Macbook 3.1 battery issue?

[350RRC]

Hi All,

Yes I have one of these that has been working fine up until a week ago, and a much newer Macbook.

The 3.1 was used on battery power alone for quite a while one day recently, nothing unusual happened, then plugged into the mains.

Screen goes black after an ever shorter time. Started doing it after a couple of minutes. now down to 20 secs.

Everything is still running, just a black screen. I can get it to light up by restarting to see what's going on, then: lights out.

System report:

Battery reads 102 cycles (low, but it has been nearly always plugged into mains)

Condition: Normal

Charging: No.

Holding 4559 mAh out of 4600 ish max capacity

Amperage: 0 mA

Voltage: 12478 mV

Is it worth putting a new battery in and seeing if that fixes it, or doing some resets first?

cheers, DL

[BradC]

Screen goes black after an ever shorter time. Started doing it after a couple of minutes. now down to 20 secs.

When it "goes black" can you see what's on the screen with a bright torch? ie, is the thing pooping itself or is the backlight failing?

If it's on the network, can you remote or ssh into it from another machine and verify if it's still alive?

[350RRC]

When it "goes black" can you see what's on the screen with a bright torch? ie, is the thing pooping itself or is the backlight failing?

If it's on the network, can you remote or ssh into it from another machine and verify if it's still alive?

Thanks Brad,

It's definitely still alive as I alluded to.

Goes black, press power off, press S as in sleep option that I obviously can't see on the screen, wait about 5 secs till it audibly takes a nap the press power on. All good for about 15 secs then lights out again.

thanks, DL

[350RRC]

Anyone at all out there who has a clue about this problem please?

DL

[Tins]

Anyone at all out there who has a clue about this problem please?

DL

Do the fans spool up loud?

I believe I read somewhere that the graphics cards could have issues on these. They aren't very hard to pull apart. The GFX cards can get dirty contacts after time.

You may find some help here. Grab your model number and check it out.

MacBook Core 2 Duo - iFixit (https://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Core_2_Duo)

[BradC]

When it "goes black" can you see what's on the screen with a bright torch? ie, is the thing pooping itself or is the backlight failing?

You didn't answer this one.

[350RRC]

You didn't answer this one.

Sorry, I missed the torch bit.

Yes, when the screen goes black it can be read with a torch. Machine is definitely running, just with a black screen.

cheers, DL

[Tins]

Sorry, I missed the torch bit.

Yes, when the screen goes black it can be read with a torch. Machine is definitely running, just with a black screen.

cheers, DL

So, either the backlight has failed or it's the GFX card. But you say it lights up for a bit, so i'm still going with the GFX card. Either way it's a tear down. They aren't too bad, unlike the later ones.

[BradC]

So, either the backlight has failed or it's the GFX card. But you say it lights up for a bit, so i'm still going with the GFX card. Either way it's a tear down. They aren't too bad, unlike the later ones.

If you can see the image how can you possibly blame the graphics card? The graphics card drives the panel and renders the image. The backlight makes it visible.

The image is visible so a logical deduction would be the backlight. Next step is find out if it's LED or CCFL. It's unusual for a led to behave like that, but not at all unusual for an aged CCFL or its inverter.

[Tins]

If you can see the image how can you possibly blame the graphics card? The graphics card drives the panel and renders the image. The backlight makes it visible.

The image is visible so a logical deduction would be the backlight. Next step is find out if it's LED or CCFL. It's unusual for a led to behave like that, but not at all unusual for an aged CCFL or its inverter.
Because it's a well known issue with these devices. Admittedly so is the backlight. I've fixed one or two, including reflows on the logic board. I've never had to replace a display. But whatever. Take it apart. Clean the GFX card contacts as they will need it, do the same thing with the display connectors and see. No point getting into a ****ing contest over it.

[350RRC]

If you can see the image how can you possibly blame the graphics card? The graphics card drives the panel and renders the image. The backlight makes it visible.

The image is visible so a logical deduction would be the backlight. Next step is find out if it's LED or CCFL. It's unusual for a led to behave like that, but not at all unusual for an aged CCFL or its inverter.

Thanks Brad,

How do I find out what sort of backlight it has?

DL

[BradC]

Thanks Brad,

How do I find out what sort of backlight it has?

DL

Grab the part number off the bottom of the machine. Usually Axxxx and go from there.
Starting with a quick "Axxxx backlight failure" search will generally be pretty illuminating.

[350RRC]

Grab the part number off the bottom of the machine. Usually Axxxx and go from there.
Starting with a quick "Axxxx backlight failure" search will generally be pretty illuminating.

It'll be good if it turns out to be really illuminating.

cheers, DL

[350RRC]

Ok, there's no number on the bottom, but it must be an A1181 because that's the only one that's 2.2 Ghz.

Has a CCFL backlight.

From what I've read it could be the CCFL, the inverter, or a dry joint on the logic board from overheating.

Unlikely to be the inverter cable.

DL

[BradC]

If you wind the brightness down to the lowest (dimmest) setting, does it last longer after a cold start?

If you wind the brightness down to "off" for a couple of minutes, does it start back up when you increase the brightness again?

If it's a dry joint on the main board due to overheating, the overheating should be pretty obvious under magnification.

[350RRC]

If you wind the brightness down to the lowest (dimmest) setting, does it last longer after a cold start?

If you wind the brightness down to "off" for a couple of minutes, does it start back up when you increase the brightness again?

If it's a dry joint on the main board due to overheating, the overheating should be pretty obvious under magnification.

Yep it's been on for 40 minutes now on the dimmest visible setting.

If I go to black it will light up going brighter.

Starting to think it's full of dust and the fan isn't working causing a temperature shutdown maybe.

Seen enough vids on how to split the case and have the tools to clean it inside.

Took the (original) battery out to get a bit of an idea of the amount of filth inside, battery appears to be slightly swollen. Still reads ok as in my first post.

Your thoughts are appreciated, and JT's.

cheers, DL

[Tins]

If you can see the image how can you possibly blame the graphics card? The graphics card drives the panel and renders the image. The backlight makes it visible.

The image is visible so a logical deduction would be the backlight. Next step is find out if it's LED or CCFL. It's unusual for a led to behave like that, but not at all unusual for an aged CCFL or its inverter.

OK, now we have an expert onboard, has the OPs problem been fixed??

[350RRC]

Screen still hasn't gone to black on the lowest (still visible) dim setting.

DL

[BradC]

Screen still hasn't gone to black on the lowest (still visible) dim setting.

DL

Ok, so next step would be to pop it open and have a look around. I'd be having a look at the inverter and associated cables/connectors for signs of overheating. I'd also fire it up and keep the inverter cool with freezer spray to see if it was sensitive to thermals. Be careful if you are poking around the inverter, they are good for a couple of hundred volts.

[350RRC]

Ok, so next step would be to pop it open and have a look around. I'd be having a look at the inverter and associated cables/connectors for signs of overheating. I'd also fire it up and keep the inverter cool with freezer spray to see if it was sensitive to thermals. Be careful if you are poking around the inverter, they are good for a couple of hundred volts.

Ta,

Apparently the inverter is good for voltage in the kV range.

Screen is still on, just trying to warm the whole thing up watching a Zappa tribute vid.

Have the volume cranked, no fan running. Not normal.

I can live with it like this (dimmish) but I get sucked into fixing things.

Will look at diagnostics now the screen isn't having a nap after 10 secs or less.

cheers, DL

[BradC]

Ta,

Apparently the inverter is good for voltage in the kV range.

Certainly before the tube strikes.

Common failures tend to be :
- Tube current consumption increasing as it ages and reaching a point where it puts the inverter into protection. This often results in odd colour rendition though.
- Insulation breakdown near the tube, inverter or the cable that joins them. Puts the inverter into protection. Can be exacerbated by mechanical movement, vibration or even humidity.
- Inverter capacitors starting to dry out a bit and the increasing ESR results in a higher dissipation until the inverter goes into protection.