MBP Charging Problem :(

Westyfield2 · 16 Jun 2008 at 10:50

As the title says, I've got a problem

I've recently noticed that sometimes the green LED on my Magsafe connector goes very dim (so dim that it's only noticeable in pitch black, in daylight it looks as if the LED isn't on at all). This only happens once it's been running off the power adapter & fully charged for a while. The MBP still says it's fully charged & running from the power adapter so it seems that the power adapter is still providing power, just not showing the green light :confused:

....

The solution has been to unplug the magsafe connector (and consequently backlighting goes down and it says that it's using the battery) and then plug it back in (backlighting comes back up and the LED lights up green again.)

Any ideas anyone? Is it likely to be the power adapter itself or something inside the mac?

TY
Ed

2.4ghz Santa Rosa MacBook Pro (9 months old but have bought the 3yrs applecare).

mccrum · 16 Jun 2008 at 11:34

That happens to mine too, no idea why though

Sic · 16 Jun 2008 at 11:45

mine does this too. I also think that it has a "right way up" as sometimes when I plug it in it doesn't charge or drain. Still better than my last MBP charging problem, though!

FreeStream · 16 Jun 2008 at 12:23

Doesn't matter which way up it is.

And mines done this once before, but I think its nothing to worry about as I was using it for a while are varying loads and the battery stayed at 100%.

I unplugged it and re-plugged it and it came back. Weird but doesn't bother me

iSam · 16 Jun 2008 at 12:26

It doesn't affect the charging at all. Is designed to extend the life of the LED in the plug when it is plugged in for a long time.

Sic · 16 Jun 2008 at 18:12

Concorde Rules said:
Doesn't matter which way up it is.

lol, I'm so glad you seem to know my laptop better than me! What I was saying is that one of the ways up, it doesn't charge. I'm aware that it's not supposed to matter and that's why it's remarkable.

FreeStream · 16 Jun 2008 at 18:16

Sic said:
lol, I'm so glad you seem to know my laptop better than me! What I was saying is that one of the ways up, it doesn't charge. I'm aware that it's not supposed to matter and that's why it's remarkable.

Thats not right lol!

Does the light come on?

The ports are symmetric so even if one side was dead it should still work :confused:

Thats a weird one

NickK · 16 Jun 2008 at 18:20

When was the last time you guys cleaned the contacts? (remove the battery before doing this!)

I did catch mine without a light once but plugged it in and it's back to normal.

Sic · 16 Jun 2008 at 18:28

Concorde Rules said:
Thats not right lol!

Does the light come on?

The ports are symmetric so even if one side was dead it should still work

Thats a weird one

I'm used to it now. Light doesn't come on, but the icon in the menubar changes to the /charged/ one.

You're telling me it's weird!

NickK said:
When was the last time you guys cleaned the contacts? (remove the battery before doing this!)

I did catch mine without a light once but plugged it in and it's back to normal.

It's done it on mine since it was brand new.

Westyfield2 · 16 Jun 2008 at 20:27

Thanks for the replies

mccrum said:
That happens to mine too, no idea why though

Sic said:
mine does this too.

Concorde Rules said:
And mines done this once before, but I think its nothing to worry about as I was using it for a while are varying loads and the battery stayed at 100%.

I unplugged it and re-plugged it and it came back. Weird but doesn't bother me

Yey, I'm not alone

iSam said:
It doesn't affect the charging at all. Is designed to extend the life of the LED in the plug when it is plugged in for a long time.

As in it's meant to do this? I've never seen anything saying so :confused:

and also I thought LED life expectancies are something crazy like 100,000 hours...

NickK said:
When was the last time you guys cleaned the contacts? (remove the battery before doing this!)

I did catch mine without a light once but plugged it in and it's back to normal.

Never

MrMoonX · 17 Jun 2008 at 12:01

mine does that on my macbook, its weird dont know why, sometimes it doesnt charge just provides power, but if you unplug and turn the other way round it works again and the light comes on properly, looking at my contacts looks like it should be cleaned

NickK · 17 Jun 2008 at 12:07

Westyfield2 said:
Never

cb_linus · 17 Jun 2008 at 17:30

well, mine hardly even charges anymore, I have to wiggle the lead on the magnetic end ... down to 65% battery life and sadly out of warranty *sniff*

iSam · 18 Jun 2008 at 12:20

The light goes out. It doesn't affect charge at all. End of.

NickK · 18 Jun 2008 at 17:35

cb_linus said:
well, mine hardly even charges anymore, I have to wiggle the lead on the magnetic end ... down to 65% battery life and sadly out of warranty *sniff*

Have tried reconditioning the battery?

Looks like you're battery is at the end of it's natural life... Hubble Telescope just had it's rechargeable batteries changed after 12 (or was that 20) years

cb_linus · 18 Jun 2008 at 19:31

NickK said:
Have tried reconditioning the battery?

Looks like you're battery is at the end of it's natural life... Hubble Telescope just had it's rechargeable batteries changed after 12 (or was that 20) years

I'm not sure - the battery's cycle count (if that's relevant) is 41, which I think is comfortably well below it's natural life span.

The adapter is working fine at the moment - the green led is on and battery charge reads at 100%. If I move my macbook, or move the lead slightly then the led can quite often go out (regardless of whether the battery is at 100% or 50%). According to reviews in the link in my above post (here) it seems a few people have had problems (not everyone, mind) - possibly a weak / loose connection? Other than that I'm happy with my macbook and will have to consider getting a new adapter before the current one fails altogether.

iSam · 18 Jun 2008 at 20:59

cb_linus said:
I'm not sure - the battery's cycle count (if that's relevant) is 41, which I think is comfortably well below it's natural life span.

The adapter is working fine at the moment - the green led is on and battery charge reads at 100%. If I move my macbook, or move the lead slightly then the led can quite often go out (regardless of whether the battery is at 100% or 50%). According to reviews in the link in my above post (here) it seems a few people have had problems (not everyone, mind) - possibly a weak / loose connection? Other than that I'm happy with my macbook and will have to consider getting a new adapter before the current one fails altogether.

Might be the cable or the connection. Take it in to an Apple store and see what they say.

NickK · 18 Jun 2008 at 21:58

cb_linus said:
I'm not sure - the battery's cycle count (if that's relevant) is 41, which I think is comfortably well below it's natural life span.

41... somewhat! From "About this mac" on my MBP:

Manufacturer: Sony
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 102a
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0303
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 4789
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4789
Health Information:
Cycle count: 221
Condition: Good
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 148
Voltage (mV): 12592