New MacBook Pro Trouble

9-X

Junior Member
May 29, 2011
2
0
0
Hi All
My MacBook Pro is about 6 months old.
The cord that is suppose to charge it only does periodically, when it wants to, not when I want it to.
There does not seem to any pattern to its charging, once is a while it start to charge but never for any length time.
It also will shut down on it own, without any warning.
When I start it back up, I have to rehookup to my wifi, by entering the password.
The trouble started a few weeks ago, and now charges so seldom that I am afraid to use it.
Any help of suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 

Harvey

Administrator<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
35,057
61
91
It sounds like the cord from the power brick or the connector on your Mac could be intermittant.

If it's the cable or power plug, you might be able to test it with a volt meter by clipping the test leads to the contacts and moving the wire around. If the measured voltage jumps up and down, you've found your problem.

If it's the power jack on the machine, see if you can wiggle it, even a little bit, with your finger. That would suggest a solder joint or the jack, itself, is broken.

It could also be a failing power control IC in the Mac. In any case, at six months, I hope it's still under warranty. Have Apple check it out.
 

9-X

Junior Member
May 29, 2011
2
0
0
Thanks I'll try your suggestions.
As for the warranty, I did call Apple, all they did was give me the phone # of a service place here in the small city I live in, and try to sell me an extended warranty for $400.
or charge me $50 for one phone call.
No way I'm Apple is getting another cent form me.
I took it into the service center here, they looked at it for few minutes, and told me to call apple.
 

Emulex

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2001
9,759
1
71
if its under warranty the service company usually will fix it - they don't get paid to not fix it. 90&#37; of the time it gets shipped to the apple depot and they repair it.

i've heard the new 2011 models have had some really sloppy construction from the ifixit folks. apple has done some amazing things under warranty (applecare also gives you far better support but that is the same for all companies - buy the warranty they will fix it).

sounds like a jacked up logic board. did you reset the PRAM? always try that then if it doesn't work get an app to monitor the temps.

when its hot - close the lid - wait about 30 seconds - open it back up:
open terminal
sudo dmesg
or sudo dmesg |more

look for disk errors - bad drives tend to manifest themself in the hibernation file and you'll see disk i/o errors. you can also do a disk utility clean free sectors (wipe pr0n mode) and if it has errors it will show up in the dmesg. capture the reports and show them to the service center.

dmesg ftw

and
 

Harvey

Administrator<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
35,057
61
91
At six months, Apple's response is pathetic. If you can borrow another power adapter, try it. If the problem continues, you'll have eliminated that as the problem.

Read the text on your power adapter to get the voltage and current ratings. If you can't borrow another of the exact Apple model, any other adapter rated to provide the same voltage at the same or more current and having the same connector should do, and there are "universal" adapters with selectable voltages and connectors.

IMPORTANT! Before you do, be sure to measure yours to make sure which pin is the positive terminal. I've seen them both ways (positive on the center terminal or the sleeve).
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
Moderator
Sep 15, 2004
12,089
45
91
At six months, Apple's response is pathetic. If you can borrow another power adapter, try it. If the problem continues, you'll have eliminated that as the problem.

Read the text on your power adapter to get the voltage and current ratings. If you can't borrow another of the exact Apple model, any other adapter rated to provide the same voltage at the same or more current and having the same connector should do, and there are "universal" adapters with selectable voltages and connectors.

IMPORTANT! Before you do, be sure to measure yours to make sure which pin is the positive terminal. I've seen them both ways (positive on the center terminal or the sleeve).

Standard warranty is 90 days of phone support and 1 year of repair/replacement if you take it into the store. If you buy AppleCare (extended warranty) it is 3 years of both. You only need AppleCare if you want a warranty past the first year, up until the 364th day of ownership you can buy it.

Also Harvey, there are no universal adapters for Apple laptops made in the last 6 years. The MagSafe is not licensed out, so no one makes universal adapters. You can however use the 60W MacBook adapter to charge/power the MacBook Pro (85W). I wouldn't try using the 45W MacBook Air adapter.

OP, go here and see if you have an Apple Store near you. Take in the laptop and the power brick, they can test it right there. You will almost certainly walk out with a new power brick, possibly a new laptop as well. Though they will probably just send the laptop out to get fixed if it needs it.

Also the service center should fix it. I am not sure if an authorized apple repair center will repair it for free or if it would cost a small amount of money.