MacBook Pro 2010 "Plugged in but Not Charging"

[hackerwayne]

Hi forumers

I have just received a 2010 13" MBP from my client (i do repair, refurb and resell as side line) and the problem was that the MacBook Pro does not charge, at all. It runs on AC power fine. I do have quite a lot of experience in repairing Macs, so ive done all the standard steps such as:

1. Resetting PRAM, SMC/ newly formatted etc etc
2. Took the battery out, plug into another Mac, confirmed battery is working well.
3. Ran Apple Service Toolkit and done MRA. Software reported no faults.
4. In System Profiler, under Power tab, charger is detected correctly (60watt) but showing "Not Charging"
5. Replaced the MagSafe port, old one tested out okay too.
6. Charger LED is green (indicating fully charged when its not)

Things i know.
- No more warranty on this unit, not interested to send to Apple to repair.
- I have some knowledge on component repairs, if its motherboard, anyone knows which chip is responsible for battery power management? Power IC tested out fine.
- Battery connector on the motherboard is tested working and delivering required voltage (im confused at this stage, THEN WHY ISNT IT CHARGING?)
- Is it possible to be a SMC software problem? Because every time i do a SMC reset, the battery although at 0%, its telling me "Battery is Fully Charged"; again, this battery is checked out. If yes, how to/if its possible to update/reinstall the SMC?
- If i charge the battery else where, such as another MBP and plug it back in, it works with the battery showing 100%, but when it drains, its not gonna recharge. So that means it can use the battery, it detects the battery, but simply refuse to charge it

Problem is the board seems to think the battery is fully charged when its not.

 

[GGJstudios]

A few things to note. It's normal that your battery may stop charging between 93-99%, so if you're trying to initiate charging in that range, it won't charge until the battery drains below 93%. For details, read the CHARGING section of the following link.

PRAM/NVRAM has nothing to do with battery/power/charging issues. Resetting it will not help. Only resetting the SMC addresses such issues.

About NVRAM and PRAM​

See the link for troubleshooting MagSafe adapters at the bottom of the CHARGING section of the following link.

If you verify the adapter and battery are fine and the battery is properly connected to the logic board, your only remaining culprit is the logic board itself.

The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[hackerwayne]

A few things to note. It's normal that your battery may stop charging between 93-99%, so if you're trying to initiate charging in that range, it won't charge until the battery drains below 93%. For details, read the CHARGING section of the following link.

PRAM/NVRAM has nothing to do with battery/power/charging issues. Resetting it will not help. Only resetting the SMC addresses such issues.

About NVRAM and PRAM​

See the link for troubleshooting MagSafe adapters at the bottom of the CHARGING section of the following link.

If you verify the adapter and battery are fine and the battery is properly connected to the logic board, your only remaining culprit is the logic board itself.

The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

Read the thread properly. Battery does NOT charge. Even at 0%, it indicates "Fully Charged" or "Plugged in but not charging" no doubt its the board problem, its probably one of the chips gone bad (which is a $3 fix if i know which one and 15 mins of my time), or SMC software problem.

 

[m1n3tt3]

Similar problem

Hello there,

Was hoping for some advice please if possible: essentially my questions are:
1. Should my next step be trying to replace the MagSafe board as per: Installing MacBook Core 2 Duo Magsafe Board - iFixit
2. Do I need to take my new battery out of the machine in the meantime to prevent it losing capacity.

The story so far:
I have a 15" MacBook Pro aluminium case from ~2006, 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, running MacOSX 10.6.8

The battery gradually lost capacity over the past 6-7 years, and finally got to the point where I had to leave the magsafe charger connected to run the computer for more than a few minutes.

A week ago, the battery completely died, showing an "X" in the status bar battery indicator. The computer then wouldn't start at all (you could hear it trying to boot over and over), so I removed the dead battery, leaving the magsafe connected, and the computer returned to normal function.

Hoping to be able to use the computer in a portable manner, I bought a replacement battery on eBay - not genuine Mac but a compatible Chinese-made equivalent. (Hoping that's not a problem...)

I installed the new battery when it arrived but noticed that the status bar now said "Not Charging". The system profiler told me the battery had about 50% charge at that point. Thinking maybe the battery needed to be run down to be able to be recognised, I ran it off battery only (with magsafe disconnected) for a while until it shut down when battery ran out, then plugged in magsafe again and the computer again ran normally but said "Not Charging" and the System Profiler now showed the battery to be empty.

I found this thread, and tried resetting the SCM as per Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
No luck, magsafe still green and battery still "Not Charging".

Tried updating the system battery firmware as per Battery Update 1.2
No luck, magsafe still green, battery now not even recognised by the system to exist. System Profiler said no battery installed.

Reset SCM again and battery recognised to exist again but still "Not Charging" and magsafe green. Have left it overnight and no gain in battery charge as evidenced by removing the magsafe and the system shuts down just as if battery wasn't there.

According to Coconut Battery's interpretation of the current state of affairs, the battery's capacity has decreased to 90% of it's original capacity according to this program. It was at 100% yesterday!

Here is System Profiler text grab of current state of affairs:
Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number:
Manufacturer: SMP
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 420a
PCB Lot Code: 0512
Firmware Version: 860f
Hardware Revision: 860f
Cell Revision: 860f
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 0
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5057
Health Information:
Cycle count: 2
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 9849

System Power Settings:

AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 180
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: No
Current Power Source: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 180
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 0
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes

Hardware Configuration:

UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes
ID: 0x0100
Wattage (W): 45
Revision: 0x0000
Family: 0x00ba
Serial Number: 0x00425230
Charging: No


So yeh - after all that - my questions for you beautiful experts out there who are cleverer than me at these things are:
1. Should my next step be trying to replace the MagSafe board as per: Installing MacBook Core 2 Duo Magsafe Board - iFixit
2. Could the magsafe/charging port be the issue - and if so perhaps I'll give it a go replacing it like you did, hackerwayne?
3. If I go through all the stuff that you've mentioned above including running the software check, and it's still not behaving, does that mean we're down to the logic board being the problem?

I'm not as experienced with this stuff as you seem to be, but happy to read how-tos and forums and play with it all.

 

[hackerwayne]

Hello there,

Was hoping for some advice please if possible: essentially my questions are:
1. Should my next step be trying to replace the MagSafe board as per: Installing MacBook Core 2 Duo Magsafe Board - iFixit
2. Do I need to take my new battery out of the machine in the meantime to prevent it losing capacity.
...
I'm not as experienced with this stuff as you seem to be, but happy to read how-tos and forums and play with it all.

Your issues are completely different then mine. On my MacBook, ive tested many many things such as the battery connector does output power, MagSafe board tested out OK. If the MagSafe board is not working, your MacBook woudn't even start.

Number 2.
You're using a 45 watt MacBook Air power adapter on a 15" MacBook Pro and you expect thats enough power for such a beast?! This guy requires EIGHTY FIVE watts. 85W! Thats barely half of the required voltage!