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A1278 Won't power on

Hi all

I have a MacBook Pro, Mid 2012, A1278 (EMC 2554). It wont turn on from the power button. Plugging the power cable in powers it up due to the Auto Power On feature. I’m also unable to turn the device off by pressing and holding the button either.

The behavior makes me think the Button is at fault, however, unplugging the battery and removing the power adaptor and unplugging the keyboard then shorting the Power Pads on the motherboard also doesn’t turn the device on, This process apparently bypasses the button. Does anyone have any idea what I could try next?

I’m not afraid to go digging with a multi meter and I have a schematic and board view and confident with a soldering iron/hot air station.

Board number is 820-3115-B

Update (08/17/2021)

Yes the HDD is backed up

The MagSafe was originally orange, but once the battery was charged it turned green.

I have checked all of the following Power Rails and they are present and correct:

  • PP3v42
  • PPBUS_G3H
  • PP5VS5
  • PP5VS3
  • PPVRTC_G3H

When I short Pin 5 of the Keyboard connector to ground it still doesn’t turn on which is basically what the switch does.

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Have you backed up your Hard Drive/Solid State Drive?

crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0crwdne2934271:0

What is the color of the MagSafe chargers LED when you put everything back together. Amber, Green or not lit at all?

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crwdns2934057:0crwdne2934057:0

Ouch! This is starting to look like a dead CPU or GPU issue.

Let’s give this a try, Disconnect the battery and with another plugged in on the external ports press and hold the power button for a good 15 sec. Now carefully plug in the MagSafe charger did the fan try to start, did the system startup at all?

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If I plug the MagSafe charger in then the auto power on feature turns the machine on, it runs absolutely fine, for days on end if I let it. if I power it off I cant use the power button to turn it back on. The power button does not even allow me to turn it off by pressing and holding the button to force a power off.

The machine runs fine, its only the power button that can not be used to either power the Macbook on or off

crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0crwdne2934271:0

I'm thinking the power button is shorted out so the logic state is always high never getting to the low state. Which is why your system is not able to shutdown and then it can't restart.

If you have a spare keyboard you could plug it in to test things. Otherwise this maybe a deeper issue within the logic board.

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Derek Emerson crwdns2934231:0crwdne2934231:0
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