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A1502 (2015 13-inch Retina) dies during any GPU-intensive task

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BockBockBock

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 17, 2021
7
2
Hi,

I was given an A1502 Macbook Pro (2015 13-inch Retina) the other day. The laptop has seen liquid (all dots are red), but all functions work (I'm writing this post on it right now) with one exception --

During any GPU-heavy tasks, it will shut down within 30 seconds. That includes things like 720p+ YouTube videos, local HD videos, or anything else that taxes the GPU at all. When it shuts down, pressing the power button will fire it right back up again. There are no lines on the screen or anything else that would suggest the typical GPU failure modes that I've read about in these laptops.

Although the liquid detection buttons are red, there's no obvious evidence of corrosion or other liquid damage inside (all internals are clean, but not suspiciously clean). During tasks that don't really work the GPU, the machine runs fine, and the battery life is around five hours.

Here's what I've tried --
  1. New heatsink paste.
  2. Replaced the fan (old one would never start, new one runs as expected).
  3. Reinstalled a variety of MacOS versions, tried Linux Mint 20 (currently running on Mint).
  4. Reset the PRAM and SMC more times than I can ever count.
  5. Disconnected the battery from logic board, waited overnight, reconnected battery.
  6. Ran a CPU load test to verify that it's not a CPU overheat issue. The chip got worryingly hot (above 100 degrees), but the machine does not shut down.
  7. Tried two different 65W power adapters (one OEM, one off-brand).
Is this thing just a lost cause for anything that hits the GPU at all, or might I be able to save the ol' girl? I've scoured the web for hours, but this specific problem does not appear to be common.

Thanks!
 
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Audit13 said:
Is it possible to try a 95 watt charger from a 15" Pro? Not sure this will help but it may be worth a try if you can easily borrow a charger.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, I don't have access to a 95W adapter to test. Maybe I could see if a local repair shop would let me try one for a minute... I'll look into that this week.

In the meantime, maybe I'll see if I can rig up a method of monitoring the current draw from the charger to see if the GPU is pulling a crazy amount of current for some reason while active.

EDIT: I had another look at the off-brand charger, and it is a 95W unit. So, assuming that it's anywhere near its rated output (who knows?), I guess I have tried a higher wattage charger.
 
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BockBockBock said:
Unfortunately, I don't have access to a 95W adapter to test. Maybe I could see if a local repair shop would let me try one for a minute... I'll look into that this week.

In the meantime, maybe I'll see if I can rig up a method of monitoring the current draw from the charger to see if the GPU is pulling a crazy amount of current for some reason while active.
Click to expand...
A 95 watt may not make a difference if the MacBook has built-in circuitry that limits power draw from the charger but it may be worth a try if it's not too much hassle.
 
Audit13 said:
A 95 watt may not make a difference if the MacBook has built-in circuitry that limits power draw from the charger but it may be worth a try if it's not too much hassle.
Click to expand...
With a goofy, unusual problem like this, I'll try pretty much anything, however unlikely.

As I mentioned in my edit above, the off-brand charger I have turns out to be rated at 95 watts, but I might want to see if an OEM 95W makes any difference.

Thanks for your spitballing help here. I'm neck-deep in many hours of frustrating research since this thing first darkened my doorstep a few weeks ago.
 
I know it sounds crazy but could you try the same thing with the MacBook booting from and running off an external drive?

I had a mid-2014 15" Pro that would suddenly power off for now apparent reason. Then I found out that it the problem has to do with the CPU's power states.
 
Audit13 said:
I know it sounds crazy but could you try the same thing with the MacBook booting from and running off an external drive?

I had a mid-2014 15" Pro that would suddenly power off for now apparent reason. Then I found out that it the problem has to do with the CPU's power states.
Click to expand...
Hmm. Do you think I could try the same thing with a USB stick? I have a bootable Linux Mint "live CD" stick around here somewhere.
 
BockBockBock said:
Hmm. Do you think I could try the same thing with a USB stick? I have a bootable Linux Mint "live CD" stick around here somewhere.
Click to expand...
Sure. It may be worth a try.

Here's another thing: what about installing Windows 10 to the SSD as a test? I have a mid-2014 13" that randomly powers off with and without a charger, with a full battery, and not doing anything that taxes the CPU. If I install and run it with Windows 10, it doesn't randomly power itself off.
 
Audit13 said:
Sure. It may be worth a try.

Here's another thing: what about installing Windows 10 to the SSD as a test? I have a mid-2014 13" that randomly powers off with and without a charger, with a full battery, and not doing anything that taxes the CPU. If I install and run it with Windows 10, it doesn't randomly power itself off.
Click to expand...
OK, I just tried the Linux Mint Live USB stick (both while plugged in and on battery), and a 1080p YouTube video killed the laptop in 15 seconds. No change at all from booting off an external device.

I'm willing to try the Win 10 idea, but won't have a chance to dig that deep into this today. I've read that MacOS can cause some CPU throttling weirdness on the Retina MBPs that has produced random shutdowns, which is why I have Mint installed now. Linux can pretty much run on a toaster, but maybe there's some kind of secret that only Windows knows.
 
BockBockBock said:
OK, I just tried the Linux Mint Live USB stick (both while plugged in and on battery), and a 1080p YouTube video killed the laptop in 15 seconds. No change at all from booting off an external device.

I'm willing to try the Win 10 idea, but won't have a chance to dig that deep into this today. I've read that MacOS can cause some CPU throttling weirdness on the Retina MBPs that has produced random shutdowns, which is why I have Mint installed now. Linux can pretty much run on a toaster, but maybe there's some kind of secret that only Windows knows.
Click to expand...
Could be related to Linux? I have no idea. I hope you are able to find a reasonable solution.
 
Audit13 said:
Could be related to Linux? I have no idea. I hope you are able to find a reasonable solution.
Click to expand...
Same problem with three different iterations of MacOS, so it doesn't seem to be related to any particular operating system so far. I guess we'll see as I keep digging.

Thank you for your suggestions!
 
I had the same problem with my MBP late 15, A1502. I'm running Win10, so I started experiencing GPU dieing once I updated GPU driver. After scrolling the Internet I rolled back new drivers at a control panel-device manager-display adapter and it worked out. Give it a try, looks you haven't tried that
 
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