weird battery problem.

[fearxtragedy]

well im on a white macbook, and this morning i shut the lid with the battery icon reading something like 20%. when i came back tonight, i opened the lid and the screen would not turn on. it wasn't until i plugged the power cord in that the screen turned on, and it came back from sleep mode.

in the short seconds after the screen turned on, i noticed the battery icon said 7%, and suddenly changed to 0%.

whats wrong with the battery? also, when i return from sleep, i sometimes hear a weird noise coming from the speakers. it sounds sort of like someone breathing.

any ideas?

 

[iBookG4user]

have you used something like coconutbattery to see what the health of the battery is?

 

[fearxtragedy]

maybe i'm reading it wrong, but it appears to have MORE capacity than originally?

what do you think?

 

[iBookG4user]

That's weird, after 31 charge cycles it should be around 96-98% capacity. On a brand new battery more capacity than the original is not uncommon, but not on one with more than a few charge cycles.

 

[dcv]

Your MacBook will use a small amount of power (typically up to 1% battery per hour) during sleep so if you've been away from it for about 7 to 10 hours then this sounds about normal and as your battery was virtually empty when you left it this morning it's just used up its remaining charge and shut itself down. Only worry if you're seeing substantial drops such as the 3 to 4% per hour I was getting with my previous MacBook Pro.

 

[maclover007]

i have a blackbook and i use coconut battery and my capacity has gone up also?!?!?!

 

[creator2456]

maybe i'm reading it wrong, but it appears to have MORE capacity than originally?

what do you think?

Here is a screen JUST taken from my MBP.

I am on my second battery (first one went down the drain after the battery update and I got a new one free of charge) and the first one was still at about 5700mAH with about 40 cycles on it. This was before the battery update which killed that first one. Apple sent me the new one which I am using right now. I calibrate every month and that seems to help A LOT.

 

[Arne]

That's weird, after 31 charge cycles it should be around 96-98% capacity. On a brand new battery more capacity than the original is not uncommon, but not on one with more than a few charge cycles.

Wel... I've got 46 cycles and still more capacity than originally (5234 mAh).

 

[steve jr.]

Since I really don't know what I'm looking for, how am I doing? Looks a little low to me, but again, no clue. And the 98% is full charge while plugged in.

 

[deadpixels]

Since I really don't know what I'm looking for, how am I doing? Looks a little low to me, but again, no clue. And the 98% is full charge while plugged in.

you might have good ground for a complain, your battery is at 62% health (from original capacity), since it seems it's only 9 months.

 

[creator2456]

you might have good ground for a complain, your battery is at 62% health (from original capacity), since it seems it's only 9 months.

But he also has 100+ cycles...

Apple may not let you exchange for a new one because of this, but it definitely worth a try.

 

[iBookG4user]

But he also has 100+ cycles...

Apple may not let you exchange for a new one because of this, but it definitely worth a try.

Even after 100 cycles it should not be that low. I had an iBook that had 100+ charge cycles and was in storage for 9 months and it had 83% capacity when I checked after the 9 month storage period. Apple should give them a new battery if it's that low.

 

[steve jr.]

Well, it sounds like I'm making a trip to the Apple Store then! Any suggestions on how to go about convincing them to give me a new battery? I have a few issues I brought to their attention a while back, but they refused to take care of it and I caved.

Really quick on the back story, the two plastic tabs at the top of the display on either side of the iSight on my MBP C2D 15" that keep the display from touching the top case broke off without notice and started to scratch the top case. They said it is "cosmetic damage" and wouldn't cover it. However, the engineer in me clicked into drive after I left and realized that if the tabs were there, it wouldn't be touching/scratching, thus having a mechanical reason for being there. I also have some damage on the screen from the keys rubbing. Any suggestions for this battle? I go back to college in 3 weeks and have been a little busy this summer, so if I am to do it, i need to take it this week.

 

[creator2456]

Well, it sounds like I'm making a trip to the Apple Store then! Any suggestions on how to go about convincing them to give me a new battery? I have a few issues I brought to their attention a while back, but they refused to take care of it and I caved.

Really quick on the back story, the two plastic tabs at the top of the display on either side of the iSight on my MBP C2D 15" that keep the display from touching the top case broke off without notice and started to scratch the top case. They said it is "cosmetic damage" and wouldn't cover it. However, the engineer in me clicked into drive after I left and realized that if the tabs were there, it wouldn't be touching/scratching, thus having a mechanical reason for being there. I also have some damage on the screen from the keys rubbing. Any suggestions for this battle? I go back to college in 3 weeks and have been a little busy this summer, so if I am to do it, i need to take it this week.

First try the store and be firm but not demanding. Also, I have found that AppleCare is easier to deal with over the phone.

As for convincing them, tell them that your max capacity has dropped drastically over the last couple of cycles.

 

[steve jr.]

Update: I went ahead and called AppleCare (because the store is a little over an hour one way) and they are sending me a new battery.

However, I'm a little perturbed about the plastic spacers on the screen. Apple insists it is cosmetic damage and refuses to budge after me explaining many times that it serves a mechanical purpose (preventing the display from touching the top case). I can even proove the marks on the top case are from the bezel at the top of the screen. Guess it's time for an e-mail to Mr. Jobs, or should I call back and talk to someone else?

 

[The Stig]

well im on a white macbook, and this morning i shut the lid with the battery icon reading something like 20%. when i came back tonight, i opened the lid and the screen would not turn on. it wasn't until i plugged the power cord in that the screen turned on, and it came back from sleep mode.

in the short seconds after the screen turned on, i noticed the battery icon said 7%, and suddenly changed to 0%.

whats wrong with the battery? also, when i return from sleep, i sometimes hear a weird noise coming from the speakers. it sounds sort of like someone breathing.

any ideas?

Are you sure it went to sleep? It might not be a problem with your battery at all. Because it looks great! Maybe for some reason you MB didn't go to sleep mode and stayed on and the battery ran out. I have a friends who's MB doesn't sleep correctly.

The Stig

 

[creator2456]

Update: I went ahead and called AppleCare (because the store is a little over an hour one way) and they are sending me a new battery.

However, I'm a little perturbed about the plastic spacers on the screen. Apple insists it is cosmetic damage and refuses to budge after me explaining many times that it serves a mechanical purpose (preventing the display from touching the top case). I can even proove the marks on the top case are from the bezel at the top of the screen. Guess it's time for an e-mail to Mr. Jobs, or should I call back and talk to someone else?

Call back and try to get to the highest up representative that you can and talk to them. Let them know that because of the 'cosmetic' damage that mechanical damage WILL happen including:

• screen bezel hiting top case
• keybaord making contact with the screen
• anything else that you can come with that sounds plausible

 

[steve jr.]

Call back and try to get to the highest up representative that you can and talk to them. Let them know that because of the 'cosmetic' damage that mechanical damage WILL happen including:

• screen bezel hiting top case
• keybaord making contact with the screen
• anything else that you can come with that sounds plausible

Well, it's done. I e-mailed Steve Jobs once yesterday and once today with my problem and I got a call from one of his assistants around 5:30 est this evening (7-26). Basically, I'm SOL. They aren't aware of any manufacturing defect, haven't had any other issues like this in mass, and couldn't justify replacing the display and top case becaue my problem isn't preventing the computer from operating correctly. I gave it my best. Thanks for the tips.
- Steve