Mysterious MacBook Air (early 2015) problems (trackpad, charging)

[BorstalBoy]

Hi,

My friend asked me for help with her MacBook.
Problem: doesn't turn on

Step 1: I bought a new logic board >>> laptop boots up now. But turns out the battery was dead (laptop had been lying around for 3-4yrs)

Problem now: The trackpad mouse doesn't work. It clicks, but the actual mouse doesn't work. (keyboard works)

Bought a new battery (for another laptop actually), but it doesn't charge. The charge light (on the charger itself) doesn't come on. Just for completeness sake I installed the old mainboard, thinking it was just the battery to begin with, but no, doesn't boot, but funny enough the charging light comes on?!

Any ideas what's going on here? To be honest it doesn't make sense to put more money into, no? What's your take?

 

[jav6454]

Too much switching of parts. Likely something is ruined. I do realize it didn't turn on. But if it was just lying there, rule of thumb is, battery and power center are fried.

 

[Bodhitree]

Unlucky… I last went back to my Dell laptop from 2008, and that still boots (into Windows Vista). Has been just lying around since 2012.

 

[BorstalBoy]

Thank you both.
The power centre is on the small auxiliary circuit board? Not sure if it's worth buying that in as well now. Too much money for this laptop.

 

[xboxbml]

Thank you both.
The power centre is on the small auxiliary circuit board? Not sure if it's worth buying that in as well now. Too much money for this laptop.

Yeah... Buy one that still works if you want one that bad..

 

[Macdctr]

When working on any laptop that has been lying around for several years, the first thing you should do is connect a compatible AC adapter to the laptop, allow it to charge for a few hours then perform an SMC reset.

Last year, I purchased an 11-inch i7/8GB Early 2015 Air and the seller reported the laptop would not power on and was untested as a result and sold it as a "parts" laptop. I purchased this laptop for a killer price and then connected my AC adapter to the laptop to allow the battery to charge some. The laptop still would not power on so I performed an SMC reset and everything worked.

Point being, never try replacing anything on any laptop that has been sitting around unused for several years. Try connecting an AC adapter to the laptop and give it a few hours to charge before performing an SMC reset on that laptop. Do this first . . . doing so might save you additional money and troubleshooting headaches. Once you have verified the SMC reset does not work then you can begin the troubleshooting. I always try replacing the cheapest parts first such as the I/O board where the AC adapter plugs in then go from there... the least invasive the better...