Battery Capacity after 3 cycles

Hi all,
I have a late 2013 rmbp. I've been reading up a lot on how to best treat the built in battery to maximize battery life. This laptop is only 1 week old and I've discharged once to about 40% and used the unit on batter a second time to about 50%. I'm now planning on using it on the power adapter mode when at my desk and using it on battery mode when going mobile. My question is though is that according to my coconut battery app, I'm already only at 97% max capacity! Is this normal? This battery has only been through 3 cycles of charging.
The max charge went from 6330mAh to 6153mAh in the 1 week I've owned this computer. Since I'm new to the macbook world, I was wondering if this is normal and was hoping someone could give me some insight to how fast the Max Charge capacity drops over time in relation to the Design Capacity. I'm still within my return period if I need to return this computer :/
For reference, my battery was manufactured 4/24/2014.
many thanks!

Read: https://www.apple.com/batteries/
This laptop is only 1 week old and I've discharged once to about 40% and used the unit on batter a second time to about 50%. I'm now planning on using it on the power adapter mode when at my desk and using it on battery mode when going mobile. My question is though is that according to my coconut battery app, I'm already only at 97% max capacity! Is this normal? This battery has only been through 3 cycles of charging.
The max charge went from 6330mAh to 6153mAh in the 1 week I've owned this computer.
It's best not to concern yourself with this degree of detail. Over a long period of time, its maximum charge capacity will decrease. Over a shorter period of time its maximum charge capacity may decrease or increase. One week and three charge cycles is not enough to draw any conclusions about anything. Typically, the maximum capacity percentage will settle to a value in the mid - 90s and will stay there for a long time.
Your MacBook Pro's battery is the product of decades of research and is going to last for years, perhaps for as long as you own your Mac, or want to own it before it eventually becomes functionally obsolete.
All batteries are wear items that will eventually need to be replaced. Budget 50¢ a week for battery depreciation and you will have more than enough saved to replace it when the time comes.
I'm now planning on using it on the power adapter mode when at my desk and using it on battery mode when going mobile.
That's a fine strategy. Follow Apple's usage recommendations, but don't obsess over such minutia. On the other hand if you are seeking to indulge your paranoia concerning over- or under- charging your Mac, the proper methods by which you must obsess about its incessant need for proper care and pampering, and to hear admonishments about the a parade of horribles that will result in your failure to acquiesce to superstition and myth, your needs will be met in by a number of charlatans in a variety of fonts and garish colors. You will believe them because they will validate what you have already decided to be true.

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Hi everybody,
subject says it all - is this normal?
TiA,
Florian

Hi Florian
Try having a look here: http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-36.htm
It seems a down of 63% of the capacity after 125 cycles is pretty under the normal level.
Did something happenened to the battery (left in a hot place, etc.)?
Occam
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Battery capacity after 200 load cycles - what is normal?

My battery capacity has been fairly steady at around 92%(5100 mAh) between cycles 125 and 200. I baby it and always use a cool pod to prevent overheating. Then, within 3 charge cycles, it dropped to around 4500-4600 mAh (82-84%). Apple care told me that their engineers consider this capacity as normal. Upon asking what would be considered as not normal, I was told Apple would not release this information. But it is general knowledge that Apple guarantees 80% after 300 cycles. Good luck if my battery will last that long at that level. After another 10 cycles, the battery is still at that 82% plus level.
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Message was edited by: Jürgen Kraus

I've never heard, nor read that Apple "guarantees" anything like what you say. Apple claims:
"Battery Lifespan
For Apple notebooks with removable batteries — such as previous generation MacBook and MacBook Pro computers — a properly maintained battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 300 full charge and discharge cycles. You may choose to replace your battery when it no longer holds sufficient charge to meet your needs."
There is not guarantee mentioned or implied in that statement. Whether any particular battery still has 80% life at 300 cycles is anyone's guess. It depends entirely on the manner in which it was used, operating temperatures it was subjected to and so on.
IMO, if you are over 200 cycles and you are starting to feel that the battery is not holding sufficient charge for your needs, it's time to shop for a new one. Batteries are a consumable item - they will fail with enough time and use - that much is guaranteed. It is a function of unavoidable internal oxidation and degradation of chemical components, not of the "smart" battery control circuitry.

85% current capacity after 4 cycles in Macbook Pro Retina.

Is it normal that I have only 85% current capacity after just four cycles in Macbook Pro with Retina Screen? A little bit over 7140 mAh compared to 8460 mAH in design capacity?
Should I call Apple Support?

Hey Allan,
Greetings!
Yes you rightly pointed out the changed format
And I have been around for a few years but mostly get active whenever I purchase a new Macbook. you know how the honeymoon period is
Unfortunately I am experiencing two difficulties myself which I haven't been able to figure out.
I have this late 2013 Macbook pro Retina, 13". Purchased it 20 days ago!
Now the two problems are
1. Safari sometimes doesn't load some pages and apple.com being one of them. Again as I read somewhere when opened on the Chrome and then back on safari almost at the same time, safari pulls it up.
I dont prefer other browsers as my battery discharge becomes rather quick on chrome doing the same task.
Do you hav any idea what might be wrong. I tried switching of all extensions and plug ins. Also did a few resets.
Read somewhere that it has to do something with the DNS of the router but then why this erratic behaviour and not a consistent one.
2. My battery is also showing erratic behaviours. The max health varies between 6350 to 6673 (Didn't see the later for last few days). Also the life the system predicts vastly varies doing the same tasks. Sometimes if I am reading a page online it would show 14 hours on 100% and sometimes just 7-8.
The worst part is that the it just doesn't show it that way rather behaves the same way. That means that battery actually drains at the rate the sytme predicts.
Also even in shut down (and not sleep), the system tends to use charge at a rate of 1% per 8 hours.
All this mentioned in the paint 2 started happening when my machine got drained to 1% power remaining once and the other time was shut down as I was travelling and didn't have the charger. Is that to blame?
Any input would be appreciated.

Battery capacity after 10 weeks only 90% ??

Hello community!
I hope I'll get some information here, since I am a new mac user
Hope you guys can help?!
Here's the thing: I got my macbook pro in october 2010 (mid 2010 model)
I've been using coconut capacity monitor since the beginning and always monitored the battery life. Yesterday I noticed, that coconut says battery capacity is 90% of the original capacity! Coconut says that I did around 48 load cycles so far.
my question: What am I doing wrong here? I always try to work with the mbp until it runs out of battery; I don't plug it in before, no charging when the battery is not completely empty. How can it happen, that the capacity reduces that fast?
What should I do in order to preserve the battery life? Is it possible to restore the 100% battery capacity by recalibrating it several times (like the apple support page advices) ??
Thank you for you answers and your help in advance!!
Kind regards,
griesTraum

With 48 load cycles in only ten weeks, you're working your battery very hard. And always running the battery down to zero before recharging it is a bad practice that will age your battery prematurely. If your work and lifestyle don't require you to consume the full capacity of the battery almost daily, don't do it.
It's not unusual to see the battery's reported Full Charge Capacity (and consequently its "health") fluctuate up and down by several percentage points from day to day and week to week, particularly when it's relatively new. If you give the battery at least a little use every few days, it should be calibrated every two or three months. Calibrate it now or as soon as it's convenient for you, then try to keep it plugged into AC power most of the time, using the battery for just an hour or two every day or two "to keep the electrons moving," as Apple says. This will be an ideal use pattern for the longevity of your battery. If it doesn't fit your life, don't do it: the battery exists to serve you, not you to serve it.
The best summary of useful information about MBP batteries that I know of is here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1764220
If after following these suggestions for a few weeks, your battery's health continues to decline steadily and rapidly, you may have a defective battery. But until it shows less than 80% health, you're unlikely to get anything from Apple other than a report that it is "within specifications." So if you think it may be defective, wait until it shows 75-78% health for a least a week or two, and continues to show less than 80% after a new calibration. Then take it to an Apple Store, where they have a specific test they can run on it, and ask to have it tested. If it's defective, you'll get a free replacement.

Battery Health after 13 cycles?

I recently downloaded istate pro to check my battery and to my suprise my battery health is currently at 96% after 13 cycles. Yesterday I calibrated the battery and it was at 98% health. Could be battery by obsolete? And I just got my mbp 1 week ago.

Your battery is fine. Over time the battery health continues to decline until the battery needs to be replaced.
About Batteries in Modern Apple Laptops
Apple - Batteries - Notebooks
Extending the Life of Your Laptop Battery
Apple - Batteries
Determining Battery Cycle Count
Calibrating your computer's battery for best performance
MacBook and MacBook Pro- Mac reduces processor speed when battery is removed while operating from an A-C adaptor
Battery University

Mid-2010 battery dead after 629 cycles?!?

Hi,
My mid-2010 Macbook Pro 15" battery is seemingly dead after only 629 cycles. It says that the condition is "replace now" and the green indicator lights flash when I press the button on the side. It was working fine, and then I didn't use the computer for a little while, and now the battery doesn't charge and it has to be plugged in.
I'm hesitant to think the battery has just failed, because like I mentioned, there are only 629 cycles on it, and it was working prefectly before, and it seems very sudden.
Any help/thoughts/suggestions are appreciated!
Thanks!

Make an appointment at the genius bar. Have you fully discharged and recharge fully over the battery's 2 yr life? This is good to do a few times a year.
http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro/service/battery/ shows the cost of replacing your battery.

Concerned about falling battery capacity on rMBP

Hello all, I'm starting to worry a bit about my battery capacity vs design capacity on my retina macbook pro 15". It's a early 2013 model that I bought in July. I know that apple guarantees the battery will have at least 80% of it's design capacity after 1000 cycles, but I'm worried mine is going to fall far short of that. Here's my coconut battery info:
As you can see, I've only had 60 cycles on the battery, the computer is barely half a year old, and it's already down 6%, under 8000 mAh. Should I be concerned/take it to the apple store? I know they won't replace my computer since I'm far outside of my 14 days, but still wondering if they'll do something. Will they even do anything before the battery falls below 80% design capacity?
I waited to post because I know battery capacity often fluctuates from 5% below to 5% above design frequently and will go up and down with use, but mine has steadily decreased, and has never increased. Every time I check coconut battery, it's 10-50 mAh lower than it was. My macbook does stay plugged in a lot, but I also make a point of using the battery at least once a week to keep the electrons flowing, and most weeks it gets off the charger more like two or three times. Often the battery will get used down to at least 50 or 60 percent before it gets plugged back in, sometimes even as low at 15 or 20 percent. I've tried draining it until it goes to sleep and then letting it charge to full again, but it didn't change anything. I didn't think it would, since lithium based batteries don't suffer memory issues, but I thought maybe it was just an error in measurement by the system.
Speaking of that, I did reset the NVRAM/PRAM and the SMC (multiple times). Only one of the times I reset the SMC did the light turn orange and then charge more, but it didn't change the max capacity number at all.
I see a lot of people posting their cocunut results/system information screen and finding they actually have above design capacity. Did I just get a lemon battery, or is it because I have it plugged in so much?
Thoughts? Thanks!

Apple guarantees that if your battery is well taken care of and not abused, however your battery looks fine.
You state: ~ As you can see, I've only had 60 cycles on the battery
Cycle counts dont account for much. People (some) leave their macbooks always hooked on power and worse still in sleep mode and on power and this can ruin a battery in "50 cycles", ergo it means little.
As for the 5% power fluctuation this means absolutely nothing since charge is just an estimate and the 5% is within that range.
Information:
Bad discharging or battery use conditions:
Heat (due to environmental conditions or due to rapid discharges from heavy use = gaming / video editing)
Rapid discharging of the battery frequently causes chemical changes over time in the battery leading to decrease capacity and resistance of current flow.
The very worst use of your battery is often draining the battery very low, and worse still letting it remain in such a state.
*Most long-term rapid damage to the battery occurs from discharging it with high loading (gaming) conditions but paramount is avoiding deep and frequent low DOD (depths of discharge) in use.
Undesirable charging or charged conditions:
High perpetual SOC (state of charge), where the battery is always or very often connected to charge
Parasitic loading where the battery is both usually on and charging or worse both always charging and in sleep mode, since this induces mini-cycling of the battery.
Bad general handling conditions:
Temperature use conditions when either too hot (95F and above) or too cold (50F and below)
Storing your battery away with a low charge (40% and less) long-term.
Considerations:
Your battery is subject to chemical aging even if not in use. A Lithium battery is aging as soon as its made, regardless.
In a perfect (although impractical) situation, your lithium battery is best idealized swinging back and forth between 25 and 85% SOC (state of charge) roughly.
Further still how you discharge the battery is far more important than how it is either charged or stored short term.
Ultimately counting charge cycles is of little to no importance. Abuse in discharging (foremost), charging, and storing the battery and how it affects battery chemistry is important and not the ‘odometer’ reading, or cycle counts on the battery.
Everything boils down to battery chemistry long term, and not to an arbitrary number, or cycle count.
Keep your macbook plugged in when near a socket since in the near end of long-term life, this is beneficial to the battery.
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html
"Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time."
General rule to remember of Lithium batteries is:
Never drain them LOW & dont always/often store them HIGH
While cycle count is commonly seen to be the “miles” on your Lithium Ion pack cell in your Macbook, which they are, this distinction is not a fine line at all, and it is a big misconception to “count charge cycles”
*A person who has, for example, 300 charge cycles on their battery and is recharging at say 50-60% remaining of a 100% charge has better battery usage and care than another person who has 300 charge cycles at say 15% remaining on a 100% charge.
DoD (depth of discharge) is far more important on the wear and tear on your Macbook battery than any mere charge cycle count. *There is no set “mile” or wear from a charge cycle in general OR in specific.    As such, contrary to popular conception, counting cycles is not conclusive whatsoever, rather the amount of deep DoD on an averaged scale of its use and charging conditions.
(as a very rough analogy would be 20,000 hard miles put on a car vs. 80,000 good miles being something similar)
*Contrary to some myths out there, there is protection circuitry in your Macbook and therefore you cannot overcharge it when plugged in and already fully charged
*However if you don’t plan on using it for a few hours, turn it OFF (plugged in or otherwise) ..*You don’t want your Macbook both always plugged in AND in sleep mode       (When portable devices are charging and in the on or sleep position, the current that is drawn through the device is called the parasitic load and will alter the dynamics of charge cycle. Battery manufacturers advise against parasitic loading because it induces mini-cycles.)
Keeping batteries connected to a charger ensures that periodic "top-ups" do very minor but continuous damage to individual cells, hence Apples recommendation above:   “Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time”, …this is because “Li-ion degrades fastest at high state-of-charge”. This is also the same reason new Apple notebooks are packaged with 50% charges and not 100%.
LiPo (lithium polymer, same as in your Macbook) batteries do not need conditioning. However...
A lot of battery experts call the use of Lithium cells the "80% Rule" ...meaning use 80% of the charge or so, then recharge them for longer overall life.
Never let your Macbook go into shutdown and safe mode from loss of power, you can corrupt files that way, and the batteries do not like it.
The only quantified abuse seen to Lithium cells are instances when often the cells are repeatedly drained very low…. key word being "often"
The good news is that your Macbook has a safety circuit in place to insure the battery doesn’t reach too low before your Macbook will auto power-off. Bad news: if you let your Macbook protection circuitry shut down your notebook at its bottom, and you refrain from charging it for a couple days...the battery will SELF-DRAIN to zero (depending on climate and humidity)…and nothing is worse on a Lithium battery being low-discharged than self-draining down to and sitting at 0
Contrary to what some might say, Lithium batteries have an "ideal" break in period. First ten cycles or so, don't discharge down past 40% of the battery's capacity. Same way you don’t take a new car out and speed and rev the engine hard first 100 or so miles.
Proper treatment is still important. Just because LiPo batteries don’t need conditioning in general, does NOT mean they dont have an ideal use / recharge environment. Anything can be abused even if it doesn’t need conditioning.
From Apple on batteries:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1446
http://www.apple.com/batteries/
Storing your MacBook
If you are going to store your MacBook away for an extended period of time, keep it in a cool location (room temperature roughly 22° C or about 72° F). Make certain you have at least a 50% charge on the internal battery of your Macbook if you plan on storing it away for a few months; recharge your battery to 50% or so every six months roughly if being stored away. If you live in a humid environment, keep your Macbook stored in its zippered case to prevent infiltration of humidity on the internals of your Macbook which could lead to corrosion.

Real Battery Capacity

Hello
I would like to know where I can find the real capacity of my battery when it is 100% loaded. I would suggest that at this moment my iphone hold only the half of the capacity as it was new.
What is the original capacity of the iPhone 2G
In my MacBook Pro I can see in the System-Profiler that my battery has after 52 cycles only 5950mA instead of the 6300 when it was new. How can I display this on the iPhone?
Regards
Gérard

Apple say you should have 80% capacity at 300 cycles - they aren't going to replace anything at 93% or such low use ...

The battery in my MacBook Pro 17 requesting assistance only after 277 cycles with a capacity of 9444 mAh

the battery in my MacBook Pro 17 requesting assistance only after 277 cycles with a capacity of 9444 mAh, Is it possible?I performed the calibration, but nothing changes.
MacBook Pro (17 pollici, Half 2010)
MacBookPro6,1
Intel Core i5
2,53 GHz
Memory 4 GB

Batteries will vary in how long they last. Apple will say that for machines built in the last 4 years that the battery may last up to 5 years approximately. However this depends on usage.
You can have someone who never ever uses the battery and only ever runs the computer from the mains and the battery will fail as it never gets used and the cycle count will be very low.
To put things in perspective. I have a 15" Macbook Pro with Retina Display (Late 2013). I've had it for probably 8 months and I have 128 cycles on my battery, approx. half yours in a quarter of the time. So if you're not always use the battery it can be affected in other ways.
You can try to see if calibrating the battery helps. Look at http://apple.com/batteries for information on how to do this or try an SMC Reset and see if these make a difference. If not, then seek support from an Apple Store or Authorised service provider.
Hope this makes sense.
-Dib.

Mid 2010 MacBook Pro battery capacity at 89% with 64 cycles

Hello everyone,
I have a 13" mid 2010 MacBook Pro that I got around Christmas time. I downloaded coconutbattery a couple days ago and when i used it then My battery capacity had been 91%. So I thought that this was odd because of how new the computer is still (15 wks old with 64 battery cycles) so I read about how the battery needs to be recalibrated from time to time and after doing so (followed the directions perfectly) My capacity is now down to 89%. Should this be something to be concerned about or is this normal?

It's quite normal and sometimes a recalibration can see things go up as well as down

After 300 cycles, is the battery problem considered normal?

I now have the dreaded "Macbook won't work unless plugged in" problem. Mine does recognize the battery at various percentages up to 100% and will charge it if it runs down (which it slowly will in sleep mode as I can unplug it then). Purchased the computer on June 6, 2006 (very out of warranty), and just started with this "can't unplug" issue last week.
After trolling this and other sites I have reset the SMU and the PRAM several times. Removed battery looks normal, no warping, and I am always updated on the software updates, so the battery update has been installed for a while now. I run maintenance scripts regularly as well.
I have calibrated the battery several times in the past but cannot now as it will take several days on sleep to run it completely down, and I need the computer daily for work as I am self-employed. I have always let it run down in the past to sleep mode, then plugged it in. I never used it plugged in while at 100%, until now since I have to.
Coconut Battery (which I just started using) says I'm at 3526 mAh of the original 5200, 67% capacity on a 100% charge. Is this typical at this age and usage of battery?
So battery cycles are at 307, plus I'm out of warranty. Is this behavior (can't run unplugged though battery is at 100% or will charge if lower) typical after 300 cycles? In other words, do I have to buy a new battery every year to avoid this sudden shut off if the magsafe cord is yanked accidentally during my work?
And I have read of others who get their battery with the same issue changed out under warranty--only to have the issue recur shortly later. Am I going to drop serious cash on a battery that will leave me in this same predicament in just a few weeks into the future? I really need advice on this one.

redalicat wrote:
Thought I was preventing battery memory issues by running it off the battery so much, definitely won't make that mistake again.
The memory thing has been going around since the Ni-Cad days. Li-Ion doesn't have that problem thank goodness. Here is some info that may also help you with your next battery.
It is OK to leave your battery hooked to the charger most of the time. The only time I unhook mine from the charger is when I calibrate. You should calibrate your battery once a month.
The following links have good information about the MacBook and the care of it's battery.
MacBook reduces processor speed when battery is removed while operating from an A/C adaptor
Apple portable computer's battery does not show a full charge in Mac OS X
Apple Notebook Batteries
Lithium-ion Batteries
MacBook: How to remove or install the battery
Determining Battery Cycle Count
Use and cleaning of MagSafe power connector
Look here for some good tips about battery care.

Macbook pro 2011 battery dropped to 30% after 300 cycles

Hello ,
I have a Macbook pro early 2011 and I have noticed that the battery suddenly is draining too fast , after installing battery health it seems that in 2 weeks the battery dropped from 86% to 30% and there is the service battery sign
Please help !
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh):    1696
Fully Charged:    Yes
Charging:    No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh):    1696
Health Information:
Cycle Count:    304
Condition:    Service Battery
Battery Installed:    Yes
Amperage (mA):    -133
Voltage (mV):    11953

Cycles mean almost NOTHING, its short term abuse that matters.
1. did you often drain the battery very low?
2. did you often /always have your macbook on charge,......or did you often / always BOTH have your macbook on charge AND in sleep mode?
3. did you often /always play realistic heavy graphics games ON battery on your notebook?
1 or 2 and 3 are harsh on the battery chemistry and therefore its longevity
all batteries are consumables meant to replaced either in their own "due time" or early due to abuse / misuse.
Proper understanding of a battery charge cycle
A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, whether that is at once, or over several shorter battery discharges and recharges.
Two examples for clarification:
As a first example, where one fully charged battery is discharged down to 10%, then fully recharged, then using 10% of that full charge, this counts as 1 cycle since the total of both discharges is 100% of a full charge of use.
In the second example, where one fully charged battery is discharged down to 40%, then fully recharged, then using 40% of that full charge, this also counts as 1 cycle since the total of both discharges is 100% of a full charge of use.
While both examples are that of a single charge cycle, the first example is more aggressive against the lithium battery chemistry than is the second example. In short, collective overall gentle shallow or mid-range draining of your lithium battery is a better use condition than is the first example of deep-draining of the battery. While both are quantitatively identical as a single charging cycle, they are wholly different qualitatively on the battery chemistry, which is directly related to its ultimate longevity and health.
In short, it is the near and mid-term life of the battery as relates to its proper care (or lack thereof) that is to be looked after.
Priorities in order of decreasing importance for battery care are:
1. Avoiding deep discharges of the battery.
2. Avoiding having your battery constantly on charge or on charge and in sleep mode.
3. When playing graphics intense games, use your notebook plugged in when possible.
4. Reduction of battery cycles by plugging into power when on the go, or when accessible.
A person who has, for example, 300 charge cycles on their battery and is recharging at say 40% remaining of a 100% charge has a better battery condition state than, say, another person who has 300 charge cycles on their battery and is recharging at say 10-15% remaining on a 100% charge. DoD (depth of discharge) is vitally important on the wear and tear on your Macbook’s battery, much more so than is the counting of charge cycles. There is no set “mile” or wear from a charge cycle in specific. Frequent high depth of discharge rates (draining the battery very low) on a Lithium battery will greatly hasten the lowering of maximum battery capacity.
Understand that a charge cycle is a general parameter of use, but is not directly related to the short-term or mid-term abuse of the battery, which can rapidly hasten a shorter lifespan, regardless of what the actual cycle count on the battery indicates.
Proper considerations for near-term care of the battery is of utmost importance. Abuse of the battery is entirely avoidable, long-term eventual old age deterioration of the battery is entirely unavoidable.
Apple’s adaptive charging system mitigates much potential for accidental battery misuse or abuse; however it is still readily possible to abuse the battery and thereby affect battery health.

1% battery charge capacity at 146 cycles

Problem started around december 2010 with macbook turning off at random percentages, generally between 70%-90%, after putting up with it a while, i took my macbook to the genius bar where he told me he couldn't see anything particularly wrong with it as far, however I should try re-calibrating. After going home and doing this, my battery info went down to about 1% charge capacity, a shocking 60 or so mAh. That's when I found this post - http://discussions.info.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=13165866
Basically the battery update 1.3 was made for macbook pro 15" and not macbook 13"
see - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1403
I looked and found my computer did indeed have battery update 1.3, and so, following the articles advice I deleted.. rebooted and yes my battery capacity went up to 80% not amazing, but reasonable. The battery was running through cycles fine, fully charging and running all the way down without turning off randomly for a couple weeks until... it started turning off again.
Now I've noticed the charge capacity is back to 68mAh, I've tried installing all the battery updates available, however none will install as computer says they aren't needed.
Anyone else having the same problems return? I don't know if they have anything to do with a system update which I installed a couple days ago.
macbook is well out of warranty having had it for 28 months now (bought late 2008) however 146 cycles is a bit low to warrant such a low capacity, and the fact that deleting that file fixed the problem even temporarily leads me to believe the problem isn't completely with the battery.
battery info -
Model Information:
Serial Number: SMP-bq20z951-3979-d7c
Manufacturer: SMP
Device name: bq20z951
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 002a
Hardware Revision: 000a
Cell Revision: 0100
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 68
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 68
Health Information:
Cycle count: 146
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12477

It really sounds like you just need a new battery. With your machine being 28 months old and having only 146 cycles on the battery, this would mean that you're going through a cycle about every two months. The cycle count accounts for only part of a battery's longevity. It's important to use the battery regularly to keep it healthy. Going through a cycle a week or so is generally reasonable usage to keep the battery healthy... even a cycle every two weeks is okay. You just need to use the battery to keep it in good shape. Going through roughly one cycle nearly every two months would seem to indicate that you ran the machine plugged in nearly all the time. That's not the best way to keep your battery healthy. Here are Apple's suggestions on maintaining your battery:
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html
Erratic readings are not uncommon for a failing battery. The fact that it seems to work okay at times does not mean it can't be failing.

Macbook pro battery loss 2% of capacity after 1 week

I bought a brand new macbook pro 13" (entry level) 1 week ago. I was concerned about maximizing my battery life since I want to start fresh with this new computer. A few days ago I calibrated the battery just to make sure everything was set. I just learned how to check the battery health and charge cycles in the "About this Mac" menu, and my charge capacity is 5685 (down from the design capacity 5770), after only 5 charge cycles. Is this normal?

Hi mdudley28,
To be expected. Over the first several weeks/months of ownership, especially with an initial calibration (or two... or three) the full charge capacity will fluctuate. I've seen it bounce around by as much as 400 mAh, what's important is that it bounces back. If it continually loses mAh but never recovers and dips to sub 80% of it's original capacity then that is cause for concern and something you'd want to take up with Apple.

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