The title really says it all. My Macbook Alu had run out of battery and died; when I plugged it in, the light on the power plug did not ignite, and I thought nothing was happening until I noticed a steady low ticking sound emanting from the top left of the keyboard. I tried to google it, but didn’t find anything interesting (I have to admit I didn’t spend too much time researching, as it was via Opera Mini on my N82….).
After listening to the steady ticking for a few minutes, I unplugged and reconnected the power plug, which promptly lit up like it usually does, and I’m typing this on my Macbook. Funny.
I wonder if perhaps the ticking is the Macbook’s way of saying it is doing some low-level charging of the battery?
Are about everything 
December 15, 2008 at 4:48 am |
I have the same issue. Did you happen to find a work around?
The service station employees say they can’t reproduce the sound. It is at random intervals.
December 15, 2008 at 2:29 pm |
No, I didn’t – I haven’t had this happen more than once. I think it has to do with how the hardware works when the battery has suffered a deep discharge, but that is really just guesswork.
March 29, 2009 at 4:45 pm |
i’m having the same problem, however it has nothing to do with the battery charging. my battery is full, and the status on my mac says “Charged,” however i still get random clicking noises. even when the mac is muted, it does it. it sounds like it is coming out of the speakers though. it’s annoying!