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Early 2011 Model: A1278 / 2.3 GHz i5 or 2.7 GHz i7 processor

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MacBook Pro early 2011 logic board does not get enogh power

Dear all,

I have an early 2011 macbook pro.

If I plug in the charger it says that the battery is not charging, but it also drains power from the battery.

If I disconnect the battery, try to make it work with only the  charger, in the cases it actually boots, the computer is really slow and turns off after a few minutes. If the battery still have some juice the computer behaves normally.

I also bought a new battery from ifixit and it has the same behaviour.

I tried the smc reset, different charges and to disconnect both the charger and the battery and then press the power button for 10 seconds, but nothing works.

On a side note, it happened that after the computer continued to be plugged to the charger for a few hours while being turned off, it started to charge up the battery slowly, but it did not show this behaviour in the last 72 hours. Clearly it stopped charging up if I turned the computer on.

I think it is the logic board that works but it does get enough power.

So do you have any idea?

Answer this question I have this problem too

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I suspect your logic board has an issue here. Did you have a liquid spill of some sort? Or sit your system down in a puddle?

Your symptoms imply you have two distinct problems:

You'll need to open the system and make a good inspection look for stains and corrosion. Take some clear snaps and post them here for us to see.

As far as the slow system you likely need to replace the HD SATA cable as that is a common issue.

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Hi Dan,

The computer did not suffer any liquid spill in the last few years. Last time it happened it was the 2015 I had to change the keyboard and the trackpad.

The slow behaviour is probably due to the insufficient supply of power to the logic board and the cpu when the the battery is disconnected or without charge. It should not be the hdd cable because it was changed this summer.

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This sounds like a Mag-Safe adapter issue to me. Lets take deeper look by using Coconut Battery and really see just how much power it is charging with. http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutba...

UPDATE 11/22/17

MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Early 2011 MagSafe DC-In Board Replacement

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I did some tests with coconut battery.

I am making a python program run and it occupies the 100% of one of my threads.

If the charger is connected the battery usage is: 26.7 w

if the charger is not connected the battery usage is: 28.4w

Another test in idle:

charger connected: 8.1 w

charger not connected: 9.9

Coconut battery never changes the battery status from "battery usage" to "charging with"

Are you sure that it is just the mag safe and not some circuit or controller on the logic board?

By the way I left turned off and plugged to the charger for 72h and the logic board was warm when I touched it.

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Of course logic boards do fail. But it's the last thing I go for when doing a repair as it the most expensive part. So you do it logically. First test out with a known good mag-safe adapter. Next you go to the mag-safe board. Battery, battery connections. Only after all those have failed do you look at the logic board. MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Early 2011 MagSafe DC-In Board Replacement

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I have already ordered a mag safe adapter and should be here on monday.

The only thing that puzzles me is that the logic board works as intended when it receives the enough voltage because there are no strange behaviours in the use of the computer in such cases. So I was wondering if it is some sensors that could have gone bad.

Another thing I noticed is that the battery indicator does not show how much charge I have left if I press the side button, but it indicates the charge if I connect or disconnect the mag safe.

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That battery indicator can also go bad. Take a look at it and see if there is any corrosion on it and test for continuity.

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How do I test it? Is there a guide anywhere?

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Vittorio Latorre will be eternally grateful.
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