mbp sudden display fail (won't find display?) - need advice

[beachball doom]

Hi there. I'm trying to fix a macbook pro a1286 - mid 2012 - 9,1 model.

The screen suddenly failed at a party, laptop was sitting in a puddle of beer, I opened the back and can't see any liquid or anything that looks like liquid damage. So it may just be a coincidence. It occurs to me however that liquid may have damaged the socket for the display on the logic board, as it's near the back of the computer and if a small amount of liquid entered the machine that's likely what it would affect.

Machine works fine with an external monitor attached. I go into display preferences and typically you would see a tab for both the built in display AND the external monitor. I'm only seeing a tab for the external monitor. So this makes me think the built-in display is not registering at all.

I ran the apple hardware test, didn't find any errors. If the problem was on the logic board would it show up in the test?

If I wanted to clean contaminants from the (very small) (internal) display connector, how would I go about it? a dab of water of some kind?

Or should I just go ahead and try to buy and install a second hand display?

I always got good advice here in the past. Thought I would give it a go. Thanks in advance.

 

[faust]

I'd send it in to Louis Rossman for repair tbh. God only knows what happened, but yes laptop in a puddle of liquid means damage.

 

[mightyjabba]

I'd send it in to Louis Rossman for repair tbh. God only knows what happened, but yes laptop in a puddle of liquid means damage.

Lots of people seem to recommend this, but based on a cursory look at their website, the fee is from $325 to $425 for logic board repair, and this MBP is probably worth $200 on the secondary market -- and that's in working condition.

I don't think I would try and replace the display unless it's very cheap to get one, since you have no idea whether that will solve the problem (if it's a problem on the logic board side, it probably wouldn't help). If you did want to try and clean the display connector, you would use a small amount of isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) -- as close to 100% alcohol as you can get. Let it dry completely before powering it up, and definitely don't use water! But I'm not really sure this is a wise thing to do.

Honestly, if this machine has really suffered liquid damage, you are probably better off just replacing it. Make sure you have your files backed up now while it's still working, because liquid damage can have unpredictable effects that might take a while to appear.

 

[beachball doom]

It's quite possible that no liquid got in. I unscrewed the base cover and there's dust marks all over it. If beer ran inside there would be traces in the dust. Only the corner where the display cable connects looks a bit dirty and sticky, maybe 2cm squared at the most.

This machine has been used almost every day for 7 years. She's as tough as they come. Anyway a few drops of isopropyl doesn't cost much so I'll give it a go.

Thanks for the help so far.

 

[beachball doom]

I cleaned it but no results :-( this is a photo of the display connector. If you look closely it seems like two or three of those tiny pins on the left-hand side are simply not there, would it be crazy to think they somehow disintegrated? Or is it normal for those connectors to be missing several pins. I don't know.

 

[mick2]

That MB looks like its recently been retrieved from the sea bed...lots of corrosion on the display connector & other components. Is that after you've cleaned it with iso alcohol?

Personally I wouldnt put much more effort / money into this judging by the state of it internally.

 

[barbu]

I'd try a SMC reset first. Sometimes MBP will refuse to output to their own screen.
Power off the machine, then power on and press Opt-Ctrl-Left Shift and the power button. Hold them for a few seconds and then release. Leave the machine for five minutes, then power it on and see if that helps.

 

[Fishrrman]

Looks like it's time to start shopping for a replacement.
And try to keep the new one OUT OF "puddles of beer"...

 

[mightyjabba]

That MB looks like its recently been retrieved from the sea bed...lots of corrosion on the display connector & other components. Is that after you've cleaned it with iso alcohol?

Personally I wouldnt put much more effort / money into this judging by the state of it internally.

Yeah it's not the clearest photo, but it looks like you have all kinds of corrosion on the connect and the board itself.

 

[beachball doom]

No lol, I think the "corrosion" you're seeing is distortion due to camera zoom, in real life the board looks rather normal. Anyway... seems to me there's damage to those pins on the display connector. My theory is that beer reached that corner of the connector and shorted it out - amazingly the short seems to have actually destroyed 3 of the tiny pins and discoloured the metal.

Hopefully I can find a logicboard specialist out there who can solder on a new connector. I notice Louis Rossman seems to consider it quick job:

Thanks for the advice on the SMC reset, I think I tried that already but I'll give it another go.