Macbook A1181 - Bad DC board?

[Pierro]

Greetings,

First Sorry for my approximate english, I got à question for you, I still did not find the answer i'm looking for..

I was given a Macbook A1181 mid 2007 2.16ghz which is known as dead. I bought a new 60W MagSafe to test it.

When I plug the Macbook there is no light on the MagSafe... Nothing at all. No power when pushing the power button. So I removed top case, and attempted to "jump start" it to make sûre it was not a faulty power button problem. When jump started (flat screwdriver trick in the top case female connector) the fan starts spinning slowly and I can hear HDD activity. When I bridge the two PWR BTN points the fan spins full speed. Still no light on the MagSafe and nothing on screen.

I removed the logic board and cleaned it with compressed air. Then I wondered if it could be the dc-in board that could be bad. I removed it, turned it upside down, there was à lot of crud and there was some little pieces missing. It was very dirty. So, no doubt, the dc in board is bad.

My question: is a bad dc-in board could still make HDD and fan working? Is there any évidence of a bad LOGIC board? For now I'm ordering à new dc-in board (5$ ;P).

Do you hâve suggestions?

Thanks à lot for your help!

 

[pigoo3]

So, no doubt, the dc in board is bad.

I think that replacing the DC-In board is a great idea.

Of course we don't know if this computer was liquid damaged (you didn't say…and maybe you don't know either). If it was liquid damaged…then it's possible that no replace parts other than a replacement logic board will fix things. But replacing the DC-In board it a good place to start…and less expensive.

My question: is a bad dc-in board could still make HDD and fan working? Is there any évidence of a bad LOGIC board? For now I'm ordering à new dc-in board (5$ ;P).

You did various ways to "jump start" the computer. So by doing this you probably bypassed typical "power pathways"…and got some components to work. And again…who knows…if the computer was liquid damaged…"weird" things can happen.

- Nick

 

[Pierro]

Of course we don't know if this computer was liquid damaged (you didn't say…and maybe you don't know either). If it was liquid damaged…then it's possible that no replace parts other than a replacement logic board will fix things.

Yes that make sense. I didnt even think about liquid damage...

When I took out the logic board I didnt notice any dry trace, it was pretty clean, but it could still happened... Thanks for the tip!

 

[pigoo3]

Yes that make sense. I didnt even think about liquid damage...

When I took out the logic board I didnt notice any dry trace, it was pretty clean, but it could still happened... Thanks for the tip!

A frequent source of "bad" laptop computers is liquid damage. And if the liquid was water…it would leave less of a trace or residue than other liquids/beverages…such as soda, coffee, beer, fruit drinks, etc.

We've had members report spilling very little liquid on their laptops…rendering them non-inoperable. So with a very small amount of liquid in the right place…any residual evidence would be difficult to locate.

Also. This MacBook is pretty old…before Apple started to place liquid damage sensors inside of its laptops/notebook computers (which turn color when exposed to liquid). So we don't even have the liquid damage sensors to help us.

I would say try the DC-In board…and if it fixes things great! If it doesn't…and since you used a new Mag-safe power supply already…I would think that the problem is the logic board. Which you probably know…would most likely be too expensive to replace (unless you can find a VERY inexpensive one).

Good luck,

- Nick

 

[pm-r]

If that mid-2007 MB is similar to the mid-late 2007 MBPro models, they were prone to go kaput, mainly due to the Nvidia GPU, and nothing works.

I have a mid-late 15" MBPro that suffered the problem, but was lucky to just get under the wire of Apple's extended warranty program which has expired a long time ago.

They replaced the whole logic board and the attached GPU to get it working again - and it's still in use.

I'd question if replacing the DC-In board will fix anything, but worth a try maybe??? Hmmm...???

 

[chscag]

If that mid-2007 MB is similar to the mid-late 2007 MBPro models, they were prone to go kaput, mainly due to the Nvidia GPU, and nothing works.

It's not similar. That model MacBook and up until the late aluminum 2008 model used an Intel GMA integrated GPU. No problems with them at all. Slow but steady.

 

[pm-r]

It's not similar. That model MacBook and up until the late aluminum 2008 model used an Intel GMA integrated GPU. No problems with them at all. Slow but steady.

Thanks for the clarification. I forgot it wasn't a MB Pro.

 

[johnodd4]

the model he has is a intel gma model and if its not powering up its the dc board or the processor has died also certain models of the macbook have to have a working battery installed or they won't boot at all

 

[dtravis7]

I have that Macbook. Mine is early 2007. It works great and DID when I moved in with friends here have water spilled on it! I saw it happen and ran and turned it upside down and pulled the power and battery. Took it apart and got all the water I could see and let it dry. It's been great since then and this was 2 years ago! I was very lucky. I told people here not to set drinks by my laptops anymore!

Yes, that is an Intel GMA X3100 in there. Those normally are very reliable.

I Do have a Older Macbook late 2006 with the first C2D 2.0 in it but it's video chip died and runs burning hot and locks the system if any graphics try and display. Just got a used but guaranteed board for it and waiting for the new FAN assembly as that was messed up. That chip got SO HOT it literally melted the Fan Sensor plugs on the board right next door so they would not disconnect! Never seen that happen before. The owner was very rough with it and it was all cracked top, back, bottom, sides.

The DC-In board might do it but I would think the screen should light when you got the fan and hdd to spin.

 

[Pierro]

Greetings,

Thanks everybody for your replies. I'm still waiting for my DC-IN board that I ordered, I'll get it this week. I'll keep you posted once I get it. Maybe it could help someone else with similar symptoms.

@dtravis: Yes, nothing is on the display. The screen is black (but appears to be good, no cracks...). I don't know much about electricity but perhaps the faulty DC-in board doesn't let flow enough current to power up every component...

I did further testing with battery, without battery, etc... same results. Maybe the DC-in board won't repair the macbook 100% but I'm pretty sure it will helps.