How to fix high kernel_task on sierra?

I started to have troubles with really high CPU usage when I replaced my battery. I didn't buy an original Apple one and from the first boot I had issues with the kernel_task process. I managed to solve this on Yosemite by moving the plist file for my Mac model following this tutorial: How to fix kernel_task CPU usage on Yosemite worked perfectly!

Anybody knows a way to do this or where to find this file on Sierra? I can't find a IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext dir

Solution 1:

The path: /System/Library/Extensions/IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin.kext/Contents/Resources" is still existing and it indeed contains a lot of plists with Mac identifier names (e.g. MacBookPro8_1.plist). The whole path starting with /System is protected by SIP though. To modify (i.e. move) files here you have to disable SIP.

I strongly recommend to leave the plist where it is and search for the real culprit. In your linked example it's not really the kernel_task but the AirMail process which bogs the CPU. One solution is then to disable/modify Airmail.

Since you didn't add an Activity Monitor screenshot I don't know the real reason why your CPU is forced to its knees.

Solution 2:

For me it worked excluding the internal os x discs from spotlight. I have a partition with os x & one with data, it worked to exclude these drives within the prefs of spotlight (privacy tab).