What have i done to my macbook pro?

[Lampygreg]

Hi, hoping to find someone that understands the internal workings of a macbook pro to tell me what would of physically happened to my laptop.
My macbook pro (15" late 2008) charger developed a loose connection at the magsafe connector. So foolishly i cut it off took it apart and re-soldered. Obviously i must have done something wrong because i connected it and nothing happened. Now regardless of which psu i connect i get (not charging) next to the battery symbol and the charging lights on the magsafe's dont light up. However when i connect one of my other chargers it is powering my laptop and the power source is recognised as "power adapter".
I left it plugged in all of last night and it did take some charge, the battery was upto 48%. But obviously usually it would be fully charged in an hour.
Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[GermanyChris]

Don’t solder anymore..

Then replace your DC board

 

[bobcan]

Indeed..

There is 'good reason' for some Apple Genius appointments.. and the odd Not So Genius attempts keep them IN Work.. Luckily for them..

I am a pretty Technical Guy, and have no idea what you may have done, but I will 'assume' it was Beyond Your Scope of Abilities.. Likely the poster above has an idea of your troubles.. ** I do hope it is still a 'simple fix' NOW if a Power Adapter was all the original problem was..

 

[Lampygreg]

Well i hope it is the dc board if i replace that as it looks like a lot of dismantling to replace. Be annoying if it isn't. Atleast they are cheap.
It's natural blokey behaviour to mess around with things that you think you can fix yourself. lesson learnt.

 

[gr8tfly]

It's a bit confusing: you said "regardless of which psu", then go on to say "other chargers". So, some chargers show as connected, some don't, and none show as "charging"?

If the "other charger" is rated for less wattage than what is required for your machine, it could account for a slow charge rate. Does the LED light up on "other charger"?

You can find the pinout for MagSafe online, but it's: outer pins ground; inner pins VDC; center pin is charge control - used to enable the charger, control the LED, and provide certain data to the computer. Unless proper contact is made between the MagSafe center pin and the corresponding pin on the Mac, there shouldn't be any output from the charger.

It's certainly hard to guess from here what could have gone wrong, as obviously I can't know how or what miswiring occurred. It goes without saying that a replacement power supply is much cheaper than the MBP - and safer (there, I said it anyway...).

As for internals, there is a separate MagSafe board on that model. Since you're able to startup, and at least one of the chargers is recognized, the logic board is probably ok.

Try resetting the SMC (from Apple KB):

Resetting the SMC on Mac portables with a battery you can remove:
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Disconnect the MagSafe power adapter from the computer, if it's connected. 3. Remove the battery.
4. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
5. Release the power button.
6. Reconnect the battery and MagSafe power adapter.
7. Press the power button to turn on the computer.

Oh, and I might as well chime in with the other replies: lesson learned?

 

[Lampygreg]

Hi, yeah i had a spare macbook pro charger and also a charger for my girlfriends macbook air. After the incident! None of these other chargers were charging the battery also the lights on the magsafes were not lighting up on any. Which ever charger i tried i always got the (not charging).

 

[GermanyChris]

Hi, yeah i had a spare macbook pro charger and also a charger for my girlfriends macbook air. After the incident! None of these other chargers were charging the battery also the lights on the magsafes were not lighting up on any. Which ever charger i tried i always got the (not charging).

MBA charger won't charge your MBP..

you can go up but not down i.e. youcan use an 85W from the 15/17 on the 13 but not the 65W 13 on the 15/17

I believe the MBA is 45W

 

[Lampygreg]

Yes, i know this i was merely checking if another charger would work at all. A MBA charger will at least keep a MBP battery at it's current level and also show a light on the magsafe. But alas not.