I was given an A1278 a couple months back that is having what appears to be the same issue. The original owner spilled something on it. It was sitting for some time before I got my hands on it and it did boot all the way the OS, but then just shut off several minutes later. It wouldn't boot again after then so I just stuck it on a shelf for several weeks. I tried booting again and it did. Almost all the way into the OS, but then shut off again. I just don't think I have the skills to diagnose this, but I'm going to use your video to try! Thx.
I just picked up a early 2011 15” mbp looks like the same symptoms, no liquid damage, battery voltage very low, so I’m suspecting that, partly, I’m waiting for a 85w charger to arrive, I don’t think the 60w works properly with them.
Definitely need that power pack, yes. I ended up going "all out" and buying the original Apple ones, at least I know I have a steady reference. Good luck with the repair.
Paul, I had sent a text saying that I am 91 and 92 in December and have taken up repairing 2006 to 2009 MacBook and Pro as a hobby. My first computer was an Amiga with a Toaster and was really impressed with the graphics. I would go to the university and buy used Mac computers but found an old laptop that I got working. I now have 10 MacBooks bought from eBay and have successfully got 6 working. I am interested in troubleshooting the electronics to try to get the others working. It is a challenge and I have bought some tools to remove resistors and capacitors and chips if need. I need to down load the board view and schematics to trace the various circuits. Maybe you have some old videos on UA-cam that would help. Thanks for your understanding. ❤
Those old Amiga-Toasters were quite something for their time and cost. A shame that such advancements seemed to get lost for many years. I'd say checking Rossmann Repairs for videos would be a good idea too. Boardviews/schems are over at Badcaps.net forum with a quick search as well. Best of luck getting those other units running, hopefully it'll be something moderately easy and not an overall low level corrosion issue that often plagues those machines.
Thank you for your prompt reply and also for all the exceptional tutorials you are putting on the internet. Your patience is appreciated. Bill Ambrose.
i have one that wouldnt turn on or anything or fan spin. i cleaned the board with some alcohol and managed to get fan spin. But i get no image, im not smart enough to work with schematics tho, any tips ?
Hi Paul, thanks for your excellent videos, I seem to remember you saying you are in the northern part of Australia 🇦🇺 (Go Aussies). Do you tend to get get more corrosion due to the monsoon wet and humidity? Cheers🍻
G'day Brent. Since I live inland, away from the coastal areas, I don't see corrosion too much in the local machines; however, with a lot of the mailed-in jobs from costal zones, yes, if they're within 5~10km of the ocean then I definitely see it on the mainboards.
Well done :-D, it did look rather horrible, a lot of parts on that pcb looked nasty. i have always thought smd parts were a dodgy idea, Lets solder an inflexable part to a pcb that can bend or expand/contract, just asking for trouble :-(. I have found smd resistors fail too, quite a lot, fracture again. The bad part is they look perfect, hard to detect.
You take that back, SMD is far better than "Lets flip the board 100 times and have 3000 stray legs in the air that we have to cut off, ooops, flip that back...". The best bit I like is "Now we need to remove this DIP40 package from the board, but the designers only put 0.1mm thick donuts around the legs so you'll proceed to tear 80% of them when you touch it with the desoldering tools" :D
Ha ha dip 40's are a pain anyway :-D The trick is to have a clean and well lubed desolder sucker, sounds naughty, then wiggle each pin to make sure it's not stuck to the through plating (if there was any). I always fitted a turned pin socket before plopping a new chip in. You young whipper snappers don't know how to solder, nag nag when i was a lad... old man nagging he he :-D
turned / machined pin sockets were delightful things, certainly a lot nicer than desoldering, just a shame they were so expensive, so instead we'd end up with double wipe sockets.. or worse... single if I was too cheap.
yeah i've seen some PC laptops when I'm like "Who designed this" and you check for a youtube video to make sure you're not dismantling it wrong and all you learn is that you're dismantling it the right way and it's just a really bad design. Makes me sad.
my macbook will turn ON, however it will not charge up the battery. Green light only. it just refuse to charge. if I take out the charger the macbook wil shut down. it is not the battery that is the problem or the charge. this is really frustrating, does anyone know what might be the problem ??
I have one a1278 green light on magsafe water damage will turn on when holding down power for 10 seconds then connect mag safe fans sound like running full rpms but when I plug in battery boots up then shuts off is this the issue its logic board issue got it to come on with battery but was running really laggy? Thanks
How do you prevent the capacitors on the other side of the board from falling off? That would be a nightmare... I tried it on an old test board, and lots of capacitors were on the table afterwards... I could make the air less hot, but then the tin doesn't melt at all. Any chance to get this job done with a classic soldering iron?
Should never have the parts coming off the back unless you're trying really hard. Some of the entry level offerings of hot-air stations don't have the ability to deliver enough thermal energy to the board, so what happens is that you slowly roast the whole board and the parts all get liquid solder and as soon as you move the board they call come off. Quick 861DW or better if you want to do this sort of work.
Hello, I’m trouble shooting my MacBook Pro early 2011. The battery will not charge and the charging light has a fluttering green light. It’s not an amber light even though the battery still has some power in it. I tried resetting the SMC and this did not work. Bought a new battery on amazing and this new battery has about 12% but still won’t charge. I removed the battery and tried powering on the MacBook using only the charger. It’s still showing a green light when plugged in but the MacBook does not start up. Any ideas?
I am amazed , how can you read the wiring sketch and the board layout at the same time ? Is it on 2 different software (and a large enough screen) or exist a software that could link dynamically the 2 docs (or files containing both ?) It is pure curiosity and I am not electronician , but I'd like to learn how to read a minimum, for insysnce I am looking for a 5A18v fuse on the macbook pro 13" 2009 ,and while I understand where it is located on the wiring, I cannot find it on a brd file ,or, more correctly I cannot locate it on the board ;) Best regards ( using open board view ,I think)
@@IsaacOLEG correct, yes. FlexBV is my commercial fork from the Openboardview base code after I found I was putting in a lot of time & effort in to OBV and really needed to find a way to maintain a fair income from it.
@@pldaniels I am looking for jobs opportunities for my son, and I also noticed that current times mean that there are more and more demand for repairs, the good old days of "trash it and buy new" are about to finish . (I did not notice that you repaired cats too !)
@@pldaniels just a dumb question about flux, I notice how it is used to fight corrosion, is the aspect corrected afterthat with a ultrasonic bath or a cleaning product ? Thanks
@@pldaniels thank you so much for the reply. Ok sounds good. One more question please? The refurbished boards pretty much no guarantee how long before it does something like this again right ? Or warranty is available?
Hi sir, My laptop is not getting ON in normal way. But. When I do long press for 10 sec then do one single press in power button, the laptop gets ON. But this way the fan speed is high and the power status is not showing in desktop. So by doing the test, pressing D on power ON, it says the SMC is not found But the service center exicutive had replaced the SMC but the issue is still there. Can you help on this, what could be the root cause of this issue. The battery is getting charged in normal way.
Just watching this and noticed a damn Koel making that annoying noise in the background 2:29 ua-cam.com/video/GoBlkaGJk4s/v-deo.html these things wake me up in summer at some ungodly hour of the morning :)
i got lines all over my macbook screen . i change the screen setting and than my macbook pro start to have this ugly line all over the screen. i go to china what professionally i need to check before change screen have option is graphic card damage? or i may need replace the screen ? i want to show the guy who fix i know what i'm doing (and trust me i don't) so what protocol i need ask him to check? what connection before messing the logic board ? thanks in advance
@@pldaniels i'm not native english speaker but thanks for trying. i need just ask to replace the screen display ? it's macbook pro 15" a1990 2018 to test if the failure is in logic board or i should ask in advance to replace the screen display? thanks
I was given an A1278 a couple months back that is having what appears to be the same issue. The original owner spilled something on it. It was sitting for some time before I got my hands on it and it did boot all the way the OS, but then just shut off several minutes later. It wouldn't boot again after then so I just stuck it on a shelf for several weeks. I tried booting again and it did. Almost all the way into the OS, but then shut off again. I just don't think I have the skills to diagnose this, but I'm going to use your video to try! Thx.
Best of luck with it Clayton.
@@pldaniels Thanks Paul, I'm going to need some for sure! 😉
Slick video production on this one Paul. Really raising the bar back then
Amazing job Paul.
I've got a 2009 17" MacBook Pro that's been having some similar symptoms. However, tonight it dove & doesn't seem to be coming back.
Lol I jus followed along and after cleaning I plugged it n started working thanks fixing my laptop
I just picked up a early 2011 15” mbp looks like the same symptoms, no liquid damage, battery voltage very low, so I’m suspecting that, partly, I’m waiting for a 85w charger to arrive, I don’t think the 60w works properly with them.
Definitely need that power pack, yes. I ended up going "all out" and buying the original Apple ones, at least I know I have a steady reference.
Good luck with the repair.
Great job Paul and yes i liked the video ..... 😉
Nice, getting to the heart of the matter.
Paul, I had sent a text saying that I am 91 and 92 in December and have taken up repairing 2006 to 2009 MacBook and Pro as a hobby. My first computer was an Amiga with a Toaster and was really impressed with the graphics. I would go to the university and buy used Mac computers but found an old laptop that I got working. I now have 10 MacBooks bought from eBay and have successfully got 6 working. I am interested in troubleshooting the electronics to try to get the others working. It is a challenge and I have bought some tools to remove resistors and capacitors and chips if need. I need to down load the board view and schematics to trace the various circuits. Maybe you have some old videos on UA-cam that would help. Thanks for your understanding. ❤
Those old Amiga-Toasters were quite something for their time and cost. A shame that such advancements seemed to get lost for many years.
I'd say checking Rossmann Repairs for videos would be a good idea too. Boardviews/schems are over at Badcaps.net forum with a quick search as well.
Best of luck getting those other units running, hopefully it'll be something moderately easy and not an overall low level corrosion issue that often plagues those machines.
Thank you for your prompt reply and also for all the exceptional tutorials you are putting on the internet. Your patience is appreciated. Bill Ambrose.
i have one that wouldnt turn on or anything or fan spin. i cleaned the board with some alcohol and managed to get fan spin. But i get no image, im not smart enough to work with schematics tho, any tips ?
Thanks!
Hi Paul, thanks for your excellent videos, I seem to remember you saying you are in the northern part of Australia 🇦🇺 (Go Aussies). Do you tend to get get more corrosion due to the monsoon wet and humidity? Cheers🍻
G'day Brent. Since I live inland, away from the coastal areas, I don't see corrosion too much in the local machines; however, with a lot of the mailed-in jobs from costal zones, yes, if they're within 5~10km of the ocean then I definitely see it on the mainboards.
Paul what flux do you use? I just see that it gets under the smd chips where it is hard to wash it out from.
Well done but I am not sure an A1278 is worth the trouble. what do you think ? My personal favourite intel macbook pro is the 2015 retina...
Video is 4 years old, so it was still relevant/worth-it back then (just), these days not so much.
Well done :-D, it did look rather horrible, a lot of parts on that pcb looked nasty.
i have always thought smd parts were a dodgy idea, Lets solder an inflexable part to a pcb that can bend or expand/contract, just asking for trouble :-(.
I have found smd resistors fail too, quite a lot, fracture again.
The bad part is they look perfect, hard to detect.
You take that back, SMD is far better than "Lets flip the board 100 times and have 3000 stray legs in the air that we have to cut off, ooops, flip that back...".
The best bit I like is "Now we need to remove this DIP40 package from the board, but the designers only put 0.1mm thick donuts around the legs so you'll proceed to tear 80% of them when you touch it with the desoldering tools" :D
Ha ha dip 40's are a pain anyway :-D
The trick is to have a clean and well lubed desolder sucker, sounds naughty, then wiggle each pin to make sure it's not stuck to the through plating (if there was any).
I always fitted a turned pin socket before plopping a new chip in.
You young whipper snappers don't know how to solder, nag nag when i was a lad... old man nagging he he :-D
turned / machined pin sockets were delightful things, certainly a lot nicer than desoldering, just a shame they were so expensive, so instead we'd end up with double wipe sockets.. or worse... single if I was too cheap.
great job..really thorough..can I email you with a question? I am IT tech working on computers .
Persistence pays off again Paul. Well done
yeah i've seen some PC laptops when I'm like "Who designed this" and you check for a youtube video to make sure you're not dismantling it wrong and all you learn is that you're dismantling it the right way and it's just a really bad design. Makes me sad.
Louis has spoiled me with too much flux
good tucker mate
A Good Repair Video
Well done :D
This İs Board 2011 Early ?
Let's see if we got Fanspin.. Ahhh we got fanspin :)))) GJ!
im see if who better fixer paul or louis
I'm confused? Did recalling the SMC bring back PM Sleep?
So was the problem just the dc in board?
I really need to fix this with my MBP A1278 seem to have the same issue. Are y9ou based in the UK?
No. We're in the UK-Convict country (Australia)
At times there's easy fixes like pressing keys
my macbook will turn ON, however it will not charge up the battery. Green light only. it just refuse to charge. if I take out the charger the macbook wil shut down. it is not the battery that is the problem or the charge. this is really frustrating, does anyone know what might be the problem ??
How much for this sort of repair? I have the same computer with the same sort of issue.
Depends on where you are in the world and what it ends up being (ie, mainboard only, or other issues), can vary from $250 upwards typically.
@@pldaniels thank you for the quick response
What , name a spray sir ?, For detech a short componen, answer please, i will buy
Or use isopropyl alcohol
I have one a1278 green light on magsafe water damage will turn on when holding down power for 10 seconds then connect mag safe fans sound like running full rpms but when I plug in battery boots up then shuts off is this the issue its logic board issue got it to come on with battery but was running really laggy? Thanks
Its charging the macbook Battery but as soon as I plug it in to battery it acts up? Runs fine with no battery?
please can you help me
i have a mbp 13inch 2012 model, and my problem is mbp is not opening without a charger plugged in. its working with a charger
maybe you should change a new battery
I've got a Macbook 13 that doesn't turn on with or without a battery. No Green or Amber lights, Nothing. Any Ideas?
So so so many possible causes. Could be anything from a bad DC in board ( unlikely ) to bad CPU.
@@pldaniels Thanks mate, I'll try going over it again. Take it easy.
Hi, can you tell me where order the chip in your video?
How do you prevent the capacitors on the other side of the board from falling off? That would be a nightmare... I tried it on an old test board, and lots of capacitors were on the table afterwards... I could make the air less hot, but then the tin doesn't melt at all. Any chance to get this job done with a classic soldering iron?
Should never have the parts coming off the back unless you're trying really hard. Some of the entry level offerings of hot-air stations don't have the ability to deliver enough thermal energy to the board, so what happens is that you slowly roast the whole board and the parts all get liquid solder and as soon as you move the board they call come off.
Quick 861DW or better if you want to do this sort of work.
Hello, I’m trouble shooting my MacBook Pro early 2011. The battery will not charge and the charging light has a fluttering green light. It’s not an amber light even though the battery still has some power in it. I tried resetting the SMC and this did not work. Bought a new battery on amazing and this new battery has about 12% but still won’t charge. I removed the battery and tried powering on the MacBook using only the charger. It’s still showing a green light when plugged in but the MacBook does not start up. Any ideas?
same issue, if you have any answers 7 months later I'd like to hear it! ✌️
@@Billdukes sorry Bill. i gave up. Haven't replaces the MBP yet. good luck.
I am amazed , how can you read the wiring sketch and the board layout at the same time ? Is it on 2 different software (and a large enough screen) or exist a software that could link dynamically the 2 docs (or files containing both ?) It is pure curiosity and I am not electronician , but I'd like to learn how to read a minimum, for insysnce I am looking for a 5A18v fuse on the macbook pro 13" 2009 ,and while I understand where it is located on the wiring, I cannot find it on a brd file ,or, more correctly I cannot locate it on the board ;) Best regards ( using open board view ,I think)
FlexBV makes it easier, as it lets you cross-link between the schem and BV.
@@pldaniels thank you for answering ,have a great day. (I did notice the tool but not understanding it was yours , bravo )
@@IsaacOLEG correct, yes. FlexBV is my commercial fork from the Openboardview base code after I found I was putting in a lot of time & effort in to OBV and really needed to find a way to maintain a fair income from it.
@@pldaniels I am looking for jobs opportunities for my son, and I also noticed that current times mean that there are more and more demand for repairs, the good old days of "trash it and buy new" are about to finish . (I did not notice that you repaired cats too !)
@@pldaniels just a dumb question about flux, I notice how it is used to fight corrosion, is the aspect corrected afterthat with a ultrasonic bath or a cleaning product ? Thanks
FAULT CAN LIE ELSEWHERE
AS I'VE FOUND....
J.C.
I came here for magic and got this!!
I don't think Newton Edward Daniels will be adding any more videos sadly.
@@pldaniels Oh sh.. he died. Poor sod.
What's a repair like this cost ? Having the same issue and wondering would it be cheaper just to by a refurb board or have it repaired ?
These days likely cheaper to just get a refurb board.
@@pldaniels thank you so much for the reply. Ok sounds good. One more question please? The refurbished boards pretty much no guarantee how long before it does something like this again right ? Or warranty is available?
Hi sir,
My laptop is not getting ON in normal way. But. When I do long press for 10 sec then do one single press in power button, the laptop gets ON. But this way the fan speed is high and the power status is not showing in desktop. So by doing the test, pressing D on power ON, it says the SMC is not found
But the service center exicutive had replaced the SMC but the issue is still there.
Can you help on this, what could be the root cause of this issue. The battery is getting charged in normal way.
Could be a bad replacement SMC, or not installed correctly. Could also be something inhibiting the SMC_RESET_L line.
@@pldaniels thanks
What is he using to clean the corrosion
Flux, when you bring it up to about 200~250'C it activates to clean away corrosion to some degree.
Hello from dk
Just watching this and noticed a damn Koel making that annoying noise in the background 2:29 ua-cam.com/video/GoBlkaGJk4s/v-deo.html these things wake me up in summer at some ungodly hour of the morning :)
39:00 lol :D
i got lines all over my macbook screen . i change the screen setting and than my macbook pro start to have this ugly line all over the screen.
i go to china what professionally i need to check before change screen have option is graphic card damage? or i may need replace the screen ?
i want to show the guy who fix i know what i'm doing (and trust me i don't) so what protocol i need ask him to check? what connection before messing the logic board ? thanks in advance
If it's a 15 or 17" 2011/12 machine, not much point trying to fix the GPU. Just dosdude fix it or other iGPU fix.
@@pldaniels i'm not native english speaker but thanks for trying. i need just ask to replace the screen display ? it's macbook pro 15" a1990 2018
to test if the failure is in logic board or i should ask in advance to replace the screen display? thanks
@@shyland20 display is not broken, your graphics card is broken
Thanks!