mid 2010 Macbook won't charge battery

[dintymoore]

Recently my wife's mid 2010 Macbook 7,1 A1342 started not charging the battery. I tried resetting the SMC and PRAM many times. The light on the Magsafe wouldn't light at all.
The SMC version is 1.60f6.
I have an identical Macbook running 10.6.8 and I tried swapping the ac adapters to no avail.
I installed a new Magsafe board and that did nothing. Actually when I first plugged it in (with the new Magsafe board) it lit up for about 10 seconds and then nothing, and did the same thing today for a few seconds. I have cleaned the Magsafe connector many times and the ac adapter works with my other good Macbook A1342. I sprayed Deoxit in the Magsafe plug/jack and it looks pristine.
I upgraded the OS from Yosemite to Sierra to no avail. I upgraded Sierra to 10.12.5. I have done the SMC and PRAM resets countless times.
The piece of plastic between the Magsafe jack and the Ethernet jack is broken , suggesting some possible impact damage, but there doesn't seem to be any visible damage beyond that.
I swapped the batteries between the working Macbook (mine) and my wife's broken machine to no avail. I say broken but it does work with the ac adapter attached. When I click the battery icon up top it says, greyed out, that it's running off of the ac adapter and that the battery isn't charging. You can use the computer for hours with the ac adapter and the battery won't run down any, still the ac adapter (with either of my two ac adapters that work fine on my other A1342 Macbook) will not light at all. It will run off of the battery. When I try to boot it with the battery unplugged from the logic board it won't boot. When it's running off the ac adapter and I unplug the battery it crashes. Coconut says the battery is good, although not charging. I've run Disk Utility, reset the SCM and reset the PRAM many times throughout my attempted repairs.
The only thing I can think of is to swap the Magsafe boards in case my wife's Macbook had a bad Magsafe and the new Magsafe I installed was defective (which seems very remote).
Also, the machine is very sluggish after the Sierra upgrade.
Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[dintymoore]

RESOLVED: I swapped the Magsafe board from the working Macbook with the board in the malfunctioning Macbook and that solved the problem, battery now charging. Bingo
Then I installed the "new" Magsafe board (the one that wasn't working) into my Macbook and it wouldn't charge the battery. I took it out and installed it a second time just to make sure I'd plugged it in fully, but it failed.
So it appears that the new Magsafe board I just bought off of eBay is defective.
I've had times during car repairs where a new part, like a starter or alternator is defective and the logic "it can't be broken, it's new" comes up and like with this Magsafe board it can be a real time waster. It seems like there is an epidemic of defective parts nowadays.
I'm just glad it wasn't the main board. Taking the Magsafe board out isn't that bad if you do it without taking out the battery or logic board.
UPDATE 6/15/17: received replacement Magsafe and it works.

 

[JoshWhatmough]

Guys can anyone help? Mid 2010 a1342 says battery not available yet says power source: Battery. It will only work when my charger is plugged in. To even get it to turn on I have to disconnect the battery, hold power for 5 seconds, connect MagSafe while still holding the power for a further 5 seconds, release & press power again.

Fans run at full speed & I've got the black 'X' through the battery. Tried 2 replacement batteries (both same brand) & neither will charge or even recognise.

Is there a way to determine what is at fault? Battery/MagSafe board/logic board maybe?

Upgraded Ram to 8gb, not touched the HDD yet. Running latest update of Sierra.

Any help appreciated. Cheers guys!

 

[dintymoore]

First I would do a SMC reset and clean the Magsafe contacts with a Q tip and alcohol. I use Deoxit on the contacts because I'm in a corrosive environment (near ocean). Those things are hopeful but didn't work for me.

What you describe is so similar to what I went through with my mid 2010 MB that I suspect your Magsafe board is bad. It's not hard to replace and they only cost about $10. On the iFixit instructions you can skip the steps about taking out the motherboard. Taking out the motherboard is more work and involves unplugging tiny plugs and some people have destroyed their Macbooks doing that. You just need to take off the bottom of the case, unplug the battery, remove the grille over the fans and the screws holding the Magsafe. You can slip the Magsafe in there if you take your time and don't push it.

I have two mid 2010 Macbooks and a mid 2010 Macbook Pro and in the last 2 years have replaced the Magsafe boards in all 3. I'd replace your Magsafe just to rule it out if nothing else.

 

[JoshWhatmough]

First I would do a SMC reset and clean the Magsafe contacts with a Q tip and alcohol. I use Deoxit on the contacts because I'm in a corrosive environment (near ocean). Those things are hopeful but didn't work for me.

What you describe is so similar to what I went through with my mid 2010 MB that I suspect your Magsafe board is bad. It's not hard to replace and they only cost about $10. On the iFixit instructions you can skip the steps about taking out the motherboard. Taking out the motherboard is more work and involves unplugging tiny plugs and some people have destroyed their Macbooks doing that. You just need to take off the bottom of the case, unplug the battery, remove the grille over the fans and the screws holding the Magsafe. You can slip the Magsafe in there if you take your time and don't push it.

I have two mid 2010 Macbooks and a mid 2010 Macbook Pro and in the last 2 years have replaced the Magsafe boards in all 3. I'd replace your Magsafe just to rule it out if nothing else.

Cheers for the reply dude. That's my next step. I'm in the UK & picked it up for £100 so I'm not to fussed if it gets damaged (it's paid for itself already)

If it isn't the MagSafe board what would you do next?

Update: tried SMC & PRAM reset. Neither helped

 

[dintymoore]

I think you're right thinking that it is either the battery, the magsafe or the logic board (what I called the motherboard) is the culprit. My Macbook Pro is used as a desktop only, it has no battery, so I don't think you probably even need a battery in the Macbooks either. So operating it with the battery unplugged would eliminate 2 or those 3 possibilities. If it's the logic board I would parts out the unit or find another parts MB (like one with a broken screen) before I would likely buy a motherboard. So that only leaves the Magsafe as the only reasonable repair. I'm probably biased towards the Magsafe been bad because of my experience with my Macs.
Make sure you clean the Magsafe plug/jack (there's several Youtube vids on that) because mine are forever needing that.
[doublepost=1504295118][/doublepost]It would be nice if you could try another ac adapter, it seems doubtful but it is in the land of where the problem is. I'm going to guess that Mac people who are smarter than I am about Macs would say it's not the problem though. Just something I'd probably do because I don't know if it could possibly be involved.

 

[JoshWhatmough]

Re

I think you're right thinking that it is either the battery, the magsafe or the logic board (what I called the motherboard) is the culprit. My Macbook Pro is used as a desktop only, it has no battery, so I don't think you probably even need a battery in the Macbooks either. So operating it with the battery unplugged would eliminate 2 or those 3 possibilities. If it's the logic board I would parts out the unit or find another parts MB (like one with a broken screen) before I would likely buy a motherboard. So that only leaves the Magsafe as the only reasonable repair. I'm probably biased towards the Magsafe been bad because of my experience with my Macs.
Make sure you clean the Magsafe plug/jack (there's several Youtube vids on that) because mine are forever needing that.
[doublepost=1504295118][/doublepost]It would be nice if you could try another ac adapter, it seems doubtful but it is in the land of where the problem is. I'm going to guess that Mac people who are smarter than I am about Macs would say it's not the problem though. Just something I'd probably do because I don't know if it could possibly be involved.

Really appreciate the advice! I'll keep you posted

 

[JoshWhatmough]

Quick update

Replaced the MagSafe board & it still wouldn't turn on or recognise the battery. Managed to get it turned on using the 5 seconds without charger then 5 seconds with method but it still hasn't recognised the battery.

What should I do next?! Feeling like ripping my hair out

Cheers for the help