2008 15" MBP won't start without battery

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Level 1

8 points

2008 15" MBP won't start without battery

Ok, this is a long story. I've had this late 2008 uni-body MBP for ages. It's the 15" model, and I think it has the 2.4 processor and 250GB storage, as well as the 250MB VRAM. Don't remember the rest, and can't check, as the thing is dead. In early January I got a new (late 2016) MBP, and was going to transfer all data from the old one. I had used the old one as a desktop computer connected to an external monitor for ages, and only at this point discovered (negligent, I know, sorry) that its battery had bloated, pushing the battery cover outwards and bending it - naturally, I disposed of the battery. The computer also wouldn't start. I was forced to remove the hard driver and use a SATA connector to extract the data.

I also had an X-Plane 10 disk in the disk drive, and to extract it I took of the main body cover and removed the disk drive, took off the cover of that, extracted the disk, and then reassembled everything. I followed all the instructions I could find as carefully as I could and made sure that I left everything exactly as I found it. This disassembly may be relevant, so I included it.

All of this was around two weeks ago, and just today I decided to try to tun the computer off DC power without the battery installed. The MPB did nothing - no startup chimes, no fan/disk drive spinnup noise, no lights coming on anywhere, screen dead. I tried holding down the power button for 10 seconds several times, to no avail. I then tried another method I found on several sites - putting in the magsafe cable while holding down the button, then letting go of and pressing the button again. The green light on the charger came on, but nothing else happened. Holding the power button down still does nothing.

Any ideas?

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11), Not sure which El Capitan version

Posted on Jan 31, 2017 9:26 AM

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Answer 1

S.U.

Level 6

9,601 points

Jan 31, 2017 1:32 PM in response to POTKC

It sounds like you tried a SMC reset. Here's a link to be certain you did it correctly:

Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

Doing it several times won't hurt.

It's also possible that the bulging battery did some permanent damage to your Mac and that's why it won't start up. It wouldn't hurt to look inside and make sure that all cables are well seated on the logic board. Also check that your power brick is working by trying it on a different Mac or trying a known good charger on your Mac.

Here is the ifixit guide for your Mac. Especially check that the DC in board is securely connected to the logic board. That's where the power comes in.

https://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Pro_15%22_Unibody_Late_2008_and_Early_2009

Good luck!

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Answer 2

POTKC Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 1, 2017 8:06 AM in response to S.U.

Thank you for the advice!

I've done the SMC reset several times, to no avail. I'd try a good power brick (or this one on a different mac), but thanks to Apple's non-standard chargers which are specific to each laptop, model the one I'm using does not fit any other MacBook I have access to. If the DC-in board was not working properly or not connected to the logic board would the light on the magsafe charger come on? Removing the entire logic board to get access to the DC-in board is something I'd rather only do if I run out of things to try, as the number of wires to be disconnected (and reconnected) from the board itself is a bit daunting, especially to someone like me - first time dealing with this sort of thing.

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Answer 3

S.U.

Level 6

9,601 points

Feb 1, 2017 2:46 PM in response to POTKC

For what it's worth, I took the battery out of my late 2007 MBP and plugged in the power adaptor and it shows a green light.

It's annoying the way Apple has so many different power adaptors, but possibly you have a friend with a non-retina Mac that would let you try theirs--or even an Apple Store or AASP. Trying a known good power adaptor would eliminate any possibility of the adaptor having died. When my old Mac quit working once, I thought it was dead and that I would have to buy a new one. Before actually ordering one, I decided to go to my local AASP and ask if they could try a known good power adaptor on my Mac just to be certain it was the Mac and not the adaptor. Wonder of wonders, it was actually the adaptor that was dead. So definitely something to check if you possibly can. But since you do have a green light, then I would think that your charger is working.

No real ideas here other than to open up the Mac and inspect it and reseat any cables that are easy to get to. In particular, have a good look at the power button connection and make sure it's good. If by chance it didn't get plugged back onto the logic board, that would certainly account for your Mac not starting up. It really does sound like a power distribution problem of some sort, and even though it will be tedious checking connections, it's the first thing to check.

Good luck!

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