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I've seen many machines like this, and my theory is that it happens because the inverter cable on unibody MacBook Pros (I'm assuming it's a unibody) is embedded within the video cable, and so when there is a short of whatever involving the inverter system, it burns a spot on the cable connector, and also the socket itself. The burn mark is usually on the pins that involve the inverter (again, this is just my theory, and it could be nonsense).
First I would clean out the socket and also the cable end with a soft toothbrush and 90% rubbing alcohol. Really scrub it out, let it dry a couple hours, and then see if that helps. I have seen some come back to life just as a result of doing a little cleanup.
Before having someone do permanent surgery on the board, I would swap out another entire screen assembly and cabling, just to rule out whether yours is bad or not. It's not a bad idea to have a good complete screen assembly lying around, just so you can do this kind of testing when machines come in. I don't have much experience taking apart unibody screen assemblies, but it may be possible just to replace the video cable itself (although that probably wouldn't fully test the whole screen assembly).
I hate to say it, but most situations I've run across with a burn mark on the socket end up being a bad board, with more stuff wrong than the socket. You could try the procedure you mention, but keep in mind there are likely other bad components than just the socket that have been fried, and the obvious physical symptom could easily just be that -- a symptom of something larger. Similarly, I've had people with bad memory slots on A1181s ask me if they can replace the slot, which is usually pointless, because the part that is not working is deeper into the machine than the slot itself.
Thanks, and let me know how it goes!
John
One more question: It's a totally dead screen, right, not a dead backlight with a faint image? Because if the backlight is just out, there's a microfuse that is probably blown. Actually one of the other posts on this site details the location of the microfuse. But if the screen is completely out, that's not the issue.
By the way. Do you know anywhere to get working logic boards for Macs? The only place I can really find them is eBay and they are selling for ridiculous prices. Even broken logic boards are selling for $100+. Thanks
A dead laptop is ALWAYS the best source of good parts. Buy enough of them, and you'll have enough cheap parts to get a working machine together. As soon as you start paying premium prices for parts, especially major parts, it's game over, and you're paying too much and will not make a profit.
I wouldn't trust most "good" logic boards on eBay...most people don't know how to test boards properly, so it's very risky. I'd buy a bunch of machines on CraigsList cheap, and eventually you'll get one with a good board and bad screen, etc., and then you'll have parts to fix a machine or two. It's a frustrating game, especially in the beginning, but with time you accumulate a small arsenal of working parts, and at that point you are able to us them to quickly diagnose machines. It's all about having working parts that you yourself know are working because you've seen them working, and then as a process of elimination you can use them to troubleshoot machines and identify bad parts.
Thanks for all your help again.
my mothers MBP mid 2009 got a little bit of coffee last week. Now nearly everything works well. The LCD ist working fine but the backlight does it not.
Can you tell me the position of this small microfuse of the backlight?
Thank you very much
https://www.rdklinc.com/answers/discussion/22/dead-logic-board