2017 Air no sign of life

[Thoradin]

I bought my wife a 2017 Air back in April to replace her awful little Windows cloudbook.
All has been great until a couple of hours ago, it has been left plugged in for a few days unused and the MagSafe light was lit up green when removed. Yet the machine won’t power on.
I have tried an SMC reset with no joy and the charger no longer illuminates when connected.
Does anyone have any other suggestions that I can try to get this working?

Thanks

 

[Audit13]

Here's what I would do:

1. remove the bottom casing
2. disconnect the battery from the logic board
3. open the MacBook and stand it up vertically with the MagSafe port facing up
4. connect the MagSafe charger and do not touch any keys or the power button

After approximately 30 seconds, the MacBook should power up on its own and boot. It will be slow because the battery has been disconnected. If it does boot properly, shut down and reassemble.

If the MacBook does not power up on its own and there is no fan movement, use a flat head screwdriver to momentarily short the power pins on the logic board to see it if boots.

If the power pins do not power up the MacBook, leave the battery disconnected, disconnect the trackpad from the logic board, attach charger and wait for the MacBook to power up on its own.

If you are able to power up the MacBook, reassemble but don't attach the bottom screws until you have test the MacBook again.

 

[Thoradin]

Thanks, I found some of the steps you have listed and ordered the screwdriver after making this thread. I’ll have to wait a few days for it to show up and work my way through your suggestions.

 

[Thoradin]

Well, I’ve followed the above steps and nothing is powering this thing up.
Am I looking at a new logic board or should I try anything else?

 

[Audit13]

Repeat the steps I listed above except disconnect the trackpad cable from the logic board too.

 

[Thoradin]

Sorry forgot that wasn’t listed on the list here but I have done that as part of the process.

 

[Audit13]

Sorry forgot that wasn’t listed on the list here but I have done that as part of the process.

Still no sign of life?

You may need to short the two start-up pins on the logic board.

You may need to leave the charger and battery disconnected for a few hours.

 

[Thoradin]

Yeah, still nothing.
I tried the 2 pins too and nothing.
Will try disconnecting the battery and leaving it overnight but I’m not sure that will have much effect.

 

[Audit13]

Is it possible the MacBook was dropped or exposed to moisture? Are moisture sensors still white?

 

[Thoradin]

Not dropped, it was in exactly the same position propped against the wall and plugged into its charger for 4-5 days next to the sofa.
No idea on the moisture indicators, I didn’t spot anything obviously red whilst I was in there. Any idea where they might be and I’ll take a look.

 

[Audit13]

There are indicators under the SSD, under or near the LVDS cable, and near the fan. There are probably others but those are the most easily seen.

 

[Thoradin]

Thanks I’ll take a look

 

[Thoradin]

For anyone out there who finds this thread.
Yesterday I stripped the Air down and cleaned the logic board with isopropyl alcohol, left it to dry for an hour before reassembly and remarkably it turned on!

I have no idea what the issue was however, it now appears to be working as good as before. There were no signs of life from it at all until the cleaning, which all pointed towards total logic board failure.