MacBook – Debugging charging problem with MacBook Pro

batterychargingmacbook propower

I have a MacBook Pro (unibody late 2008 15")

A few weeks ago the charger was causing hassle and eventually the connector came loose.

The MacBook eventually lost power.

Then, I asked my friend for a lend of his charger. I plugged it in, no light showed indicating the charger was plugged in. However, upon plugging the charger out, the battery light would blink indicating the laptop was totally drained of battery.

The odd time (when I press loads of keys and power button at the same time) the laptop would turn on and I could work on it, but no battery showed and once I plugged the charger out it would die.

I figured it was something wrong with my friends charger.

I ordered a magsafe connector online and connected it to my broken charger.

I tried it out today and exactly the same thing is happening as did with my friends charger.

No charger indicator light, and battery indicator blinks for a few seconds when I plug it out.

It can't be a fault with the charger, since the same thing happens with my friends charger.

I doubt it's a fault with my MacBook Pro, since I had no issues before until the charger broke.

I tried an SMC reset, though it's hard to know if it worked properly since the battery is totally drained (as the battery light indicates), and I'm not sure if I did the right SMC reset for my specific macbook.

Any suggestions?

Best Answer

Apple makes 3 different chargers for their MacBooks that you need to be concerned about:

  • 45-Watt -- For MacBook Airs.
  • 60-Watt -- For 13" MacBook Pros.
  • 85-Watt -- For 15" and 17" MacBook Pros.

You can use a higher-wattage charger than you MacBook requires, but not a lower-wattage one. Yours was an 85-watt charger. If your friend's charger was a 60-watt, that's why it wouldn't work.

Also, if your charger is broken, attaching a new MagSafe connector to it isn't going to make a difference. Assuming your MacBook is OK, you will need a replacement 85-watt charger.

You may also need to reset your SMC.

For your model, according to this Apple document:

  1. Shut down the Mac.
  2. Disconnect the MagSafe power adapter from the Mac.
  3. Remove the battery.
  4. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
  5. Reconnect the battery and MagSafe power adapter.
  6. Press the power button to turn on the Mac.

You should note that your computer will not give you any feedback at all when you do this. No lights or noises will come out of the computer to indicate it was successful.

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