Smoke around macbook pro?

Question

Smoke around macbook pro?

Hello,

i have a macbook pro core2duo 2.33 GHz late 2006 model. Today when i woke up i saw a significant amount of smoke all around my macbook pro and upon the table in which it was standing.
The weird thing is that it was working just fine and it is still working without any apparent problems. I found a thread in another forum and they were saying that this can be due to a blown capacitor. I do not have a warranty and i am curious about some things.
Since the computer is working fine should i take it for service? I am no longer under warranty and here in Greece it costs 50 euros just to have your machine checked.
If it is a blown capacitor is there a possibility that it can be replaced without changing the whole logic board? I suppose that the logic board must be very expensive.
I have a friend that repairs computer. Do you think that he could repair the faulty capacitor or do i have to take it to an authorised mac service?

Thank you for your help.

Macbook pro 2.33MHz, Mac OS X (10.6.2), 2GB RAM 640GB fw Lacie disk

Posted on Dec 20, 2009 2:40 PM

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Answer 1

Rod Hagen

Level 7

32,000 points

Dec 20, 2009 2:47 PM in response to Dimitrios Varthalitis

Blown capacitors can be a problem in some earlier models of iMac and eMac, Dimitrios, but I have never heard of them occurring with an MBP. The ones that generally cause the problems are for use in mains voltage machines.

If the smoke was actually coming from the Mac I'd be suspecting either the charging system or the battery, but are you sure it was not from another device in the vicinity? No cat or mouse around that might have pee'd on a powerboard or the like, for example? No cheap voltage adaptor used to run a different device that might have overloaded?

What did the smoke smell like? Might give a clue to its origins.

Cheers

Rod

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Answer 2

Dec 20, 2009 3:03 PM in response to Rod Hagen

Thank you very much for your reply,

The macbook pro was standing alone on the desk, no other devices around and no pets either. The smoke i think is for sure that it came from the macbook pro. it was on mainly on the bottom of the screen (where the words "macbook pro" are written) and all around the desk, when i lifted the macbook pro from the desk there was a square of smoke exactly on the borders of the laptop. But it was still working and is still working now. The battery looks fine and no smoke was found around the battery or the power adaptor or the magsafe adaptor.

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Answer 3

Dec 20, 2009 3:03 PM in response to Dimitrios Varthalitis

First, if the smoke is still coming from the computer, then you should quit using it. It is likely that it came from a blown capacitor and depending on what circuit it came from you may not notice symptoms right away. Having someone who knows what they are doing look at it would tell you a lot. One alternative might be to call the Apple Support line for your area. Since most components are on the logic board to reduce the size of the computer, it is likely that the logic board will need to be replaced. Depending on the skill of your friend, he MAY be able to replace the capacitor, but I think it not likely he would be. A Mac service shop would be the best place to get the correct repair parts.

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Answer 4

Dec 20, 2009 3:06 PM in response to J.K. ROFLing

I forgot to mention that i did not notice any smell, but i have the flue so i my sense of smell is not very good at the moment. There is no smoke coming out of the computer at the moment. Also i found this tread:

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/apple-notebooks/134070-macbook-emitting-smoke.h tml

my computer looks exactly like the one shown in these pictures only with more smoke.

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Answer 5

Rod Hagen

Level 7

32,000 points

Dec 20, 2009 3:35 PM in response to Dimitrios Varthalitis

Dimitrios, when you say "smoke" do you really mean "smoke" or "soot" .

The photograph you link to shows "soot" (carbon deposit after burning) , not "smoke" (fumes in the air from burning) .

Unfortunately the discussion about the one in the page you link to is very inconclusive about the real cause. It could be anything from a blown component to somehow an insect ending up getting roasted on the heat sink!

Perhaps you could take it to a dealer and make the same points that the poster in the page you linked to did. You may be as lucky as he was!

Cheers

Rod

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Answer 6

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Dec 20, 2009 6:01 PM in response to Dimitrios Varthalitis

Hi there,

If it is a blown capacitor is there a possibility that it can be replaced without changing the whole logic board? I suppose that the logic board must be very expensive.

Yes, the board is likely more expensive than a working used one of the same vintage!?

I have a friend that repairs computer. Do you think that he could repair the faulty capacitor or do i have to take it to an authorised mac service?

If the wonderful helpers here can't come up with a better alternative, you might ask on my BBS...

http://x704.net/bbs/

There's been help there in the past with Capacitor replacement, but mostly G5/iMacs.

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Answer 7

Dec 20, 2009 6:10 PM in response to Dimitrios Varthalitis

If your mac has been smoking, I would check the liquor cabinet, too!

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Answer 8

Dec 20, 2009 8:51 PM in response to Rod Hagen

thank you all for your replies. rod you are right. it is soot and not smoke. i m sorry for the misunderstanding but english is not my native language.

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Answer 9

Rod Hagen

Level 7

32,000 points

Dec 20, 2009 9:28 PM in response to Dimitrios Varthalitis

You got much closer in English than I would have in Greek, Dimitrios!

When you mentioned "smoke" we were worried that something was still burning!

It is certainly a troubling sounding situation, but it is hard to tell from the description alone.

Rather than making an immediate decision about how to proceed perhaps, as you are out of warranty, the best idea would be to get your friend to have a look inside the computer, using the excellent guides available at http://www.iFixit.com to see if the source of the problem can be identified. Replacing / Re-soldering components on notebook logic boards is NOT an easy task and requires some specialised equipment. It may be that, if a component has failed on something like the power input board, the whole part itself can be replaced reasonably cheaply anyway.

But without having a look inside, it is very difficult to tell.

Cheers

Rod

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Answer 10

Dec 21, 2009 3:37 AM in response to Dimitrios Varthalitis

Was the surface of the table damaged? The MBP can get very hot at times and might damage a table with a soft surface.

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Answer 11

Dec 21, 2009 7:28 AM in response to Retired Engineer

it was a table made from wood and it was not damaged... i will ask my friend to have a look inside. i am really angry that they ask for 50 euros just to have a look at the laptop.... and the funny thing is that i had a 3 year extended warranty that just expired one month ago...

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Answer 12

Dec 21, 2009 11:34 AM in response to Dimitrios Varthalitis

"i had a 3 year extended warranty that just expired *one month ago...* "

Suggest that you call Apple Customer Relation in your country. See what they can do for you.

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Answer 13

Dec 21, 2009 1:54 PM in response to Baby-Boomer-USofA

Unfortunately there is no apple care here. I just had a 36 month guarrantee from the shop that i bought the machine 3 years ago and this was in Germany... I had bought it through the internet. So i do not think that something can be done as far as the warrantee is concerned...

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