mid 2010 kernel task high usage and random shut off a1297

[davidb8]

hi i have recently aquired a a1297 mid 2010 17" mbp. i only became aware of the common gpu issue just today but im not even sure thats my issue. runs fine (but very slowly) when discrete gpu is used. no kernel panics.

the person i got it from said it shuts off at random. i have changed ram (ram is confirmed working) and installed high sierra through recovery on a new ssd. i have only seen it do the random power off once which was a few minutes ago whilst it was charging. i had the mbp powered on most of the day on battery power and it never went off.

the other weird issue is the high kernel task usage. its hitting 1000% sometimes and is causing instability and making it run very slow. i have been researching the kernel task thing but none of the stuff ive read matches my issue. temperatures are very low and fans dont even ramp up.

touch pad is very skittish. moving a finger across it makes the cursor jump about randomly and randomly click things.

any help would be great. i havent had the board out yet to check for liquid damage on the keyboard side of the board but bottom side looks legit.

i have done pram/nvram/smc numerous times.

 

[Amethyst1]

Sounds like the CPU is throttling heavily - kernel_task hogging it is indicative of that. This can be caused by e. g. overheating or a missing or dead battery. First thing I'd to is reapply thermal paste to CPU and GPU just in case.

 

[davidb8]

yep i mentioned it in the post. it runs on battery. seems to last a while too actually! issues are still there on battery power.

 

[davidb8]

other things ive noticed today. it is not charging when the power is off. i left it switched off but plugged in all night. when powered on it only charges for about 2 seconds (orange led) then stops for a minute or so (green led) so its charging like 1% at a time every few minutes.

 

[davidb8]

Sounds like the CPU is throttling heavily - kernel_task hogging it is indicative of that. This can be caused by e. g. overheating or a missing or dead battery. First thing I'd to is reapply thermal paste to CPU and GPU just in case.

thats what ive been reading about but its not even getting warm. at all its unusually cold, ive never had a mac run this cool even at idle. fans are turning but only at idle speeds. i will reapply paste today anyway to eliminate that issue.

i now noticed the charging issue (see last post)

 

[Amethyst1]

i now noticed the charging issue (see last post)

It is possible that the system thinks the battery is dead and throttles the CPU. All MacBooks do this when the battery is dead or missing.

 

[davidb8]

It is possible that the system thinks the battery is dead and throttles the CPU. All MacBooks do this when the battery is dead or missing.

some issue with the battery then? it just randomly shut off just now. battery was about 30% and it just clicked off. was idle at the time not performing any tasks.

 

[davidb8]

It is possible that the system thinks the battery is dead and throttles the CPU. All MacBooks do this when the battery is dead or missing.

OK.. so.. i took the back panel off again and i noticed that the battery doesnt seem to be a legit apple battery! all it says on it is "replacement for model no.:A1309"

the model number is A1297. could that be the source of all the mentioned issues?!

EDIT. just realised the a1309 is the battery model number haha. but still its a non apple third party battery. if its shorted the charging circuit is that a dead logic board?!

 

[Amethyst1]

could that be the source of all the mentioned issues?!

Clicking off at "30%" suggests there might be something iffy with the battery. One thing you can try is disconnect the battery and check if the system exhibits the same issues. If it does, I'd replace the battery.

 

[davidb8]

Clicking off at "30%" suggests there might be something iffy with the battery. One thing you can try is disconnect the battery and check if the system exhibits the same issues. If it does, I'd replace the battery.

Well that's the thing its not doing it at a certain percentage it just dies randomly whenever.