MacBook Mid 2010 Unibody Battery Problem

[denbrubeck]

Hello everyone!

My MacBook has been in heave use since winter 2010-2011, so almost 2 years. This August, suddenly, with a fully charged battery, it just didn't start. After connecting the Magsafe adapter, it worked, but instead of a charging battery sign on the top, there was a cross and a message, that I need to service the battery. Then after a few sleeps, it started working with the battery again. Since then it has been fluctuating like that, and when it really worked only from the battery (in those lucky minutes) it couldn't hold the battery for more than an hour. The last time I checked, I had about 650 cycles on my battery. So, after reading some forums, I had decided to change the battery. I bought A1331 batter, which, accordingly to iFixit, is the right one, installed it by myself (I suppose correctly, but now my Battery won't even charge. It just says 0% and shows the "replace now" message, but the MacBook works with MagSafe as it had been.
This is what Battery information says:

Model Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: W0112TG9PE1LA
Manufacturer: SMP
Device Name: bq20z451
Pack Lot Code: 0
PCB Lot Code: 0
Firmware Version: 201
Hardware Revision: 000a
Cell Revision: 165
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh): 0
Fully Charged: No
Charging: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 0
Health Information:
Cycle Count: 0
Condition: Replace Now
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 11482

Anything I can do?

Thanks in advance!

P.S. I have installed 8gbs of RAM and swapped my optical drive with an SSD. Now it makes my machine a pure beast =) Could that be the cause of the problem?

 

[noteple]

Reset Pram and SMC but also double check you work with a voltmeter. Doesn't sound like the pack is good or even connected.

The original battery at 6xx cycles should at least be giving you half life.
From your description it sounds like something else may be wrong.

 

[GGJstudios]

Try resetting the SMC. If that doesn't help, take it to Apple to have them check it out. PRAM/NVRAM has nothing to do with battery/power/charging issues. Resetting it will not help.

 

[denbrubeck]

Oh, I forgot to mention, I had some problems with battery about a year ago, so I did SMC reset and it helped at that time. But now, when I turn off my macbook and hold the keys, which do the SMC reset, nothing happens. Even the light on Magsafe doesn't change from green.

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Try resetting the SMC. If that doesn't help, take it to Apple to have them check it out. PRAM/NVRAM has nothing to do with battery/power/charging issues. Resetting it will not help.

I live in Russia and we don't have an official Apple service...

 

[GGJstudios]

Oh, I forgot to mention, I had some problems with battery about a year ago, so I did SMC reset and it helped at that time. But now, when I turn off my macbook and hold the keys, which do the SMC reset, nothing happens. Even the light on Magsafe doesn't change from green.

When you reset the SMC you won't necessarily see anything. The light may change states or turn off, but not always. Since you installed the battery yourself, which Apple doesn't recommend, you may have failed to properly connect something. Also, if you bought a non-Apple battery, there is no guarantee it will work properly. I wouldn't trust or recommend any non-Apple battery, due to the number of problems reported with "knockoff" batteries. Also, there is no assurance that knockoff batteries have the same charging technology that Apple uses, involving the battery, the MagSafe adapter and the Mac's logic board.

 

[denbrubeck]

When you reset the SMC you won't necessarily see anything. The light may change states or turn off, but not always.

Well, then nothing really changes after SMC reset. I've done it a few times then.