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A1706 / EMC 3071—Released in November 2016, this 13" Macbook Pro introduces the OLED Touch Bar. Features a dual-core "Skylake" Intel Core i5 CPU and four Thunderbolt 3 ports.

MacBook Pro won't boot, but trackpad clicks

Greetings all!

I recently picked this thing up in a lot of older MacBooks. It was missing the bottom cover, and the battery data cable was snapped, but other than that was in really good shape. However, it would not boot. First thing I tried was disconnecting the battery, since the battery data cable was out of commission. It still didn't boot, but with the battery disconnected, the CPU gets very warm, and if left on long enough, the fans will turn on to cool it down. The trackpad also clicks, and if the power button is held down for a few seconds, it stops clicking, so it seems it is powering on and off. Also, I read somewhere that sometimes disconnecting the trackpad helps, so I tried that, and when I did, the fans went at full tilt nonstop, presumably because the temperature sensor in the trackpad was disconnected. Those are the only signs of life. I've also tried resetting the PRAM and SMC with no luck either. Other than the aforementioned battery data connector, I haven't seen any signs of damage to the logic board. I'll attach a picture of it in case it's any help. I've also tried attaching a monitor in case the internal LCD is damaged, but got no output on that either. Any ideas about what could be wrong with this thing?

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I’m not sure you’ll be able to get this system working without a bit of needed parts and even that won’t help you if the system is iCloud locked. Do you have access to a second system to use it’s to test this systems primary parts like the display and battery.

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I have access to another Mac, but not another one of this model.

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@fixer85785 - You need the same series 2016 or 2017 TouchBar system (A1706)

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@danj

Oh ok

Would it be possible to maybe repair the logic board on this one? I would definitely be wiling to learn how to perform component level repairs. If I were to pursue this, where would I start?

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@fixer85785 - Repairing the logic board is a bit like brain surgery, you really need a good understanding of electronics and a fail number of tools. The fist step is getting a set of schematics and boardview drawings for this system with a good bench power supply and digital multi meter measure the rail voltages.

But we have a sizable snag here! Apple introduced a very powerful system protection mechanism that makes many systems no better than a brick! That’s TouchID and iCloud you can’t defeat these if the system is locked. At which point your only option is replacing the logic board with a known clean one (with its mated TouchID button)

That’s why it was likely scrapped in the first place.

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