Repeated batteries say 'Service Battery'

[SeitanFingers]

Hi! So I'd read some previous threads about people having similar issues, most of which led me to head into the store to get service (alas I'm back to the forums):

I have a:
- Macbook Pro 15-inch, late 2008
- 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo
- 4GB 1067 DDR3 (upgraded original w/ 3rd party RAM)

My original battery stopped holding much of a charge after two years or so, but I finally replaced it last year when it would last no longer than 20-30 minutes unplugged, and gave me the 'service battery' message.

So I replaced w/ a 3rd party battery, followed the steps on calibrating (draining til it died then recharging, etc.) and have been using it the last year or so, never getting more than about an hour of charge, but it would at least say it was charging to 99% usually.

It's recently degraded pretty quickly and now it won't charge past 48% or so, and is giving me the 'service battery' message.

I tried running diagnostic by holding 'd' while booting, but that hasn't worked even with my original installation disc. So I took it into the apple store today, they ran their network diagnostic and it showed yes the battery's not charging. They said they can't service macs as old as mine, and said it might be hardware components causing batteries to drain unnecessarily. Their only suggestion- reinstall O/S or take it to a third-party repair place to test the components.

Any advice short of taking it to one of these repair places? Thanks for any help!

 

[SeitanFingers]

I'll also note that the replacement battery was bought on ebay, and I've noticed some posts here mentioning potential issues with knockoff batteries, so not sure if my experience sounds standard?

 

[Intell]

It is never a good idea to use a non-OEM battery or no name third party battery. I would suggest obtaining an OEM Apple battery from a reliable reseller or purchasing a third party battery that has a good track record for its name.

 

[JHUFrank]

I have had nothing but issues with knock off batteries. I just bite the bullet and head to the apple store.

 

[MagicBoy]

Buy a proper OEM battery or one from a reputable manufacturer like NewerTech/OWC. If you get issues with them, then get the Mac looked at.

eBay batteries are a lottery. I managed to get two proper Apple OEM ones for my 2006 MBP without incident, the "compatible" PowerBook G4 batteries I've had are invariably crap.

 

[Cassady]

Repeated batteries say 'Service Battery'

I'm having to go this route as well. My MBP's battery seems to have been a bit of a dud, from the get-go. Mid-2012, 320 cycles, and only gets up to 75% of original charge - also getting the "check battery" report.

Good to hear people think OWC provide reputable batteries. $99 is not too bad, I suppose.

 

[SeitanFingers]

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I've been unable to find the official Apple batteries for sale from Apple (says 'Currently Unavailable') on their site. I've thought about getting one of the more reputable third-party batteries but have also read mixed things on this forum about that route.