Hi everyone.
I've had a MacBook Pro stored away for a while now - a Late 2011 model with a Core i7 Quad 2.4GHz. The previous owner spilled a glass of red wine over it, and thankfully I was able to get in there very shortly after it happened and rescue most of the machine. I've repaired the Backlit Keyboard, pulled from another scrap unit, and the Logic Board mostly works apart from some damage to the LVDS connector (on an external display, it works perfectly).
The 4 pins to the far left of the connector were corroded and are missing. Those 4 pins control the LED backlights, so this screen still displays video, just no backlight. It did work for a while, but as the pins were already damaged, when I cleaned away the wine, it took the pins with it.
The good news is that it does look like the copper pads on the Logic Board are intact, the backlight fuse wouldn't likely be blown since it doesn't appear to have shorted and the LCD display itself is in perfect working order - I tested it with another Logic Board. Even better, it's the CTO 1680 x 1050 display.
Recently I've been thinking about attempting to repair this machine. I'll be studying this year and this MacBook Pro would be a significantly better machine than my existing one, and more reliable - even with some soldering and modding involved (which goes to show just how bad the old machine is!).
Thankfully the Late 2011 Logic Board isn't anywhere near as densely packed with components around the LVDS connector, which does help its chances somewhat.
Here's a large (5471 x 4103) image of the Logic Board in question.
After some investigation, the LVDS connector appears to be an I-PEX 20474-040E-11 connector for LG/AUO/Samsung displays. I've had this verified by a few sources, and it looks like we're on to a winner.
The connectors can be sourced from either eBay or Aliexpress:
Now here's the problem.
I haven't worked on anything this small before. My tools wouldn't even be close to sufficient for performing this job either, and my skills are at a beginner level at best, limiting me mostly to through-hole components and older surface mounts with larger pads.
So my first question is does this job look possible? The rest of the Logic Board works like a dream, and it seems so close to being repaired, so I would like to think so.
Secondly is who should I be asking to perform this job? I'm not sure what repairers if any to approach, and I don't even know where to start in Adelaide, Australia but I may consider sending the board interstate to have this repair performed. I'm thinking this may need to be attempted by a hobbyist rather than a repair centre since I can't even begin to think of one that does soldering like this.
As you can imagine, I'm working to a budget (otherwise I'd just buy a brand new machine), but considering the specs of this machine it seems like it's worth spending a little bit on if there's a chance of bringing it back to life. It would certainly make my studies a bit easier having this machine to work with, that's for sure.
Cheers in advance.
- Michael
I've had a MacBook Pro stored away for a while now - a Late 2011 model with a Core i7 Quad 2.4GHz. The previous owner spilled a glass of red wine over it, and thankfully I was able to get in there very shortly after it happened and rescue most of the machine. I've repaired the Backlit Keyboard, pulled from another scrap unit, and the Logic Board mostly works apart from some damage to the LVDS connector (on an external display, it works perfectly).
The 4 pins to the far left of the connector were corroded and are missing. Those 4 pins control the LED backlights, so this screen still displays video, just no backlight. It did work for a while, but as the pins were already damaged, when I cleaned away the wine, it took the pins with it.
The good news is that it does look like the copper pads on the Logic Board are intact, the backlight fuse wouldn't likely be blown since it doesn't appear to have shorted and the LCD display itself is in perfect working order - I tested it with another Logic Board. Even better, it's the CTO 1680 x 1050 display.
Recently I've been thinking about attempting to repair this machine. I'll be studying this year and this MacBook Pro would be a significantly better machine than my existing one, and more reliable - even with some soldering and modding involved (which goes to show just how bad the old machine is!).
Thankfully the Late 2011 Logic Board isn't anywhere near as densely packed with components around the LVDS connector, which does help its chances somewhat.
Here's a large (5471 x 4103) image of the Logic Board in question.
After some investigation, the LVDS connector appears to be an I-PEX 20474-040E-11 connector for LG/AUO/Samsung displays. I've had this verified by a few sources, and it looks like we're on to a winner.
The connectors can be sourced from either eBay or Aliexpress:
Now here's the problem.
I haven't worked on anything this small before. My tools wouldn't even be close to sufficient for performing this job either, and my skills are at a beginner level at best, limiting me mostly to through-hole components and older surface mounts with larger pads.
So my first question is does this job look possible? The rest of the Logic Board works like a dream, and it seems so close to being repaired, so I would like to think so.
Secondly is who should I be asking to perform this job? I'm not sure what repairers if any to approach, and I don't even know where to start in Adelaide, Australia but I may consider sending the board interstate to have this repair performed. I'm thinking this may need to be attempted by a hobbyist rather than a repair centre since I can't even begin to think of one that does soldering like this.
As you can imagine, I'm working to a budget (otherwise I'd just buy a brand new machine), but considering the specs of this machine it seems like it's worth spending a little bit on if there's a chance of bringing it back to life. It would certainly make my studies a bit easier having this machine to work with, that's for sure.
Cheers in advance.
- Michael
but they are cheaper than buying a whole new computer. Look for Aoyue on amazon or ebay for a rework station. Then you could solder on a new connector but it's not going to be easy. I hope that helps. Find someone in your town who can do it. It's not going to cost that much. less than $200 US.
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