How do shops repair a liquid-damaged logic board with an SMC problem?

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I purchased a "parts" early 2015 13" Air that had liquid damaged for its screen.

I took the machine apart and removed as much of the coffee residue as I could. The trackpad works but not the keyboard.

I was able to load High Sierra but it was kind of slow and the fan always ran at full speed.

The Apple diagnostics (held down the "D" key during boot up with an external keyboard) said there was a problem with the SMC which I expected.

There are several places in my city that claim to repair liquid damage. If the SMC is damaged, I assume that a keyboard SMC reset would not be enough to get rid of the SMC error in the Apple diagnostics program.

Here are my questions: how do repair shops get rid of the SMC error? Do they replace the SMC chip? Presumably, fixing the SMC issue will stop the fan from running at full speed 100% of the time.

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 

chscag

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Here are my questions: how do repair shops get rid of the SMC error? Do they replace the SMC chip? Presumably, fixing the SMC issue will stop the fan from running at full speed 100% of the time.

I can't speak for the repair shops in Canada or in your specific area, but most will not even mess with a SMC damaged machine and instead replace the entire logic board. I realize that in some situations it may wind up being expensive but that seems to be the way Apple and AASPs deal with it.
 
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It is my understanding that apple techs and AASPs are not allowed to perform board level repairs even if it's an easy fix that the apple or AASP tech could do and this is why they always replace the entire board. Take, for instance, the 2010 15" Macbook Pro with an nVidia 330gt gpu. Turned out that the problem was not the video chip but a faulty capacitor that could be easily replaced.
 
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Just wanted to give an update.

I was able to buy a used top case with the speakers, keyboard, and trackpad. The top case was in okay shape but the seller assured me that the keyboard and trackpad were fully functional. I cleaned the board again with isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush.

Moved all the parts from the "as-is" Macbook I mentioned in my original post and it booted. Since they keyboard was detected by the board, I was able to perform a PRAM and SMC reset. I ran the Apple diagnostics by holding down the "D" key and there were no problems.

I now have a working early 2015 13" MBA with 8GB of ram and a 128 GB SSD.
 
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Keep liquids well away! Prevention is better than cure.
 
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I agree that prevention is best but I'm not the person that caused the liquid damage. I bought it in its damaged state.

In the end, I got it working perfectly and the entire machine cost me very little :)
 
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Just to revisit the original question, Apple themselves will call it "Tier 4 accidental damage" which means replacing virtually everything except the screen. The last time they quoted me a flat rate Tier 4 on a liquid-spill 15" Retina it was just shy of $1300. I don't know how flexible Apple-authorized repair shops are on doing anything more specific.
 

chscag

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Apple techs and AASPs are prevented from doing any kind of board level repairs. In a sense, I don't blame Apple for their policy on that. I worked on high level goverment equipment for years and we were not allowed to do board level repair. Our boards were sent to a depot where they were repaired, reconditioned, checked, and then released back to us. The reason for that was obvious; field techs like myself were not trained in board level repair nor did we have the proper equipment to do it. The same reasoning exists within Apple.

Member - "Audit13" has been successful in repairing several Macs that were likely throw away or sell for parts Macs. It's always great to hear when someone can overcome the odds and bring one of those "dead" Macs back to life again. :)
 

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Thanks for the great replies.

I'm in Canada and, as far as I know, Apple Canada has stopped providing flat-fee fixes.

I was quoted $600 CAD for the logical board alone. The screen was completely functional except it had a dent in the edge and some scratches on the screen itself. I was quoted $400 for the screen if I did the logic board and screen replacement at the same time. This was before the cost of the keyboard replacement. Needless to say, I declined and went home with a "parts machine".

I found someone selling the top case with speakers, trackpad, and keyboard still attached for a low price. The keyboard and trackpad allowed me to reset the SMC and I'm now using my "repaired" air to post this message.

All of the parts in the "repaired" air are original Apple parts and just happen to come from 3 different units.

The only third party Apple parts I have ever used are batteries and this is only because the unit's original warranty has expired.

I have learned a lot by doing this repair. I hope not to have to do such a repair in the future because performing swaps and cleaning may cause something else to malfunction.
 

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