Mid 2009 MacBook Pro A1278 Won't Boot!

[Jason Sperry]

Hello, I really need some help! My 13" unibody MacBook Pro just unexpectedly stopped working one day. All I ever spilled on it was a small amount of olive oil on the trackpad. Upon later replacing the battery I noticed some oil on the original battery and trackpad chip.

First thing I did was get it looked at at the Genius Bar. They said it was likely a logic board issue, liquid damage, and that the battery was swollen, causing the trackpad to malfunction. So I ended up replacing the charger, MagSafe board, motherboard, and battery. Still nothing, in fact now the battery light won't even come on anymore, nor will the MagSafe light. Really looking forward to fixing it. Thanks!

 

[Jozone]

Do you have any information on the replacement parts? Who performed the repair? Its hard to say what it might be if these were used parts (which may have already had problems) -- If you still have access to the old parts it may be worth putting the old logic board back in and seeing what behavior you get out of the machine.

 

[Jason Sperry]

The logic board is in fact used, but I paid a hefty $356.90 and it was tested working 100%. It was taken from a working MacBook (not refurbished). The battery is also used and 84%. I performed the repair. Today I reinstalled the original motherboard and still get nothing.

 

[Jozone]

If you unplug the battery, and only have the machine plugged into power, is there any LED on the magsafe adapter?

 

[NT1440]

Have you tried an SMC reset?

 

[jkouyoumjian]

Jason:

The logic board you bought might be fine. If the keyboard is damaged from liquid, it is possible that it is causing a short on the 3.42v "hot" power supply, which would explain why there is no light on the adapter. Use a multi-meter to take a reading across the power-on pads with the keyboard plugged in. It should be about 3.42 volts. Any less indicates a problem. You can also try unplugging the keyboard and shorting the power-on pads to see if it starts up. If you can't find the power-on pads, just momentarily short pin 5 of the keyboard connector to ground.

Let us know what you find.

Joseph Kouyoumjian
MicroReplay

 

[Jozone]

Jason:

The logic board you bought might be fine. If the keyboard is damaged from liquid, it is possible that it is causing a short on the 3.42v "hot" power supply, which would explain why there is no light on the adapter. Use a multi-meter to take a reading across the power-on pads with the keyboard plugged in. It should be about 3.42 volts. Any less indicates a problem. You can also try unplugging the keyboard and shorting the power-on pads to see if it starts up. If you can't find the power-on pads, just momentarily short pin 5 of the keyboard connector to ground.

Let us know what you find.

Joseph Kouyoumjian
MicroReplay

Im not sure if you're the vendor who sold him the stuff, but regardless that is some great info!

 

[jkouyoumjian]

I don't think we sold you the stuff but if we can help, let us know.

 

[Jason Sperry]

Thank you all for your input.

Jozone: With the original logic board in, I unplugged the battery and the MagSafe light came on. That makes sense though; I have yet to try this with the new board.

NT1440: I tried SMC resets on the original board already and just now, all to no avail.

Joseph: I actually already tested the power-on pads (G3Hot) on the old one, and the reading was correct. I also shorted them and still no power. However, with the old board still in I shorted the 5th pin on the keyboard connector to ground just now and WHOA — it finally boots up for the first time in 2 months!

Noticed the trackpad button isn't stuck anymore, but it's nonfunctional.

Thanks a bunch Joseph! Now, is there a way to get the power and trackpad buttons to work?

 

[Jason Sperry]

My computer also won't go to sleep when I close the display. Could there be some problem(s) with the logic board that are causing my three issues? I actually bought the other logic board for the purpose of using a device I have access to that compares signals between a good board and a faulty one in order to diagnose it. I'm at the very end of the return policy though, so if anyone knows if it's worth seeing if there's something not right with my motherboard, please let me know!