Random shutdown issue

[grakilajo]

Hello,



i have had the following issue for a few weeks.



My macbook air (2013) shuts down randomly when the temperature is too hot. However, that happens with temperatures rising between 55-62 degrees C° so that should not be a problem for the macbook. It just started happening recently, i played games on it and had it connected to a beamer for a year and everything was fine. It was running to 90+ degrees sometimes but never hat any shutdown problems.



When it shuts down at 60 degrees or less it is not very warm to the touch from neither side so i assume the Temperature Sensor is reading correct.



Nowadays i cant even connect it to my beamer for long and have to have a laptop cooler underneath it to play a game. I have to limit them to sub-20 FPS to keep the termperature unter 50 degrees.



It is out of warranty unfortunately since a few month. I read something about heat causing some parts to expand and causing a short, but that wasnt connectet to a Air 2013, so could that be it by and chance?



And this post is my last resord, i already tried the common fixes eg. SMC reset or reinstalling my OSX.



Greetings

 

[Newtons Apple]

If it has overheated multiple times it is very possible that their could be hardware damages. Gaming on laptops can be a real challenge to the cooling system.

 

[grakilajo]

Well it was not like it overheatet frequently and i just kept going, it just startet shutting down at sub-60 degrees. I just play World of Warcraft ond the lowest settings and it never went down from overheating bevor the described strange behavior.

At first i thought maybe the temp sensor is reading wrong and the cpu is actually overheating and just showing 60 deg, but it is not hot to touch neither from the top nor the bottom.

 

[motrek]

Well it was not like it overheatet frequently and i just kept going, it just startet shutting down at sub-60 degrees. I just play World of Warcraft ond the lowest settings and it never went down from overheating bevor the described strange behavior.

At first i thought maybe the temp sensor is reading wrong and the cpu is actually overheating and just showing 60 deg, but it is not hot to touch neither from the top nor the bottom.

I wouldn't assume heat was a problem. You said the laptop (presumably the CPU) was only at 90C a few times and that's a temperature these laptops are designed for. And Intel chips will shut down before overheating anyway.

I don't know what could be causing random shutdowns but I doubt it's anything to do with a temperature the laptop has been at, or is getting to.

 

[Hirakata]

Well it was not like it overheatet frequently and i just kept going, it just startet shutting down at sub-60 degrees. I just play World of Warcraft ond the lowest settings and it never went down from overheating bevor the described strange behavior.

At first i thought maybe the temp sensor is reading wrong and the cpu is actually overheating and just showing 60 deg, but it is not hot to touch neither from the top nor the bottom.

Check the RAM.

 

[Zeos]

Had the same problem. Bought a fan booster on the app store, and my laptop now shuts down less.

 

[grakilajo]

Had the same problem. Bought a fan booster on the app store, and my laptop now shuts down less.

I already can't do anything without my Fans running on 6500 rpm and my Macbook standing on a Laptop-Cooler, but thanks for the suggestion.

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Check the RAM.

Can you specify that? Should i check the RAM for heat issues?

 

[motrek]

I already can't do anything without my Fans running on 6500 rpm and my Macbook standing on a Laptop-Cooler, but thanks for the suggestion.

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Can you specify that? Should i check the RAM for heat issues?

Is your fan running really fast or is your computer randomly shutting down? Not sure what the problem is.

What does Activity Monitor say your computer is doing?

Are you blocking the vent?

 

[grakilajo]

Is your fan running really fast or is your computer randomly shutting down? Not sure what the problem is.

What does Activity Monitor say your computer is doing?

Are you blocking the vent?

I am not blocking the Vent. I have it standing on a Laptop cooling stand. MY computer is not doing anything abnormal (activity monitor).

The exact problem is: My Laptop is turning off when the CPU temperature comes close to 60* Celc.


If i have the fans off, on maximum speed or automatic speed does not matter. It simply gets to 60° faster when the fans are slower and shuts down faster.

----------

I don't know what could be causing random shutdowns but I doubt it's anything to do with a temperature the laptop has been at, or is getting to.

And to respond again to your first answer. I can't say for certain that heat is the problem, however it never shuts down unter 55° Celc and ALWAYS shuts down when it gets over that number in a matter of seconds.

So i made the assumption that it could be connected to heat. I don't think it is that far fetched.

Edit:
To elaborate: If i am doing nothing but browsing and the Laptop is therefore at sub 55°, it has never shut down.

If i do processor intensive things, like WoW, Video Editing or simply do the "yes" tests ( yes > /dev/null & ), it always no matter what shuts down when the temperature gets a bit over 55°

 

[motrek]

I am not blocking the Vent. I have it standing on a Laptop cooling stand. MY computer is not doing anything abnormal (activity monitor).

The exact problem is: My Laptop is turning off when the CPU temperature comes close to 60* Celc.

If i have the fans off, on maximum speed or automatic speed does not matter. It simply gets to 60° faster when the fans are slower and shuts down faster.

Is Activity Monitor showing low CPU usage? What percentage?

BTW, not sure what you mean by turning the fans off. The MBAs have always only had one fan and it's impossible to turn off.

60C should be no problem for the CPU, and it shouldn't be possible for the CPU to overheat anyway. It will just run slower if it gets too hot. So that is not the problem. But some other part might be getting too hot. Do you run iStat? What do your other temperature sensors show?

 

[grakilajo]

Is Activity Monitor showing low CPU usage? What percentage?

I don't know what percentage. If i don't run anything i have no CPU usage. If i run some programms i have CPU usage. My CPU usage behaves normal.

BTW, not sure what you mean by turning the fans off. The MBAs have always only had one fan and it's impossible to turn off.

Okay, i am sorry. By turning my fans off i meant running them on the lowest number (1950 or something).

60C should be no problem for the CPU, and it shouldn't be possible for the CPU to overheat anyway. It will just run slower if it gets too hot. So that is not the problem. But some other part might be getting too hot. Do you run iStat? What do your other temperature sensors show?

I am aware that my CPU should not overheat at that temperature. That is the reason why i try to find help in this forum. The behavior is not normal and i seek help.

No other parts run hot, no. I used Istat, yes.