under 30% battery, power was gone, and above 90%, the battery switched between draining and charging every 2 seconds. NOw they gave me a new one.
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Yeah my macbook battery just up and died this week too. If you read the Apple macbook battery support forum every other thread is about the battery dying and having to be replaced. Either they all suck or Apple's latest firmware update messed up all our batteries.
 
Update: Apples service has been fantastic. They are replacing the laptop with a aluminium case macbook pro and will probably compensate for property damage where appropriate. Someone is coming to my house tonight to collect the damaged unit. That way they can quickly assess what has happend and take appropriate action. To initiate a recall, they first need to know what caused the incident.

I have to say, I am really please with the way this issue has been dealt with. Kudos to the Australian Apple team, they have made me feel like a properly cared for customer - a rare thing for big corporations these days.
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Well hes getting a good deal out of Apple to be honest. Also, He said he bought his MB at the end of June 2006. So it will be a Core Duo.

My C2D MB has displayed an X once or twice when I wake it from sleep but it usually changes itself after 10 seconds or so.

Either way, I do feel concerned with this... amazing what one thing can do.
 
Apple must be Lion(lyin') or Windoze don't knoze

I'm doing my cisco class on a MBP in windoze-Course CD only has .exe's,

I clicked on the battery gauge details:

It shows Sony LION ASMB012. So either windoze just don't knoze or my late model MBP 15" Core 2 Duo has a LION.

I will post screenshot if someone can tell me key combo for such.
 
this is scary... i charge my laptop every night on the nightstand... right next to my head... :eek:
 
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