2010 Macbook Air Throttling when battery half empty

[jimmysofat6864]

For some reason, my Macbook Air is throttling and not running at full performance when the battery level is under 40 ish percent. I have iStats Menu and it seems like the CPU is peaking around 140 degrees compared to the 180-190 that I normally get when I use my computer at full load at battery percentages above 40. And the fans never spin up as well. And when the battery gets under 20 percent, the temperatures max out at 120 and the fans never spin up either. And the computer runs much slower and the lag gets worse. However, the moment I plug in my computer, the lag stops immediately and then the temperatures go back up to 180-190 like usual and the fans spin up.

I thought it was a battery issue because sometimes I would get a "service battery" message that occasionally goes away. I replaced the battery but I am still experiencing the same issue. Is this normal behavior or do I need to get another battery replacement? I know that macs tend to throttle when the battery is removed. It is a 2010 Macbook Air 2.13Ghz and I am on High Sierra.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Sorry for the delayed response.

It sounds like the battery or the I/O board could be failing, especially since you see the Service Battery alert. A failing battery would definitely cause CPU throttling.

• Did you replace the battery with an Apple OEM part, or a third-party battery?
• Do you know of any physical/liquid damage?

C

 

[jimmysofat6864]

Hello and welcome.

Sorry for the delayed response.

It sounds like the battery or the I/O board could be failing, especially since you see the Service Battery alert. A failing battery would definitely cause CPU throttling.

• Did you replace the battery with an Apple OEM part, or a third-party battery?
• Do you know of any physical/liquid damage?

C

Battery is third party and doesn't have any physical or liquid damage.