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Unable to do charging on my MacBook Pro 13" 2012 model, what's wrong?

L

lovecd

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 14, 2022
165
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My MacBook Pro 13" 2012 model was not able to do charging recently, I'm able to verify that the charger is in good condition. Here is what I found:

  1. It works with internal battery.
  2. No charging light when charger is connected, and of course it is not charging as well.
  3. Try to do PRAM reset, I'm just unable to enter into that mode (the laptop simply just do restart, so, PRAM reseting can not be done)
  4. Replace the power connector (the one used to connect the charger and logic board), same thing, nothing different.

Can I conclude the logic board is bad in this case?

hanks for any advise,
 
lovecd said:
My MacBook Pro 13" 2012 model was not able to do charging recently, I'm able to verify that the charger is in good condition. Here is what I found:

  1. It works with internal battery.
  2. No charging light when charger is connected, and of course it is not charging as well.
  3. Try to do PRAM reset, I'm just unable to enter into that mode (the laptop simply just do restart, so, PRAM reseting can not be done)
  4. Replace the power connector (the one used to connect the charger and logic board), same thing, nothing different.

Can I conclude the logic board is bad in this case?

hanks for any advise,
Click to expand...

Did you get anything wet? Ever? Even a little bit? Any swelling of the battery? Swelling would be obvious, and would probably cause the trackpad to push up, and possibly (probably) malfunction, as well.

How long ago did it stop charging? Can you correlate the charging issue with any other issue - exposure to liquids, etc?

A 2012 model is 11 years old, so it's possible that the battery is shot and cannot accept a charge...
 
May not be the case with you, but my MBP5,5 (a Mid 2009 13" model) has a borked MagSafe DC-In board. It's the tiny little board that connects to the main logic board, which houses the MagSafe port. I swapped it out temporarily with the one in my 8,1, and it then charged fine.

Not sure how common that is, and is quite a difficult repair for someone who isn't well versed in taking MacBook's apart. (I did it in around 15 mins, but I guess I know where everything is well enough to speed take it apart.)
 
dwfaust said:
Did you get anything wet? Ever? Even a little bit? Any swelling of the battery? Swelling would be obvious, and would probably cause the trackpad to push up, and possibly (probably) malfunction, as well.

How long ago did it stop charging? Can you correlate the charging issue with any other issue - exposure to liquids, etc?

A 2012 model is 11 years old, so it's possible that the battery is shot and cannot accept a charge...
Click to expand...
Battery is fine, and it can be charged on another MacBook Pro I have, no problem. And I don’t think there is any liquid damage on it. The charging light won’t turn on even if I remove the battery. Any thoughts?
 
That's the 13-inch, with the optical drive, correct?
I guess you tried a different charger (?)
If you get no LEDs, and a different charger shows the same result, then it will probably be the DC-in board, as mentioned above in theMarble's post #3. Even if the battery does not charge, or is completely removed, you should get an LED on the charger magsafe plug when it is plugged in.
www.ifixit.com

MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2012 MagSafe DC-In Board Replacement

Use this guide to replace a broken MagSafe DC-In board.
www.ifixit.com www.ifixit.com
The board to replace is cheap enough, but the repair can be challenging.
 
theMarble said:
May not be the case with you, but my MBP5,5 (a Mid 2009 13" model) has a borked MagSafe DC-In board. It's the tiny little board that connects to the main logic board, which houses the MagSafe port. I swapped it out temporarily with the one in my 8,1, and it then charged fine.

Not sure how common that is, and is quite a difficult repair for someone who isn't well versed in taking MacBook's apart. (I did it in around 15 mins, but I guess I know where everything is well enough to speed take it apart.)
Click to expand...
I just swapped the logic board with the 2011 version, and everything works fine now, so, I guess the issue is limited to that 2012 logic board, is there any easy fix for it or that board needs to be recycled?
 
lovecd said:
I just swapped the logic board with the 2011 version, and everything works fine now, so, I guess the issue is limited to that 2012 logic board, is there any easy fix for it or that board needs to be recycled?
Click to expand...
You can take the 2011's DC-in board and plug it into the faster 2012 board. You just pull the new one out and put the old one in.

iFixit has some really good guides on how to do it.
 
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Be sure to check that little DC-in board, as that is fairly common failure point, and then you don't have to give up the USB 3.0 ports (the 2011 logic board does not have USB 3.0)
 
theMarble said:
You can take the 2011's DC-in board and plug it into the faster 2012 board. You just pull the new one out and put the old one in.

iFixit has some really good guides on how to do it.
Click to expand...
Not sure if I understood you correctly. I actually use the same DC-in adapter on both logic board, it works on 2011 board, but failed on the 2012 one. So, it should be the issue on logic board only, right?
 
lovecd said:
The DC-in board, it works with 2011 logic board, but the 2012 logic board can’t get the power from it.
Click to expand...

You should be able to take the working DC-in from the 2011 logic board and swap it out for the DC-in board on the 2012 board. That way you can keep the faster system and USB 3 support.
 
dmccloud said:
You should be able to take the working DC-in from the 2011 logic board and swap it out for the DC-in board on the 2012 board. That way you can keep the faster system and USB 3 support.
Click to expand...
That is the primary issue I was talking about, the DC-in board works with 2011 board, but if I take it for the 2012 board, it simply just not charging, and no charging light on charger as well, the 2012 board is working with the battery only. So, not sure if this is due to the faulty 2012 board or it can be fixed easily, any more thoughts?
 
DC-In board works on the 2011 logic board, but not on the 2012 LB. If that is correct, you have a bad 2012 logic board.
Everything else seems to work, just no connection to power or charging on the 2012 LB.
Is it an easy fix? I would guess a fuse on the logic board has "worked" by failing.
So, in theory, you could "easily" fix it by tracing to the circuit that has lost connection to power, and replacing the bad component. I say "in theory", as that kind of repair is outside of my wheelhouse - I have no information about how to proceed with a repair like that. Maybe you have the skills and experience (and the soldering station) to do that kind of troubleshooting/repair - I do not.
 
DeltaMac said:
DC-In board works on the 2011 logic board, but not on the 2012 LB. If that is correct, you have a bad 2012 logic board.
Everything else seems to work, just no connection to power or charging on the 2012 LB.
Is it an easy fix? I would guess a fuse on the logic board has "worked" by failing.
So, in theory, you could "easily" fix it by tracing to the circuit that has lost connection to power, and replacing the bad component. I say "in theory", as that kind of repair is outside of my wheelhouse - I have no information about how to proceed with a repair like that. Maybe you have the skills and experience (and the soldering station) to do that kind of troubleshooting/repair - I do not.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think that is not worth the time to repair it, but thanks for your comment!
 
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