Macbook Pro "not charging" during high CPU use

My Macbook Pro Does not charge when I am running several small programs (or one large one). My charger will change from the orange "charging" light to the green "not charging" light a few seconds after I begin running a program or set of programs that have a combined use of over 30% User CPU. Once I close enough programs to drop below about 30% User CPU, the light switches back to orange and begins to charge again.
This is system information for my Macbook pro's power when it IS charging;
Battery Information:
Model Information:
Serial Number:          W0********3LA
Manufacturer:          SMP
Device Name:          bq20z451
Pack Lot Code:          0
PCB Lot Code:          0
Firmware Version:          201
Hardware Revision:          000a
Cell Revision:          165
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh):          2815
Fully Charged:          No
Charging:          Yes
Full Charge Capacity (mAh):          4596
Health Information:
Cycle Count:          586
Condition:          Normal
Battery Installed:          Yes
Amperage (mA):          638
Voltage (mV):          11802
System Power Settings:
AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          0
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          0
Wake on AC Change:          No
Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes
Wake on LAN:          Yes
Current Power Source:          Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes
PrioritizeNetworkReachabilityOverSleep:          0
RestartAfterKernelPanic:          157680000
Standby Delay:          4200
Standby Enabled:          0
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          60
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          60
Wake on AC Change:          No
Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes
Reduce Brightness:          Yes
RestartAfterKernelPanic:          157680000
Standby Delay:          4200
Standby Enabled:          0
Hardware Configuration:
UPS Installed:          No
AC Charger Information:
Connected:          Yes
ID:          0x0100
Wattage (W):          45
Revision:          0x0000
Family:          0x00ba
Serial Number:          0x008b378d
Charging:          Yes
And this is when it is NOT;
Battery Information:
Model Information:
Serial Number:          W0********3LA
Manufacturer:          SMP
Device Name:          bq20z451
Pack Lot Code:          0
PCB Lot Code:          0
Firmware Version:          201
Hardware Revision:          000a
Cell Revision:          165
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh):          2880
Fully Charged:          No
Charging:          No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh):          4597
Health Information:
Cycle Count:          586
Condition:          Normal
Battery Installed:          Yes
Amperage (mA):          162
Voltage (mV):          11742
System Power Settings:
AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          0
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          0
Wake on AC Change:          No
Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes
Wake on LAN:          Yes
Current Power Source:          Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes
PrioritizeNetworkReachabilityOverSleep:          0
RestartAfterKernelPanic:          157680000
Standby Delay:          4200
Standby Enabled:          0
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          60
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          60
Wake on AC Change:          No
Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes
Reduce Brightness:          Yes
RestartAfterKernelPanic:          157680000
Standby Delay:          4200
Standby Enabled:          0
Hardware Configuration:
UPS Installed:          No
AC Charger Information:
Connected:          Yes
ID:          0x0100
Wattage (W):          45
Revision:          0x0000
Family:          0x00ba
Serial Number:          0x008b378d
Charging:          No
<Edited by Host>

How's the light on your power cord, on the receiving (your Mac) side? If it shows green, don't sweat, it means it is charging alright, no matter what the battery meter in Windows says: battery management is largely firmware-run on a MacBook Pro, since it's not exactly supposed to run another OS than Mac OS X. If the light shows yellow/orange, then for the sake of experiment, let it run until your battery dies. If it does at all.

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How's the light on your power cord, on the receiving (your Mac) side? If it shows green, don't sweat, it means it is charging alright, no matter what the battery meter in Windows says: battery management is largely firmware-run on a MacBook Pro, since it's not exactly supposed to run another OS than Mac OS X. If the light shows yellow/orange, then for the sake of experiment, let it run until your battery dies. If it does at all.

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Hi chaitanya.ac,
I would see if this article helps narrow down where the problem is or perhaps even resolve it:
Apple Portables: Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1713
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After making the upgrade to OSx Lion 10.7.2 my MacBook Pro 2011 (2 months old) does not charge anymore, before worked perfectly.
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Also, the fan noise seems like a normal noise every time I launch a program, but it's getting to the point where I am frustrated(annoyed) of the fan noise. I would've thought that upgrading to a Mac book would cause less fan noise because of it's high processor. Sometimes I feel like I should go back to a Dell or HP because of this problem, but at the same time, I love my laptop. ;)

Macbook Pro not charging; do I need a new Magsafe Charger?

I have an early 2011 13-inch Macbook pro. Recently, I've noticed that my magsafe charger does not charge my laptop. The light turns on (dull green, not bright like it normally is) and the power source is switched to the power adapter, but the adapter does not charge the laptop (see photo). I have tried the following troubleshooting steps to no avail:
1) I cleaned the magsafe port, there was no debris t begin with
2) I reset the SMC
3) I tried different outlets
When I used my roommate's charger (from a much older macbook with the T-shaped connector) , the laptop was able to share up just fine. So my questions is whether I need a new charger or whether I can fix mine somehow?
Thanks

Did you also check the magsafe connector of the charger? Possibly one of the pins is stuck. See point 7 on this page: Apple Portables: Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters - Apple Support

Issue with MacBook Pro (Not Charging)

I'm not extremely computer savvy with Macs, so bear with me when you give instructions.
I've had this 15'' MacBook Pro since 2010 for when I entered college. I've been using it since this year. Up until the last week my charger has been not charging very well. The ports are clean and well managed, no prongs or pieces have been worn away; physically the notebook and charger have been kept well since I received it.
This problem started copping up last week. When I attach it to the MacBook Pro the LED light does not come on and the info spot on the top tells me (Not Charging) and even after receiving the low battery warning and plugged in it still tells me that there is no charge and will drain itself despite being plugged in.
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As far as I remember this was NEVER an issue. For the past two years I remember sitting on my dorm bed many a time and when the warning came up I would go get the charger and plug it in and let it charge as I continued to work. It would charge and have no problems with the notebook being run at the same time as the charging.
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Thanks.

You may need a new battery. Draining the battery all the way to zero is not good for the battery. It will shorten its life span.
Take it to an Apple Genius Bar and have it checked out.

MacBook Pro not charging and says replace battery? or is this a different issue?

Ive been reading different responses and im not sure if this is a problem with my actual battery or if theres something else wrong and i need to reset my system somehow?
i have a 2010 macbook pro- snow leopard... and here is the battery info from my comp:
Battery Information:
Model Information:
Serial Number:     9G1130974D3MA
Manufacturer:     DP
Device Name:     bq20z451
Pack Lot Code:     0000
PCB Lot Code:     0000
Firmware Version:     0201
Hardware Revision:     0002
Cell Revision:     0158
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh):     0
Fully Charged:     No
Charging:     No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh):     0
Health Information:
Cycle Count:     111
Condition:     Replace Now
Battery Installed:     Yes
Amperage (mA):     0
Voltage (mV):     9640
System Power Settings:
AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes):     10
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):     10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):     10
Wake on AC Change:     No
Wake on Clamshell Open:     Yes
Wake on LAN:     Yes
Current Power Source:     Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim:     Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes):     10
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):     10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):     2
Wake on AC Change:     No
Wake on Clamshell Open:     Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim:     Yes
Reduce Brightness:     No
Hardware Configuration:
UPS Installed:     No
AC Charger Information:
Connected:     Yes
ID:     0x0100
Wattage (W):     60
Revision:     0x0000
Family:     0x00ba
Serial Number:     0x003676c7
Charging:     No

You can try a SMC reset:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Follow directions for "a battery you should not remove yourself"
Usually this message means the battery is dead, if no change after the SMC reset take to an Apple Store Genius bar (make an appointment) and have it replaced. (it is 4 years old)

Macbook pro not charging: logic board, battery or magsafe?

My macbook pro (13" late 2011) has been charging fine until today. When i plug in the magsafe power adapter (i did clean it and the port) it only lights up dimly and green. The battery also says "Not Charging" and the computer entirely feeds on the power adapter. I've tried SMC and PRAM reset, and changing the duckhead adapter to the ones included when you buy the macbook but neither worked. I did the Apple Hardware Test and it said everything is normal. I tried charging it at 10% but it wasn't charging so i disconnected it and waited for the warning on 3% but it still didn't charge and the battery % isn't going down or up either when plugged. I also had the fan replaced a month ago but only got it back a few days ago.
Battery Information:
Model Information:
       Serial Number:          W***********B
       Manufacturer:           SMP
       Device Name:           bq20z451
       Pack Lot Code:         0
       PCB Lot Code:          0
       Firmware Version:     201
       Hardware Revision:   000a
       Cell Revision:           158
Charge Information:
       Charge Remaining (mAh):          145
       Fully Charged:                           No
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       Full Charge Capacity (mAh):       5205
Health Information:
       Cycle Count:          560
       Condition:          Normal
Battery Installed:          Yes
Amperage (mA):          0
Voltage (mV):          10972
System Power Settings:
AC Power:
       System Sleep Timer (Minutes):                 10
       Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):                      10
       Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):                  10
       Wake on AC Change:                                No
       Wake on Clamshell Open:                         Yes
       Wake on LAN:                                          Yes
       Current Power Source:                              Yes
       Display Sleep Uses Dim:                           Yes
       PrioritizeNetworkReachabilityOverSleep:     0
       RestartAfterKernelPanic:                           157680000
       Standby Delay:                                         4200
       Standby Enabled:                                      0
Battery Power:
       System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          5
       Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):              10
       Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          2
       Wake on AC Change:                       No
       Wake on Clamshell Open:                Yes
       Display Sleep Uses Dim:                 Yes
       Reduce Brightness:                         Yes
       RestartAfterKernelPanic:                 157680000
       Standby Delay:                               4200
       Standby Enabled:                            0
Hardware Configuration:
UPS Installed:          No
AC Charger Information:
Connected:               Yes
ID:                           0x0000
Wattage (W):            0
Revision:                  0x0000
Family:                     0x0000
Serial Number:          0x00000000
Charging:                  No

If you can get another charger to try, your question then can be definitively answered. I suspect that the charger is faulty based on the absence of charger information on your printout. All other information looks normal.
An Apple store genius bar appointment would resolve the issue.
Ciao.

Macbook pro (not charging) problem

Hi i am new to this community
I know a similar post has been made before but I feel my case is a little weird and would like to know if there's anyone else out there facing the same thing. So basically the problem is whenever i do anything even remotely graphic intensive, the laptop would say (not charging) and the orange light on the charger turnds green. Like say i watch a youtube video or a high def trailer from www.gametrailers.com, it immediately says not charging for the duration of the video. It 100% happens while gaming without fail even before the laptop starts to rev up.
Does anyone else have this problem?
I have given it to the apple care 3 times and had my battery changed, software updated and the third time in a different place they said this was 'normal'. NORMAL? how can it be normal for a latop to not be able to get charged while doing anything its supposed to be used for. I have never in my life faced this problem while running highly intensive graphic games in much cheaper laptops. Never really expected this problem to come from such a premium brand and at a such a steep price. Especially since they arent even admitting its a problem...

You have exactly the same problem that has been discussed in an endless thread here previously. It has been true of all MBPs since the first ones in 2006 that if pressed to the wall, they could require more power than their AC adapters can supply. Under those circumstances, the first thing to happen is that battery charging ceases (if it was going on in the first place) and the second thing that happens, if the machine's power demand is high enough, is that the battery is drawn upon to make up the deficit. So with any MBP, there is the possibility that under extremely heavy load, the battery won't be charged or will actually be depleted while the AC adapter remains connected.
Very few users ever ran into this with early MBPs, because it was hard to push them to the point of needing more power than their 85W adapters provided. It has become all too common in the 2011 models, with their enormously powerful (and enormously power-hungry) discrete GPUs and the expectation of many users that they will be able to use a notebook for everything they used to do on large desktop computers. I suspect (and this is purely my own hypothesis) that Apple has unintentionally compounded the problem with the automatic GPU switching in recent 15" and 17" MBPs, causing the discrete GPU to be invoked automatically when it isn't really needed and the integrated graphics would suffice, such as when browsing the web. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the problem only arises in the 2011 models when the discrete GPU is in use, so if you turn off automatic switching and limit yourself to the integrated graphics, you may be able to put an end to it, or at least limit its occurrence to times when you're willing and able to cope with it. But it probably does mean that you won't be able to place graphically-intensive 3D action games around the clock without running your battery down, and will need to take breaks of several hours to recharge from time to time.
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You might well wonder why Apple doesn't just provide a larger, higher-capacity AC adapter, and the only answer I can suggest (speaking for myself of course, and not for Apple) is that it might not be possible for the MBP in its existing case design to dissipate the additional heat that would be generated by continuing to charge the battery at times of extreme CPU and GPU activity.

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Hi,
I just purchased a Macbook Pro yesterday. I did as indicated and waited till the battery was fully charged before I unplugged it upon first use. As soon as it said "fully charged" I unplugged it and it showed 96% battery life. I used my laptop today and reached 60% of my battery life. I decided to plug it in, once again it reached "fully charged" and as soon as I unplugged it is only shows 97% charged.
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Either return the computer from where purchased or call Apple tech support ASAP.
You have 14 days to return your computer with no questions asked. You also have 90 days of free phone tech support.

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I purhcased a brand new 2011 17" macbook pro. The macbook will charge up to 100% while nothing is plugged in. When i start running applications it will switch to "Not charging" on the toolbar. This is while its plugged in.
This has happned when i have just 2 apps open.
I DJ a nightclub and sometimes have 4 apps open, which is not a lot and this doenst happen with my 2009 17" macbook pro.
I have done the SMC reset and this still happens.
I have read all the fourms and googled it and see im not alone.
From what i can see, and makes sense is, the new Quad-Core processors use more power, and with just the macbook running, even openign up 2 apps, its using about 95W of power. With the powersupply only 85W, it makes sense how it can switch to not charging.
From what i have seen, it will actually go down to about 3% of charge and stay there. It will say Not chargeing for a while, then go away like its charging, then switch back to not charging. It basicllys charges it enough to keep it around 3%.
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I know my best friend has this same issue on his 2011 macbook pro, he bought online from Apple, and i got mine from an Apple store about 4 months later, so i know its not the same batch.
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I have not opened a ticket with Apple yet but i will.
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Hello, I have had very similar problems but with the MBP not even registering that a charger is plugged in (no light coming on and no change to the battery symbol).
I had a mid 2010 model that was sent in 4 times to be fixed, with no change, followed by the unit being replaced altogether with the latest 2011 model, only to find the issue persists (the charger was replaced early on as well).
The only retaining factor is the Lion software which forums have highlighted has effected charging when individuals have upgraded.
It is appalling that a company like Apple have not taken steps to address these issues and will go as far as to replace all components TWICE in one Laptop, as well as give out a new Laptop, without tackling the real problem.
Appalled and ultimately very disappointed.

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Macbook Pro "not charging" during high CPU use

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