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Power Cable Plug Socket pulled off inside Powerbook

D

danielrobot

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 26, 2005
12
0
Okay, so today was the day to replace the broken harddrive inside my 12" Al Powerbook and naturally I've ballsed it up.

The problem came at this stage of pbfixit's instructions. In pulling the power cable out of it's socket, I've pulled the bloody socket off the board.

So this is bad, that much is clear, and I need help, and lots of it. What's the best course of action now? It's not under warranty or anything, it was second hand to begin with.

Thanks for any help.

For what it's worth, if anybody else finds this while searching for dismantling instructions, it's actually not too difficult. I would change this section of the instructions though, as I'm sure it'd be easier to lift up the top case slightly and then disconnect these two cables rather than fiddling through the tiny holes. I think going in that way give you a side angle and more opportunity to grip properly. And less opportunity to break your Powerbook. Anyhoo...
 
danielrobot said:
Okay, so today was the day to replace the broken harddrive inside my 12" Al Powerbook and naturally I've ballsed it up.

The problem came at this stage of pbfixit's instructions. In pulling the power cable out of it's socket, I've pulled the bloody socket off the board.

So this is bad, that much is clear, and I need help, and lots of it. What's the best course of action now? It's not under warranty or anything, it was second hand to begin with.

Thanks for any help.

For what it's worth, if anybody else finds this while searching for dismantling instructions, it's actually not too difficult. I would change this section of the instructions though, as I'm sure it'd be easier to lift up the top case slightly and then disconnect these two cables rather than fiddling through the tiny holes. I think going in that way give you a side angle and more opportunity to grip properly. And less opportunity to break your Powerbook. Anyhoo...
Click to expand...

I think that the computer is toasted, you can probably get the motherboard replaced by an Apple Technician or at an Apple store for a few hundred bucks. :(
 
Hmm... the answer I want is "just solder the damn thing back on"!!

I did find a web page that briefly mentions breaking off the microphone plug socket, and paying someone to micro-solder it back on. Does that sound like an option? If I take it to my local Apple dealer, are they likely to try and reattach it or just sting me for a new board?

I mean, it's a pretty clean break...:rolleyes:
 
danielrobot said:
Hmm... the answer I want is "just solder the damn thing back on"!!

I did find a web page that briefly mentions breaking off the microphone plug socket, and paying someone to micro-solder it back on. Does that sound like an option? If I take it to my local Apple dealer, are they likely to try and reattach it or just sting me for a new board?

I mean, it's a pretty clean break...:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

can you post a picture of what is broken?
 
Yep, although the pictures might not be too clear. On the photo of the board, the three-wired microphone socket I'd have preferred to break is in the bottom half, and the place where the power socket should be is the two black holes in the top half.
 

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Just solder it back on. I bet if you took it to Apple or an authorised repairer they would hit you for a new logic board - they have no interest in fiddling around to save you money.
You'll need to use a small soldering iron, and maybe even file the tip down to a size suitable for the job.
It looks as though one of the pins has slid backwards in the plastic terminal block - you need to reposition it.
Don't use an acid-based flux, just a resin cored solder. Clean the ends of the pins (a nail file or emery board will do if you haven't anything more suitable).
And don't hold the soldering iron on for too long in case you overheat anything.
Good luck. On second thoughts you don't need luck, just common sense.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone. Stevep, your advice is a bit beyond me, but I'm going to pass it on to a friend of mine who's a bit handier with a soldering iron than I am and see how we get on. The way I see it, if the other option is a new logic board it can't do any harm to try a home repair, even if same logic board gets messed up more.

It might be a few days before I can get to work on it but I didn't want to leave your help unthanked in the mean time. Fingers crossed.
 
Daystar Technologies soldered on a new hard drive cable socket on my old PB Ti a few months ago for about 50 bucks I can't recall precise amount. Call up Ben or Gary there and ask them if they can do the work. Problem is that shipping to them is like 15- 20 bucks so price yourself accordingly.
 
California said:
Daystar Technologies soldered on a new hard drive cable socket on my old PB Ti a few months ago for about 50 bucks I can't recall precise amount. Call up Ben or Gary there and ask them if they can do the work. Problem is that shipping to them is like 15- 20 bucks so price yourself accordingly.
Click to expand...

cheers - that would be ideal. But I reckon shipping from the UK might rule the option out... dang. Still, it's good to know this is fixable. :)
 
danielrobot said:
cheers - that would be ideal. But I reckon shipping from the UK might rule the option out... dang. Still, it's good to know this is fixable. :)
Click to expand...

Yes, it's doable. I actually know an Apple tech here in LA who is from London. He might be able to refer you to someone in the UK that could help. PM me.
 
I hate to dredge up an old thread...

I just replaced the hard drive in my 12" PowerBook and I have the same exact problem. I accidentally removed the power cable socket - I didn't realize it was so fragile and easy to pull out.

Did you figure out a way to fix it?

Do you know if the two wires coming out from the bottom of the socket are supposed to be bent in any way?

Has anyone else had this problem when replacing the hard drive in their 12" PB?

I'd like to figure out what I have to do, as opposed to just going ahead and trying to solder it back on, since I don't want to mess anything else up. If anyone has some advice I'd love to hear it. Thanks.
 
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