Macbook Reboots on Its Own Especially if Moved

[MacMolly]

I've got an old Macbook Core 2 duo, 2 GHZ, running 10.5.8, 2GB RAM.

It won't stay on for long and shuts down,especially if it's moved. And then it reboots on its own, only to repeat the process over and over. Haven't been able to use it much.

Sometimes. I'll boot it just to see if it stays on..and it may for 10 seconds or 30 minutes and then it reboots on its own. Or it will be off and seemingly reboot all by itself. I'm beginning to think it's possessed.

I've tested the RAM, wiped the drive and installed a new 10.5.8 system by docking it to another computer. It doesn't need the firmware update. The only time it will not "act out" is when I'm zapping the PRAM. I can do that til the cows come home.

Tried a different drive. No luck. Doesn't matter if power cord is on or off.
Battery appears to be good in Sys Profile. Sometimes when it shuts off, the fan or drive continues to run and battery drains if no ac. otherwise,battery charges fine.

I've tried resetting the SMC. Opened it and didn't see anything loose, I've even disabled the SMS (sudden motion sensor) through the terminal.

Sometimes it stays on if left alone and not moved. But the phantom rebooting is very weird. It will also shut itself off at any time, even if it's sitting on its own and not moved, and then reboot.

I'm guessing something loose, but I didn't see anything obvious.

Has anyone experienced this cluster of symptoms or have any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[symber]

I had this problem after spilling a drink over the keyboard in a 2010 white unibody MacBook. Aside from various keys being unresponsive, or acting as if held down on startup, the power button was acting up, constantly trying to shut the machine down, but booting up straight away. Had to replace the entire upper case, but works fine now.

Hope that helps!

 

[MacMolly]

I had this problem after spilling a drink over the keyboard in a 2010 white unibody MacBook. Aside from various keys being unresponsive, or acting as if held down on startup, the power button was acting up, constantly trying to shut the machine down, but booting up straight away. Had to replace the entire upper case, but works fine now.

Hope that helps!

Thanks very much for the input. Nothing ever spilled on the keyboard but the up/down sideways cursor keys don't work. This seems like a logical fix consistent with the cluster of symptoms. I'll check it out later this week and use the manual power on with a USB keyboard/mouse.

I'll repost after I try this. I'm optimistic. This has a lot more potential than a seance summoning Steve Jobs for advice.