Short circuit in battery connector (in logic board)

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Short circuit in battery connector (in logic board)

Hi,

I recently bought 2 sticks of RAM in order to upgrade my mid-2009 Macbook Pro 13" (MB990LL/A).

After I removed the bottom case, I proceeded to remove the battery connector from the logic board, to avoid any electrical discharge (I followed ifixit's repair manual).

When removing such connector, I used a steel flat screwdriver and I accidentally touched the silver contacts on the logic board, as indicated by the red arrow in the picture below. This accident produced some sparks (the battery was almost fully-charged).

So I put everything back in place and tried to turn it on.

Pressing the power button did nothing. It would'n boot, like dead.

Then I connected the magsafe adapter and noticed the green light didn't turn on. No light at all.

So I removed the bottom case again and removed the battery connector from the logic board (this time using just my fingers). When I disconnected it, the magsafe light turned on green as it normally does. Then I pressed the power button again with no luck. Didn't turn on.

So I put the battery connector back in place in the logic board and my macbook turned on and booted.

After booting, everything was working "fine", except no battery was detected in Mac OS nor Windows ("x" sign indicating no battery). The green light in the magsafe connector was always on but slightly blinking.

In summary, this procedure worked to turn my macbook on:

1. Connect magsafe (green light turned off)

2. Disconnect battery connector from logic board (green light turns on)

3. Press power button

4. Connect battery connector to logic board (green light turned on, now slightly blinks)

5. Computer turns on and boots

When the laptop was turned on, I tried disconnecting the magsafe adapter and noticed it didn't turned off, so the laptop was running on batteries (although the OS indicated no battery was present).

This worked for 3 hours or so. It never turned on by just pressing the power button but only by following the procedure. Then it didn't worked anymore. I pressume the battery ran out of charge and my macbook is now officially "dead".

I took it to technical service and they say the logic board needs to be replaced, costing 950 dollars just the part itself (I'm out of warranty now). I know it was irresponsible from my part to do the upgrade by myself, but I'm hoping that accident won't cost my entire laptop.

I'm outside the US and I give a chance their diagnostic might be a bit exaggerated. I told them the whole story and they just said the entire logic board is damaged. After all, I managed to turn the laptop on and make it boot by following the procedure I described.

What do you think? I eventually could take it to the US in case a minor repair could be made.

All your comments will be very appreciated,

Thanks.

ps. When the laptop was running, I tried resetting PRAM and NVRAM with no luck. I wasn't able to reset SMC given the difficulties to turn it on.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Jul 12, 2011 7:49 PM

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Answer 1

tjk

Level 9

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Jul 12, 2011 8:29 PM in response to henca

Hi h,

There are many many circuits on the logic board (and transistors, and resistors, and capacitors and and and). Any number of them could have been damaged. Finding the exact one/s would be nearly impossible for the average repair person. They don't repair logic boards, they replace them.

When you're in the US, you may want to ask about a flat rate "depot" repair. At last report it was a little over $300 if your machine is eligible. You'll have to ask Apple if your MBP is eligible, no one here can know that. Good luck.

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Answer 2

henca Author

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Jul 12, 2011 8:48 PM in response to tjk

Hi tjk,

Thank you for your prompt reply and advice. Do I need to send my laptop somewhere to find if I'm elegible (so they make some sort of inspection), or may I just submit the serial number?

In case I am (or not), do you think selling it on ebay (for parts or repair) is a good choice for my laptop in its current condition?

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Answer 3

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

Jul 12, 2011 9:01 PM in response to henca

I've never heard of sending it in, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Almost certain the s/n is a "no." They do a physical inspection to approve it.

ebay: hmmm. That's certainly an option. I don't think you'd get too much for it though. Given the type of damage, it's almost like a voltage surge/lightning strike; there's really no way to know how far the damage has spread until you start replacing things piece by piece. In the end it could cost you more than a new machine.

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Answer 4

henca Author

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Jul 12, 2011 9:19 PM in response to tjk

It's sad it ended up like this. All I wanted was upgrade my MBP memory so it felt like new again..

I think I'll apply for the "depot" repair whenever I happen to be in the US or by sending the laptop with some friend travelling there.

Thank you!

ps. sorry to sound obstinate: the fact that the laptop is able to boot (by using the trick I described) is some sort of indication that the logic board may be mostly in good healt, isn't it?

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Answer 5

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

Jul 12, 2011 9:31 PM in response to henca

I can certainly understand how you must feel. Sorry it worked out like that. 😟

I can't argue with the logic, but perhaps an analogy would help. Imagine there's only one little thing wrong with a person's brain. Now all the doctor has to do is find that one little thing and fix it. It's not going to be fast, it's not going to be easy, it's not going to happen in the doctor's office (I hope!), and it's going to be very very expensive for a specialist to fix. No analogy is perfect, and this one certainly isn't, but I think it makes the point. And there's no guarantee there's only one little thing affected in your MBP.

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Answer 6

henca Author

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Jul 12, 2011 9:50 PM in response to tjk

well.. I see.. 🙂

I'll have to buy a new one (totally unexpected in my budget!) and still try to find some way to bring my old friend back to the game. It may take some time since I just came back from a one-week vacation in the US, but I'll try the "depot" repair as soon as I manage to get the mbp there, and will let you (and the forum) know how it ends up.

Thank you!

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Answer 7

henca Author

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Sep 16, 2011 7:00 PM in response to tjk

Well, after 2 months I'm back with excellent news!

Just got my MBP back and want to share my experience to everyone who might find it helpful.

I applied for depot repair, as advised by tjk, and gotta say it was totally worth it.

They quoted the repair for my MacBook Pro at 280 (plus taxes that's 300) and literally replaced everything they found somehow faulty.

Seven components, including logic board, display panel, airport card, optical drive, hard drive, etc., even the battery! were replaced. Battery reported 0 cycles at first boot (I assume it's new) and is expected to last ~5 hours on a full charge. Also, a 90 days warranty was issued.

The repair itself took just 3 days. Two months was the time to send it in and back the US with some traveling relatives.

Really impressive work from the Apple Care and Genius Bar teams. Thank you all, and thanks tjk for your helpful advice.

Could't be happier with my old, new MBP.

Henry.

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Answer 8

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

Sep 18, 2011 10:51 PM in response to henca

Henry, aside from the two months travelling, that's excellent! Glad that worked out for you. 😉

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