A comment on my old laptop battery guide made me rethink the whole thing

I posted a video showing how to swap a swollen battery in a 2015 MacBook Pro, and someone pointed out I didn't mention checking the power adapter's voltage first. They said, 'A bad charger can cause that swelling, so you're just fixing the symptom.' I changed the guide to start with testing the charger with a multimeter. Has anyone else had a simple fix turn out to be a bigger problem?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_lucas2mo ago

Good call, like @maryh96's car stereo.

maryh962mo ago

My old car stereo died from a bad ground.

jennifer_mitchell531mo ago

I read somewhere that a bad ground can cause all sorts of weird problems beyond just a dead stereo. My neighbor's car had a flickering dashboard light that no one could figure out, and it turned out to be a loose ground wire behind the glove box. The mechanic said it was causing the whole electrical system to act up, not just the radio. For something so simple, a bad ground really can mess with things in a big way.

tarajenkins1mo ago

It's worth noting that a swollen battery isn't usually caused by a bad charger - lithium ion cells swell from age, heat, or manufacturing defects. A multimeter check is still smart for safety, but the charger voltage being off won't typically make a battery puff up like that. The main fix is still swapping the battery, just adding the charger test as a good precaution.