Old MacBook powers up, but won't charge

[MotionMan]

I recently acquired an old MacBook (2006 Core Duo). When it is plugged in, it will turn on and stay on. However, it will not charge the battery. At. All.

I even bought a new battery, but I still get the "not charging" message and, in fact, the battery is not getting any charge at all.

What kind of wizardry is this that it can power the computer, but not charge the battery? Is this a major fix (not worth it), or is there a relatively simple trick to fix it (I am not afraid to open the case)?

Thanks.

MotionMan

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Did you reset the power manager? (Hold down the power button until it screams at you - then it'll do a firmware reset.)

 

[MotionMan]

Did you reset the power manager? (Hold down the power button until it screams at you - then it'll do a firmware reset.)

I did reset the SMC (though the instructions for doing it do not include any screaming).

MotionMan

 

[TheStu]

It could be the DC-in board, or it could be the Logic Board. If the former, it's $20 and time. If it's the latter, it's $110 and time.

That's actually really reasonable, I mean it's old tech, and 32bit, but depending on the usage, a 2GHz Core Duo with an SSD should still be sufficient. The biggest crippling factor on that system is going to be the onboard graphics. You may be able to get the logic board for a little cheaper through ebay, but that's not a terrible price.

 

[MotionMan]

Any further thoughts?

MotionMan

 

[Beer4Me]

If SMC/PRAM reset doesn't work, then you're looking at what Stu has pointed out.

 

[MotionMan]

I tried everything I could think of, that I could find online and suggested here, so I took it to the Apple Store.

They blamed the replacement battery I had bought on Amazon.

I have a friend who has the same model MacBook that is charging just fine with the same model replacement battery (I bought mine based on his recommendation). I swapped the batteries and, though my battery would still not charge in his MacBook, his battery would not charge in my MacBook, either.

So there may be some truth to the idea that my replacement battery may be bad, but, at the same time, another backup battery that worked in a different MacBook would not work in mine.

I guess the bottom line is that my MacBook has something seriously wrong with its ability to charge batteries.

All in all, a very disappointing turn of events.

MotionMan