logic board replacement = excessive fan noise & overheating

[kevinmchale]

I recently had my 2008 Macbook Pro's logic board replaced at the Apple store after the graphics card failed. They replaced it for me free of charge as the graphics card is known to have a higher than usual failure rate.

I was very pleased to have this part replaced free of charge as my computer was out of warranty. However, my fans now run at full speed all the time (around 6000 RPM) and my computer runs hotter than normal. It has even shut down a few times on it's own; which scared me.

I checked the thermal sensors to see if Apple had neglected to properly connect them, but they look good. I'm going to replace them anyway to see if it makes any difference.

What else can I do? I don't want to bring it back to the store to have them tell me the fan noise and heat is "normal." And I don't want to pay Apple to do something I can do myself.

Would replacing the thermal paste on the heat sinks help this? What else could I do?

Thanks!

 

[miles01110]

Would replacing the thermal paste on the heat sinks help this?

It might, but it's probably worth giving Apple a call about it first to see what they say.

 

[cloakedpegasus]

Let's eliminate any possible software issues before we go straight to hardware. You should reset pram, nvram and smc and whatever else associated with them. If you are still having temp issues then I would continue looking at the hardware.

 

[kevinmchale]

Resetting the pram and smc were the first steps that I took. I have tried a few times, but the problem persists. I have also been checking the activity monitor to see if anything was sucking CPU, but there hasn't been anything out of the ordinary.

 

[Q-chan]

I would go back to the store. If I'm not totally mistaken, you have warranty on the repair, even if they did it for free.

 

[cloakedpegasus]

I would go back to the store. If I'm not totally mistaken, you have warranty on the repair, even if they did it for free.

I agree. This might even be a law in your state.

 

[kevinmchale]

I only wonder they might do for a fix?

 

[AlphaDogg]

I believe it is a thermal paste issue. Apple usually applies copious amounts of thermal paste, when only a sub paper-thin layer is required. When it is applied in such copious amounts, it becomes an insulator rather than a conductor (of heat). Take it back and tell them it is unacceptable, and you want them to fix it.

 

[docal97]

Why even mess around with it yourself? The repair is clearly under warranty, and Apple will fix it for free.

 

[memories2last]

I had my motherboard replaced in January due to the same graphics card issue. I also noticed that my laptop was overheating more than usual and now I have a thin blue line running vertically through the screen which I believe to be my screen going bad. I've also seen a theater appearance a couple of times as well. My hope is that this damage is from the work they did so it will be covered under warranty. Other than the graphics card failing everything was working fine until I put into the hands of a repairman. It's a shame we pay so much for these machines to have them go bad from substandard parts.