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Sell your MacBook

Macbook Power Issues

edited September 2011 in General
How you been? Me again.

Well i got a Macbook off of Craigslist that needed a little work. I am having some power issues now.

Long Story Short-

I had to replace the keyboard because it got fried. A few minutes ago the computer was working excellent. I tested all the keys on the keyboard and the power button to make sure everything was working. All was well. All the sudden I started having power issues. The computer would turn on and then suddenly shut down like it was shorting. I unplugged the keyboard and started the computer by jumping it. Sure enough it was the keyboard that was causing the computer to shut off. After examining the keyboard connecter I noticed that one of the pins on the connecter was broken. (I will include a pic)

I'm pretty sure that is what is causing it to short.

What doesn't make sense is why the computer was working long enough for me to test the keyboard (about 15 minutes) and now it won't stay on long enough to even fully boot OS X. Again, it does work fine when I unplug the keyboard.

I am unsure if the connecter was broken before I replaced the keyboard, or if I broke it during replacement.

Do you think a new connecter would fix the issue or do you think it is a deeper issue? I am thinking a new one might fix it because I know for a fact it cannot work properly when one of the pins on the keyboard is broke. Thanks

Update: The computer will no longer turn on with the keyboard plugged in. Neither by the power button, nor by jumping it. It still works fine with the keyboard not plugged in though.

PICTURE LINK:

http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af48/tylr6024/Macbook.png

You can tell in the picture that the third pin is missing.

PS: If you are getting tons of emails about me posting it is because I keep narrowing down the issue, and updating it on here. Thanks again.

Comments

  • Thanks for the post! Don't worry about the updates -- I have my e-mail notifications turned off, since I'm on the site enough to see new posts anyway.

    Interesting case. I don't normally think that replacing a port is a good idea, since the actual issue is usually deeper, but in this case I think I agree with you, because the extent of the damage might be limited to the physical port, right there on the surface. That said, ripping ports off a board and replacing them is not something I really have experience with, so I don't know what all is involved. Part of me is thinking it might be worth taking the plastic casing off of the back of the port, just to see if it's possible to manually connect the broken ends of the pin with a small piece of wire, etc. After all, it appears to basically just be a single pin that isn't getting from point A to point B, so if you could somehow bridge that gap without replacing the whole socket, and then tape the whole thing down so it doesn't move, that might be a quicker (albeit potentially sloppy) solution.

    It kinda makes sense that it might not power on when the keyboard is connected. A lot of connectors/slots, when they have problems, will keep the computer from powering on. For instance, if you have a bad memory slot, and it is occupied by a RAM module, the computer typically won't power. I believe this is because when the computer powers on, it sees there is something in the slot and therefore tries to address it, but it encounters the defect and freaks out, shutting it off. Whereas, if there is nothing plugged in, the computer does not detect anything there, and so it does not "go there" and therefore doesn't see the defect. This is my own theory...I have no idea how it compares to hardcore scientific reality. But it has seemed to hold true in a number of cases.

    Anyway, let me know how it goes. Maybe that guy you know who is replacing the other port could fix this. Again, if he's good at soldering or whatever, maybe he could take care of that individual pin without having to replace the whole thing.

    Thanks,

    John





  • I will see if I can get a wire or something in there. If not I will probably order the part and have it replaced. Do you think if I get the port sorted out I will need another keyboard? I'm just wondering if the short could have ruined this keyboard as well.
  • Hard to say. The only way to tell is to try it. I'm sort of having second thoughts about the "wire" idea, since it might cause additional damage or cause a short in of itself. If you try it, make sure to avoid touching the wire to anything other than what it is intended for. Good luck!
  • Ya it is way to small for me to try anything. I am having my solder guy check it out tomorrow to see if he could patch it up without having to buy a whole new connecter. Who knows maybe ill get lucky. I will update you tomorrow. Thanks for your help again
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