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Early 2015 Air fans at full speed at startup

Audit13

Audit13

macrumors 604
Original poster
Apr 19, 2017
6,915
1,850
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I purchased an early 2015 Air for its ssd from Craigslist for a very cheap price. Owner couldn't even get it to power up but I was interested in the ssd as that was the only part that looked unscathed. Battery doesn't work or charge when connected to the logic board. Owner said his autistic son got hold of it, had a violent outburst, and tore off the bottom and banged the air around. Unfortunately, I didn't save the pictures from the ad.

I removed the 256 GB Samsung ssd and replaced the 128 GB Sandisk in my Air 2013. Luckily, I was able to restore my time machine to the Samsung and everything worked perfectly.

I decided to try and test the Air 2015's other parts so I disconnected the battery, connected my charger, and it turned itself on after a few seconds and gave me the flashing folder with a question mark even though I placed my Sandisk ssd into the machine.

I rebooted and held down the option key but got the padlock screen and a prompt for the efi password which I don't have. I contacted the seller for the password and I'm waiting to hear back.

Regardless of whether I do or don't hold down the option key, the fan spins slowly when first powered on and will eventually ramp up to what sounds like full speed. Does the fact that the fan runs at full speed until I remove the charger inducate that the is something wrong with these sensors or is it an indication of another hardware issue?

Any information would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Edit: the read and write speeds are 2.5 times better with the Samsung than the Sandisk.
 
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sounds like you made a good deal with SSD replacement

Did the seller gave you the password ?
 
When my old MBA did this, it was faulty temperature sensors.
No idea why several all went at the same time, but apple diagnosed it and said a new logic board was required, and at full cost as it was out of warranty.

Macs fan control would override the fans, but not the resultant high kernel task cpu usage, which slowed the mac down significantly to the point of being unusable.
 
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Thanks for the reply.

The seller was not able to provide the efi password as it was set by his son and his son could not remember it; therefore, I took it to a repair guy. He tested the voltage at various points on the board to ensure that the critical circuitry around the cpu and other areas were fine. He said the fans may need an smc test but could not be done without the efi password.

He is going to remove the efi password and return it so I can conduct further testing on my own.
 
I couldn't believe it either but I offered $50 and he accepted.

He told me that the reasons for accepting my offer were my polite responses, I have a good understanding of what I'm getting, I understand what's involved in testing it, I could meet him within a short period of time, and he had no way to confirm if anything worked as he only had a magsafe charger.

I'm waiting for the Craigslist ad to be posted to the wayback archives so I can save a copy of the ad with the pictures.
 
Update: the password has been removed, SMC and PRAM reset done, SSD and Airport card removed, fans still run at top speed after being on for about minute.

It's definitely a sensor error which I have decided to have fixed if possible. Once this is done and a replacement Airport card is installed, the machine will be fully functional.
 
you are lucky, because Apple Store need a proof of ownership (original invoice, receipt) to remove password from bios/efi
 
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Audit13 said:
There are repair shops around that can remove the EFI password, depending on the model, by editing the bin file and re-flashing.
Click to expand...

Just curious.. how much will the repair be? Are they replacing the logic board? I'm in a similar situation with my mid 2012 macbook air where the fan goes full blast as soon as you turn on the computer. In addition, the keyboard and trackpad is not working. The computer is also very slow which I'm assuming us to do with a high kernel task cpu usage. Took it to Apple for diagnosis and they informed me that they believe it's an issue with the sensor and they would need to replace the logic board. Quoted around $475 as it is an out of warranty repair. I'm wondering if it's cheaper going to a repair shop.
 
There are several sensors around the trackpad and a lot of the Air's electrical information travels through the trackpad. A defective trackpad could cause the keyboard to malfunction too.

It could simply be a defective trackpad rather than the logic board.

In the case of my Air, the logic board was repaired, not replaced. Apple will not perform board-level repairs.

I'm not sure where you are located but it was much cheaper to repair the board rather than replace it. I'm in Canada and was quoted over $700 for a replacement board.
 
Audit13 said:
There are several sensors around the trackpad and a lot of the Air's electrical information travels through the trackpad. A defective trackpad could cause the keyboard to malfunction too.

It could simply be a defective trackpad rather than the logic board.

In the case of my Air, the logic board was repaired, not replaced. Apple will not perform board-level repairs.

I'm not sure where you are located but it was much cheaper to repair the board rather than replace it. I'm in Canada and was quoted over $700 for a replacement board.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the response. I wasn't aware that a bad trackpad could cause all these other issues. I guess it couldn't hurt replacing it. I'll give it a try. I also wasn't aware that a logic board could be repaired. I assumed it would just need to be replaced. If replacing the trackpad doesn't work then I'll try calling around some repair shops for quotes. If the price is reasonable then maybe I'll go that route. I'm in the U.S. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
You could also contact the rossmangroup.com for a quote.

If you have the right screwdriver, you could remove the lower cover and disconnect the trackpad connection on the logic board and see what happens. Be sure to disconnect the battery as soon as you remove the bottom cover. If you drop anything that is metal onto the logic board while it is connected to a power source, it could cause severe damage to the circuitry.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+13-Inch+Early+2015+Trackpad+Replacement/38544
 
Audit13 said:
You could also contact the rossmangroup.com for a quote.

If you have the right screwdriver, you could remove the lower cover and disconnect the trackpad connection on the logic board and see what happens. Be sure to disconnect the battery as soon as you remove the bottom cover. If you drop anything that is metal onto the logic board while it is connected to a power source, it could cause severe damage to the circuitry.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+13-Inch+Early+2015+Trackpad+Replacement/38544
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendation. They seem to have excellent reviews. I'll try replacing the trackpad first and if that doesn't work, then I'll bring it there for them to diagnosis. Thanks for the link to ifixit as well, it will be very helpful when replacing the trackpad.
 
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