Battery Not Charging

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SiriusPink

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Apparently my Macbook's battery is refusing to charge.

I haven't used my Mac for a week (give and take) so I figured that the battery must be dead, I plugged it in and turned it on, after turning it on it turned on as if it were on sleep mode (showing me the screen-saver); however, the battery icon on the top right-hand corner says that the battery isn't charging, the power adapter colour (the tiny light) is green and the five little green lights on the back of the battery aren't working (they're usually flashing on and off when it's charging normally)....

I read a few suggestions in some forums and in Mac Support: some said download CoconutBattery and some said try resetting the SMC (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411?viewlocale=en_US), I tried both; nothing worked. How can I fix this problem or is it irreparable?

Thank you for your help.
 
Happened recently on a friends Powerbook Ti. It was the DC in board. Cost was around $80 plus labor if you're not confidant in your abilities. Directions, parts, and tools are available from PowerBookMedic, iFixIt, and others.
 
I disagree, mostly because there's no DC-in board on a MacBook, and the problem usually is the battery, as long as you get lights on the power connector.
Reset the power manager (by removing the battery, and unplugging the power adapter, then hold the power button for at least 5 seconds. reinsert the battery, and plug in the power adapter.)
Turn on your MacBook.
If the battery has discharged completely, it can take 10 to 15 minutes before the battery responds, so leave it plugged in, and be patient.

Check in your System Profiler, then Power tab, for information about the condition of the battery.
Best information will be the Total Charge Capacity, and the Charge Cycles.
Come back with what you see in those values.
 
So I am joining this thread because I have a black 2008 macbook with a battery that is misbehaving in much the same way as the original user's complaint.

The battery refuses to charge, and the battery indicator in the top-right corner shows that it is plugged in and (0%) charged, even after being plugged in for hours. I have tried using another power adapter and it behaves in the same manner.

So, I tried resetting the power manager as described with no change in status. Any troubleshooting tips or advice on whether getting a new battery will likely fix it would be greatly appreciated. The Apple support website said that I could try resetting the SMC, system management controller as a last resort, but I have not tried that.

I have posted the battery stats from the system profiler below:

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: DP-ASMB016-391a-52dc
Manufacturer: DP
Device name: ASMB016
Pack Lot Code: 0002
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0110
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0102
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 0
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 0
Health Information:
Cycle count: 264
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 6665

Hardware Configuration:

UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes
Charging: No

Thank you for your help!
 
The most important line in that battery information is: Full Charge Capacity. That should show the maximum capacity. A new battery will likely be around 5500 mAh. Yours shows zero.
You have power from the adapter, but the battery just doesn't charge.
If you want to make sure the battery has failed - try it in another MacBook, but I suspect it's:
... Time to replace the battery.
 
I just wanted to confirm that buying a new battery did indeed fix the problem and my little mac is back in action. Thanks again!
 
i'm having the same problem, but my battery is still good with a 4362 mAh charge capacity.

to recap: plugged into the adaptor, icon reads that it is charging but upon mousing over it says "Battery is not charging". light is green but battery only at 50 percent charge. have reset the power manager but problem persists. happens both with my and my girlfriend's adapter.

help?
 
Have you tried swapping your gf's battery into your MacBook? Use it just on battery for 30 minutes or so, then plug in adapter, and see if that battery begins to charge. The adapter connector will be green at first, and then change to amber, indicating charging. Green does not indicate charging.
If the adapter is only green, even after a few minutes, then you have problems with the charging circuit - probably a bad internal battery cable.
If your gf's battery DOES charge, then swap yours back in, and try the same. If the charger only stays green with your battery, even if it's only on 1/2 charge, then the battery is likely bad.
 
DeltaMac said:
I disagree, mostly because there's no DC-in board on a MacBook
Click to expand...

Sorry to drag up this from 6 months ago, but there actually is a magsafe DC-In board on all macbooks, but it rarely has much to do with a charging issue unless the machine will only run on battery and not through AC power. Otherwise your posts are 100% accurate Delta.

Other than the great advice that DeltaMac has provided you so far, if your gf has a spare magsafe power adapter you could test with, that would be good to try. The magsafes are pretty popular for stuck pins. If one of those pins is stuck down the machine will either not charge or not run on AC power at all. Another good thing is to take some isoprophyl alcohol and a cotton swab and clean the magsafe DC-in where the power adapter plugs in to. Also since the mag-safe DC-in is magnetic, make sure there is no metal debris in there blocking charging.
 
I have the magsafe plugged in and the battery in the computer, but batter icon says "not charging". Even wierder, this message persists EVEN IF I CHANGE THE BATTERY. I've tried changing chargers, resetting PRAM, everything on the apple support site basically. So this must be an internal, computer problem, right?

Also, i checked the battery info, which is:
Model Information:
Serial Number: DP-ASMB013-3674-ada8
Manufacturer: DP
Device name: ASMB013
Pack Lot Code: 0001
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0102
Hardware Revision: 0300
Cell Revision: 0100
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 2662
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5032
Health Information:
Cycle count: 471
Condition: Good
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 148
Voltage (mV): 11575


So what can I do? Is my entire computer fried?
 
Although your battery has a fairly high Cycle count (471), your symptoms do not really indicate a failed battery, You have already verified that with another battery, which also doesn't charge. The resets are good to try, so you have the charging circuit in your MacBook as the problem. There are two internal cables that are part of the charging/power circuit. The Magsafe cable (Power Adapter plug, which attaches to the logic board. And, the battery connector cable, which also attaches to the logic board.
Each of those cables could be the problem, although the battery cable might be the first to try. Each cable is fairly cheap - maybe $20, and not difficult to replace. Take your MacBook to an Apple service shop, where you can get the correct fix. If neither cable helps, the logic board is at fault.
 
I have the same problem as described above. I went out of the country for 2 weeks and left the thing unplugged when I got back it would not charge. The profiler info is given below:

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: DP-ASMB016-38fa-291c
Manufacturer: DP
Device name: ASMB016
Pack Lot Code: 0002
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0110
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0102
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 0
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 0
Health Information:
Cycle count: 470
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 9206


This macbook was purchased in 2008 and has given good service except for the power adapter dieing out about a month back. Is it time to change the battery or is there still some hope left? Could it be some other, more serious issue?
Thanks!
Talpa
 
Hi - I'm also having this problem with my mums MacBook bought at the beginning of 2008 and the battery is completely non responsive. The battery meter reads: "Battery is not charging". Here is the system profile information:

Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 0
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 0
Health Information:
Cycle count: 22
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 40
Voltage (mV): 3957


As you can she hasn't used it very much whilst on the battery and we are pretty disappointed that the battery might have given up so easily. If anyone knows any tricks to get the battery charging again, we would really appreciated it. I have done a SMC reset but nothing happened.

Thanks - Joe
 
The battery has failed.
Here's the trick to get it to charge:
Purchase a replacement battery. (Not really a trick, but that's the next step)

Your battery has lasted about 2 1/2 years. That's really all you can expect from one of the user-replaceable batteries, 2-3 years. Sometimes, the batteries will last quite a bit longer, but the design life has limits. The newer MacBooks, with batteries that are not user-replaceable, will last much longer.
 
Thanks for your help. I think that these companies should make it more clear that the battery will only last so long. I think a battery should last much longer than that. Especially as it's had so little use. Pretty disgraceful.
 
There's really no way to predict how long a rechargeable battery will last. All you can know is that any rechargeable battery has a finite life, and that will be some range of time according to engineering specs. At some point - it just will not hold charge as long as new, or may stop charging entirely. A shorter-than-normal battery life can just be bad luck. There's quite a few threads here, and elsewhere, trying to understand how to extend the life of the battery. Often those hints will help, sometimes not.

I don't recall if I have ever seen _any_ rechargeable device with readily available info about how long to expect the battery to last, until it no longer accepts a reasonable charge.
Batteries fail over time.
You replace the battery, or live with a non-working battery (which is also a choice)
 
JoeApple said:
T... I think a battery should last much longer than that. Especially as it's had so little use. Pretty disgraceful.
Click to expand...

Ah, yes - sometimes batteries may die too soon, because they have not been used enough (that is, to operate on the battery)
It's a portable, so use it as a portable every few months, if it's not usually unplugged from power.
 
Just a question for my wife's macbook.

If we unplug it from the mains, it switches off automatically. battery's not charging! seems to be a similar problems

On the slimbatterymonitor if we mouseover it, it says charging at -214783648% capacity! is this a glitch!?

we went overseas for a month and didnt use the computer - would that be why there's a problem now? is the only fix a new battery?

sorry if the question is a bit dumb haha. thx for help guys
 
You need to check the battery and charging circuit.
Start with an SMC reset: Unplug your power adapter, and remove the main battery completely. Press and hold your power button for 5 seconds. Nothing will happen at that time, but your power manager will now be reset. Insert the battery again, and plug in your power adapter. Watch the LED on that magsafe connector. It should be green shortly after plugging it in and attaching to the MacBook. Do you get any lights on the battery when you press the battery test button? If all lights don't come on, the LED on the Magsafe connector should turn orange/amber, indicating that the battery is charging.
Wait 30 seconds or so before you try to turn on the MacBook.
Then, press and release the power button.
When startup is complete, go to your Apple menu, and About This Mac.
Click on the More Info... button.
That will open your System Profiler.
Click the Power tab from the column on the left side.
What number is showing next to Full Charge Capacity?
How many Charge Cycles?
Are you getting an orange LED on the Magsafe connector? Or, does the battery icon in your menubar have the charging indicator (looks like a lightning bolt)
 
thanks for mega quick and detailed reply Deltamac!

no lights on the battery after battery test button

on the magsafe, it turns green shortly after plugging it in - but then there is no light at all!

anyway i can still turn on the mac and i went into the power info

charge remaining: 0
fully charges: No
Charging: No

full charge capacity = 0
cycle count = 250

battery health = poor

no orange led, or charging indicator :(

looks pretty grim!
 
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