[DEMUG] MacBook Pro dies at 51% battery

[Alex Gocze]

Hi Dick,

I have encountered a number of 'young' Mac Books and Mac Book Pro's with batteries that have a greatly diminished charge capacity. The best way to get a general idea of the kind of shape your battery is in is to look in the Apple System Profiler. You want the 'Power' section on the list running down the left hand side. This should list the number of 'cycles' (times that the battery has been fully charged and then discharged) as well as the current and maximum battery capacity in mAH. 

They also incorporate a microprocessor, and if it detects probelms, it may prematurely kill power. *A little further down I describe running your Macs built in test to see if the controller in the battery has failed.

Anyway, modern Lithium Ion batteries such as the one in your laptop start to degrade the day they roll off the assembly line. (So when buying, try to get a battery with an early 'birthday'). They tend to stay healthiest if they are regularly charged and then discharged. (But not left for long periods in a fully discharged state) This does not have to be daily, but once every week or so is ideal. Also, you don't want to FULLY discharge one these, but your mac will go to sleep before that is an issue. What I am getting at is you don't want to place artificial load on the battery to drain that last bit of juice. 

Finally, Apple considers batteries to be a 'consumable' part, so unless the battery has a 'defect' (not just diminished capacity or wearing out) They will only replace it within the first year of ownership. Even in cases where you have AppleCare, the one year rule applies. (There have been exceptions, but again, that depends on your attitude with the Support people at Apple, and their attitude with you. ;'^) Also, do not forget to check your serial number against the repair extension. If for no other reason than to keep your laptop from catching fire! Plus, if covered, you get a new battery free of charge. *Also, if you use your original install CD (use Disc 1) to start the MBP holding the 'D' key, you can run some basic tests. It could reveal a battery which has a known failure, or a defective charge/discharge computer.

Aside from that, you may try repeatedly charging and discharging the battery in the laptop by normal use. Use the Battery Menu Bar icon to display time remaining and the system profiler mAH listing to monitor the battery to see if you can get the charge capacity to start to get back up to normal. I've read many anecdotal remarks on the internet about this sometimes helping. I have tried it with simpler Li-Ion devices, but not notebook batteries, it was a RC helicopter so YMMV.

Also, for cheaper, higher capacity alternates, try OWC (http://www.macsales.com) or Batteries Plus** (http://www.batteriesplus.com). They have a replacement MBP battery for $135 on their website, plus there is a brick & mortar location in Bangor. 


**For other non-macbook owners, I think they can actually order replacement cells for various other battery types; meaning, if you wanted, you could  bring an old laptop back to useful life by getting the battery refurbished. Well worth a call.


207.947.8882

11 Bangor Mall Blvd, Suite C,

Bangor 04401--3650


Best of luck to you on your battery woes!!

Alex

Dick Atlee <atlee at umd.edu> wrote: Does anyone have an idea of why a MacBook Pro (OSX 10.4.11) would 
instantly die (power off) when on battery and the battery reaches 51% 
(or at least that is what it is when powered back up).  This is the 
second time this has happened -- which is 100%, since I almost never run 
it on battery and never get down to that level.  It makes it a much less 
versatile machine...

Thanks for any insights.

Dick Atlee

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