[digitaldave]

I've recently started having a problem with my MBP when running on battery power - it completely shuts down without warning when the charge falls to somewhere in the region of 20-25%. It used to be fine, and would shut down around 3% or less, and I'd get the warnings about being on reserve power just before it all went dark. Now, it works fine for a reasonable time on battery, then just dies .

Here's the info from System Profiler:

Model Information:
Serial Number: Sony-ASMB012-36ab-76ef
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): 499
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 3279
Health Information:
Cycle count: 116
Battery health: Fair
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 1477
Voltage (mV): 12071

Any idea what could cause the battery to suddenly loose health like that? And if the MBP is still under warranty (I'd have to check that as I'm not sure), would I be able to get a replacement battery?

Thanks,

Dave.

[digitaldave]

Some more information:

Just as a check, I removed the power supply when at about 18% charged, to see if it would shut down straight away again. It didn't shut down, so I reconnected the power supply, and the charge indicator immediately showed 41%, so I checked System Profiler again and saw this:

Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 1926
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4572
Health Information:
Cycle count: 116
Battery health: Good
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 2261
Voltage (mV): 12226

Very odd!

[dmegatool]

I saw that happen on my brother in law MB. The problem was the battery connection. It would connect/disconnect when the laptop was moved or had pressure on it. With the power cord plugged, we could see the icon blinking from charging to no battery. So with no power cord plugged, it was a instant shut down.

It stopped by itself. Don't know what was causing the problem but we can't recreate it so...

[noleli2]

My PowerBook does this. I think (I don't remember if I heard this somewhere or if it is my own speculation) that the battery is made up of 4 or 5 cells, and some of them died, but the battery's circuitry can't detect that, so it'll run merrily along thinking it has plenty of power, then just die. Mine usually does it at about 45%.

[digitaldave]

Originally Posted by noleli2 My PowerBook does this. I think (I don't remember if I heard this somewhere or if it is my own speculation) that the battery is made up of 4 or 5 cells, and some of them died, but the battery's circuitry can't detect that, so it'll run merrily along thinking it has plenty of power, then just die. Mine usually does it at about 45%.

That sounds pretty much the same as what's happening to mine - guess it's time to check out how to get a warranty replacement. I wonder if I can get my power supply with it's fraying cable replaced at the same time...?

[RobUSVI]

Have you checked the information at the following page? Big question, is Battery Update 1.2 installed or not?

http://www.apple.com/support/exchang...acbookpro.html

[digitaldave]

Yeah, all updates installed . I think it's time to book it in for a checkup at the local store .

[jcoley2]

I had some problem and had Apple ship me a new battery which seems to be running fine now. . .

[noleli2]

I'm going to bump this thread because I took a nice screenshot today of my battery being dumb. I'm not going to bother replacing it---it's for my nearly 6-year-old 800 MHz TiBook (my main machine!)---I just thought it was interesting.