MacBook Pro 13" Mid-2012 will not start up

Question

Level 1

12 points

MacBook Pro 13" Mid-2012 will not start up

Hi all,

My poor MacBook Pro ("Core i5" 2.5 13" Mid-2012) will not start-up either on battery or when connected with the mag-safe charger. The battery lights do not come on at all, and when I plug in the charger (45W), the charger light (usually) does not come on. Sometimes it glows green for a few seconds, and then stops. I've tried another older magsafe charger (85W) on it, and it does not work either. This MB Pro's 45W charger works with an older MB Pro I have. Currently, I have the 85W charger plugged into the problem MB Pro and it is flickering orange.

Last time I checked the battery health (probably a few weeks ago), it was fine (can't remember with what app). I last used this MBP on Friday or Saturday. Sunday morning is when it started having problems. The night before, on Saturday, I went to plug in my Fitbit USB charger to the MBP, like I usually do. It didn't start charging, so I checked the battery on the MBP. It was flickering green. So, I plugged in the charger, the charger light went orange, and the Fitbit (and MBP) started charging. I left it and went to sleep a bit later. Next morning when I woke up, the charger light was green. Fitbit was charged. I *think* the MBP was charged, but I don't think I checked the battery lights. But the charger was definitely green when I unplugged it. Later in the day on Sunday, I went to open the MBP, and it would not start. And the battery lights wouldn't come on at all. And here we are.

I have a feeling that something with the Fitbit charger being plugged in while the MBP was charging messed something up.

I've tried a SMC reset, and that does nothing (done it twice). I've tried holding down the power button for 10 sec., plugging in the power cord, holding down for another 10, and then pressing power button. Nothing. I've also gone through the steps on the Apple Portables: Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters with no luck.

I'm quite comfortable working inside a Mac, so I am very tempted to crack the MBP open (although I've only been in desktops so far). My questions:

1) Is there anything I should try before opening it?

2) If I do open it, what should I look for? Is there a way to tell if the battery is bad compared to something else with the power system?

Any other ideas or advice, I am all ears. 🙂

Thanks!

Colin

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Aug 5, 2014 5:37 PM

Reply

Answer 1

cdPritcha Author

Level 1

12 points

Aug 5, 2014 7:53 PM in response to Loner T

I read on ifixit that removing the battery from newer MBP and powering on with only the charger is not possible. Link

I also read on another thread that detaching the battery cable from the board and plugging it back in worked for someone. I did the same... and it's powered on and working! 😀

Here's the other thread: Won't start up; charger blinking orange

Thanks for your help. I appreciate it!

(And no, don't have AppleCare. I've owned Macs since 1992 and have never had it. Always fixed things myself... never had a major issue though...)

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Answer 2

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Aug 5, 2014 7:01 PM in response to cdPritcha

Take a look at this - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Battery+Replac ement/10365

In the older MBPs with removable batteries, it was possible to remove the battery and plug in the charger and that would allow the machine to boot up. Not certain if that procedure will work here or not.

Do you have AppleCare? If yes, then the closest Apple store may be an option not to be overlooked.

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Answer 3

rchangek

Level 1

0 points

Jul 23, 2015 10:31 PM in response to cdPritcha

I had the same problem. My 15 inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display (Mid-2012) would not power on. When I plugged in to the power source, it would not charge either (the small LED on MagSafe connector would not light up).

I read somewhere on the forums about opening up the bottom cover, disconnecting the battery connector and then re connecting back followed by SMC reset. I went to the Apple store in hopes that the Genius could pop it open and try this. After he tried so.. it did not work. My MacBook Pro still would not turn on. They told me it could be a bad MagSafe board or a bad Main Logic Board. Logic Board is expensive about $600+. I left the MacBook Pro at the Apple Store for further investigation and they called me back after a few days. Luckily, the problem didn't show up when their repair technicians tried to fix it. They ran a couple of diagnostic tests and all the hardware came back fine.

I am not sure about this whole issue now. It seems like it may die on me again any day. I was able to show the issue to the Genius at the Store. But somehow it got fixed automatically.

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