intel core 2 duo macbook battery not charging

C

cinn

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Please help, i feel i have exhausted all my options.

I have a white intel core 2 duo macbook well out of warrenty
the battery is fully discharged (1st led still flashes very quickly) and it refuses to charge.

I have tried all the usual options, turning it on and off, calibrating the battery, resetting the pram and the pmu, but it still does not charge. Battery seems pretty healthy still too, in my eyes..

Battery Information:

Model Information:
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): 0
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5020
Health Information:
Cycle count: 818
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 9319
 
Cycle count: 818 is probably most relevant.
That's a very high count of total charge cycles, meaning the battery is simply used up, and won't take a charge any more...
Replace the battery.
 
DeltaMac said:
Cycle count: 818 is probably most relevant.
That's a very high count of total charge cycles, meaning the battery is simply used up, and won't take a charge any more...
Replace the battery.
Click to expand...


I thought i might need a new one, but i didnt want to go through with it without a second opinion

Thanks
 
curious as my wife says a new battery is not the problem wth her laptop.

We're having the same issue. I copied the following and the cycle wasn't that high.
Model Information:
Device name: ASMB013
Firmware Version: 0102
Hardware Revision: 0300
Cell Revision: 0100
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 0
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 0
Health Information:
Cycle count: 408
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 36
Voltage (mV): 4223

She's upset and now having a hard time keeping the computer on if the system isn't plugged in.

if it's not the battery is it something with teh power charger on the cpu and is that expensve to have replaced?

thanks
 
The figures that you show reflect a bad battery.
Your battery is dead.
Full charge capacity: 0 (would be more than 5000 on a good battery
The battery should read about 12 volts or so(12000 mV), yours is showing only 4 volts (4223 mV).
408 cycles is still well beyond the norm (300 max.) although many batteries may function well beyond that, you can expect the charge time to decrease considerably. Your battery won't hold any charge at all, and needs to be replaced - it's simply worn out.

Next time, you should listen to your wife -
...a new battery is not the problem wth her laptop
Click to expand...
because replacing the bad battery that you have now, will likely fix the problem.
 
Last edited:
Hi DT, I've landed here because I also just had a battery issue. I've since semi-resolved it, but am probably in the market for a replacement battery too.

But before I get into that, a question on your replies above -- both of which I'm sure are right -- because I notice something in the details of the two posts that I'm curious about.

In one (with 800+ cycles) the full charge capacity is still above 5000 mAh. In the other (around 400 cycles) it's 0 mAh.

First, that just seems odd.

Assuming I'm understanding the "full charge capacity" term correctly, why so much remaining full-charge potential in the one with double the cycles vs. nil potential to charge in the one with circa 400 cycles (I'm on the reply page and don't have the posts with the actual cycle amounts in front of me)?

Just to put my question in perspective, my own numbers:

Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 3927
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 3941
Health Information:
Cycle count: 603
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12498

Per this, I've got a pretty high cycle count (603) and circa 85% of my original capacity left. Interestingly, this is one day after resetting the SMC and calibrating my battery, which is something I never do regularly even though I know I should.

Before the calibration, I had about a 1400 mAh full charge capacity and was getting a "Replace Battery Now" warning. I had even done some searches online to find a better, cheaper replacement battery than the one offered by Apple.

I probably still need to look into that, as I'm having trouble finding out which battery my laptop needs, since I'm not sure where my Macbook Pro unibody lands in the production cycle. (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz). So any advice on how to determine that would be welcome.

Best and thanks,
J12

P.S. I have another question but unrelated to batteries. Maybe if you could redirect me to where I should ask: The laptop screen is coming unglued from the hinge at the lower-left rear corner. I've seen several identical cases online for this 15" model and want to confirm it's a known issue. Is that something you've heard other users talk about and where might be the best place to look? Note that I say that and I'll follow this up by searching the forum. Thanks.
 
Your battery in a unibody MacBook Pro 15-inch does not have the same limits as the older models. Your design life includes 1,000 charge cycles, not 300 - so there's a big difference right there. You can't compare numbers with other older models to your own newer unibody model. You should be able to get at least another 2 to 3 years out of that battery, maybe longer.
 
Last edited:
Thanks. Good to know.

I'm still curious about why those two other machines would have such different battery capacities... with the one that has half the cycles so much worse off than the other one. And in general, why some get more life out of batteries than others, despite higher cycle counts.

I'd also still like to know how to determine which battery my MB Pro model requires. Today, I used it down do almost empty and plugged it in. I'm now getting the "Replace Now" message again.
 
A bad battery can show zero, or could be a bogus number for full capacity. The relevant info is the charge cycles (very high), and the fact that the battery no longer holds a charge. In that case, it doesn't matter too much about what number is reported.
I have checked hundreds of Apple laptop batteries. Some will show the full charge capacity decreases over time, and a dead battery may simply show zero. Other failed batteries may show a full charge capacity larger that a new battery - but that number will always be bogus. The battery appears to charge, but in reality, does not hold a charge, or quickly discharges (less than 10 minutes).
An Apple service shop will have a good utility that verifies that your battery is good, failing, or failed.

After some searching, I see that I was incorrect about your battery. It will be one of those with a design life of 300 cycles. So, your fix is just to replace the battery. It's Apple part number 661-4833
Here's a link to a site that seems the best price (if the battery is in stock) http://www.laptopbattery.net/apple/
Just enter 661-4833 in the search box, and you'll see the correct battery that you want.
 
Many thanks, Delta... that clears up my questions.

And an even bigger thanks for going to find the battery cheaper. I'll order one from this site right away. Much appreciated!

H
 
Hi...

Just wanted to add a note. It's clear that you're right, I need to replace my battery... but I didn't get around to ordering it right away, and instead did a search on "Laptops for Less" as a vendor. I got a lot of one-start warnings ot "stay away”:

I just thought I should pass that along, in case you or any forum readers come across this. I'm off to find another site to find the same model battery (thanks for getting me the part number, by the way. Very handy.)

JF
 
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