Could this be the cause for not powering up at all?

Question

MacBook Air 13" Mid 2013

The larger of Apple's MacBook Air laptops featuring dual microphones and 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity.

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Marhowl @marhowl

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Marhowl Pro Systems & Solutions

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Mha 10, 2014

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Could this be the cause for not powering up at all?

Here are pictures of the possible problem

I bought the whole computer from an auction as broken or for parts. Everything else works fine, except this

As you can see, someone did a poor solder job on the EFI chip (or is it?) and I wonder if it could be the cause for the computer not to power up at all. Even the fan doesn't go on. Nothing. It's dead as a door nail

So how would I proceed? I guess analysing the board with a multimeter could show what's wrong with it, but I don't have a clue how would I do that + I don't have much skill doing repairs at a component level.

Thanks for any help!

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crwdns2944067:02crwdne2944067:0

Great that you added the pictures. What computer is it exactly and what are the last four digits of your computers serial number?

crwdns2934271:0Mha 10, 2014crwdnd2934271:0 oldturkey03 crwdne2934271:0

It's a 13" Mid 2013. The last 4 digits are F5V8

crwdns2934271:0Mha 10, 2014crwdnd2934271:0 Marhowl crwdne2934271:0

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oldturkey03 @oldturkey03

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893

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Mha 10, 2014

crwdns2933897:0crwdne2933897:0

Marhowl , it is absolutely possible. Yes, it looks like a repair including some bridging of the traces, really not a bad solder job:-). Since you do not know anything about the history of this IC you would not know if it even has the firmware programed before it was installed.

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crwdns2944067:04crwdne2944067:0:

It was owned by a 55 year old lady who bought it 2nd hand from someone and she didn't even know that it has been tampered with.

But from what she told me, I know this =)

* When she bought it, it worked for a month

* Then it wouldn't boot and would stay at the gray screen with the spinning thing

* Then it wouldn't power up at all. And that's how I bought it.

From what I have discovered, there was a really cheap flux that had a consistency of some cheap glue and it was all around the EFI unit. Could that cause damage as well?

Edit: I'm sorry for the formatting. I tried making it neat but it doesn't seem to work

crwdns2934271:0Mha 10, 2014crwdnd2934271:0 Marhowl crwdne2934271:0

Yup, formatting does not work on a comment:-) It is possible that the IC has either failed again or that there is a cold solder joint. You could try and resolder it and see if that will fix it.

crwdns2934271:0Mha 10, 2014crwdnd2934271:0 oldturkey03 crwdne2934271:0

So should I buy the programmed EFI chip and solder it there? Might be worth a try, right?

Only if I could solder or had the gear heheh. Got to find someone =)

crwdns2934271:0Mha 10, 2014crwdnd2934271:0 Marhowl crwdne2934271:0

That is the way I would go about it. By doing this you will at least know what is working and what is not. You are right of course, soldering on a logic board is not for the faint of hard. There are plenty of good people out there that do board level repairs

crwdns2934271:0Mha 10, 2014crwdnd2934271:0 oldturkey03 crwdne2934271:0

crwdns2934285:0crwdne2934285:0

Great that you added the pictures. What computer is it exactly and what are the last four digits of your computers serial number? — oldturkey03
It was owned by a 55 year old lady who bought it 2nd hand from someone and she didn't even know that it has been tampered with.

But from what she told me, I know this =)

* When she bought it, it worked for a month

* Then it wouldn't boot and would stay at the gray screen with the spinning thing

* Then it wouldn't power up at all. And that's how I bought it.

From what I have discovered, there was a really cheap flux that had a consistency of some cheap glue and it was all around the EFI unit. Could that cause damage as well?

Edit: I'm sorry for the formatting. I tried making it neat but it doesn't seem to work — Marhowl
Yup, formatting does not work on a comment:-) It is possible that the IC has either failed again or that there is a cold solder joint. You could try and resolder it and see if that will fix it. — oldturkey03
So should I buy the programmed EFI chip and solder it there? Might be worth a try, right?

Only if I could solder or had the gear heheh. Got to find someone =) — Marhowl
That is the way I would go about it. By doing this you will at least know what is working and what is not. You are right of course, soldering on a logic board is not for the faint of hard. There are plenty of good people out there that do board level repairs — oldturkey03

MacBook Air 13" Mid 2013

Could this be the cause for not powering up at all?

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