Mac air battery time software#

Without schematics and/or extensive logging of course this is just a theory. This could cause an erratic SMC reaction that causes the system shutdown. Spikes of extra power drawn when intensive tasks like Flash are launched could push the voltage of the main logic board feed point momentarily lower than the voltage of the PRAM capacitor/battery by, say 0.1 or 0.2 volts or more. Why it now runs OK? Well, I have a theory: The latest 10.7/10.8 operating systems are resource hogs so power consumption is much higher than it was when this machine was designed. Thank god they were not happening often or the macbook would have flown out the window. It has nothing to do with 100% charged whether on AC power or not with the OEM battery or not sudden unexplained shutdowns frustrating me for the last 2 years. This is not out of the ordinary since I bought the battery 4-5 months ago. I only had a couple of battery related shutdowns at charge levels under 15% since my macbook does not want to recalibrate its (not genuine) battery charge gauge. I AM NOT SUGGESTING THAT ANYONE WITH UNEXPECTED SHUTDOWNS GO REMOVE THE PRAM CAPACITOR FROM THE LOGIC BOARD but it seems it works for me wiping the frustration from my face, at last! So I'll keep it that way.

Mac air battery time software#

No software changes/updates to explain this change for the better. I am not 100% sure but IT SEEMS I SOLVED MY UNEXPECTED SHUTDOWN PROBLEMS: I've been using as usual my Macbook Aluminum 5,1 and I have not had a single random unexpected shutdown since the removal of the PRAM battery/capacitor. Oh, forgot to mention the capacitor must be the IV01E subtype (soldering tabs geometry differs per subtype). (Just FYI: Me, trying to remove it I had the wider solder pad broken away from the PCB - no problem, it is just the common ground connection for the battery eeeeh capacitor - IF I decide to put another one back there, I'll just connect the (-) of the capacitor at another common ground point on the PCB - for the time being I'll stay capacitor less, since I never remove the main battery, and see how it goes.) Using this data, according to the Capacitor data sheet, if we say that the minimum holding voltage for the PRAM is 1.5Volts then the capacitor feeds the PRAM for more than 5 hours after main battery and AC disconnection if no power button is pressed - sorry, forgot to check/verify if the PRAM capacitor is depleted upon power button depressed while no main battery and AC connected. 4 microAmperes flowing from the capacitor towards the logic board upon main battery and AC disconnection. I put a 47microFarad capacitor in its place and measured ca. The voltage the Logic Board feeds to this super capacitor is 2,82 volts. Then reconnecting the charger (some systems will spontaneously restart, older 13/15' won't as the chargers are not quite powerful enough) using a 85W charger on a 13' will work! Otherwise you'll need the battery connected with some charge (using a REAL Apple charger some knockoffs might work). To do that you need to disconnect the battery (and the charger) then press the power button holding it so the capacitor is allowed to discharge fully. It doesn't discharge the capacitor! So some settings aren't cleared. SMC reset sets a latch state so when the system is restarted the NVRAM is cleared. The latest models use an EEROM so the settings are not held by battery at all now, only the clock used the capacitor to hold its settings when the main battery was removed. Systems which have a removable battery all had a coin battery/super cap, the systems which have a serviceable battery (need to remove the bottom cover, battery screwed down or glued) started with the clock chip and then used a regular capacitor. MacBook's & MacBook Pro's get a bit tricky! Apple started off with a (sometimes hidden) coin battery, they jumped to a clock chip (to hold some info) which had either a small battery or a super capacitor to hold its settings. Over the years this was called PRAM Parameter-RAM, newer models use the term NVRAM NonVolatile-RAM in either the coin battery is used to hold the settings. IMac's have so far used a small coin battery to hold settings as well as keep the clock logic running. Sadly we tend to roll all systems in our minds used the same method, thats far from the truth.