Macbook Pro M1 A2338 13"

[Orux]

Hi all,

I’m new to the forum and could use a bit of help. My name is Tom and I have a problem 😅

I bought a MacBook Pro M1 and also got a second one for spare parts. The seller told me it had a small water spill. After opening it, I found four spots with corrosion on the board.

One of those spots has damaged components — I’m not sure if they’re capacitors or other SMD parts. I’ve already cleaned the whole board with isopropanol, which made the other areas look fine. But could those damaged caps be the reason why the MacBook won’t power on?

My thinking is: it’s worth trying to replace them. If it still doesn’t power on afterward, then it’s likely shorted or something else is damaged anyway. I’ve also read that a MacBook may refuse to start if just one part is dead. For example, I saw a video where someone disconnected the touchpad, keyboard, and other components, and then it powered on — so they knew the issue was with that specific part.

So my question is: how would you guys approach this?

I know I can send it to a repair shop, but they usually charge huge amounts — sometimes more than what I could pay for a working used MacBook M1, or even a complete replacement logic board with Touch ID from eBay that would work right away.

Thanks in advance!

I Added also some Photos.

Greetings Tom from Austria!

[mon2]

Are these pics of the board before or after cleaning? Suggest to post the after cleaning pics. None of the green pond scum should be on the board if cleaned up with IPA (alcohol) with cotton swab.

[Orux]

These photos are from before cleaning. After cleaning, there’s no visible corrosion left, and even the green residue is completely gone. The only things remaining are the damaged components 😄

I can’t see the condition of the Touch Bar, keyboard, or trackpad from these photos, but inside, I don’t see anything else. Would it make sense to fully disassemble the MacBook and clean each component separately? The only problem is, I’m not sure how to properly clean the keyboard.

I also do not know who the Seller spilled the Water or if it was Water. But it is not Sticky so i think Water is possible but it can not be that much because i do not see any other corrosion at Speakers or Battery. Only those few spots on the Board. So Maybe the Keybard has got something from the Water because it has to get inside.

[Orux]

Today i got my Chargemeter. that is all when i plug in the Charger to the Macbook. It does consume Power. Not much but it does. Also u have that crazy feeling when u touch it when its charging.......

I hope u all know what i mean.

[mon2]

Test each USB-C port and also flip the connector head by 180 degrees for similar testing. Remember that on USB-C ports, there is a top and a bottom half of connections. Only one side is active at anytime.

With the meter showing ~7mA consumption, hardly any load at all. Review the LDO rails of the local CD3217 power delivery controller. That is, each USB-C power has a local power delivery (PD) controller IC. That IC is a stand alone controller that hand shakes with the external power supply to switch to 20v when applicable.

For starters, each of the CD3217 controllers must be functioning. By power on default, the power voltage is 5v out of the external power source.

[Orux]

So me agian. I have done a good clean again. and give it a second try. What should i say. When i then plugged it in it first sit on 5V then jumped up to 20V then Apple Logo...... Problem. Backlight of the Screen is not present. I see all. Try to clean the Backlight board but no success. Boot Sound also is working. Keyboard Backlight also not working and Touch bar also..... what would u guys now do?

[mon2]

Remove all power. Meter in resistance mode. Measure the resistance to ground of the backlight rail that mates with the display connector. You are hunting for possible shorted caps on this rail.

[Orux]

u do not have a picture wich caps i am looking for?

[Orux]

OK i now Meassured the Volts. The Blue Ones does not receive any Voltage....... The Red Ones have 12V Green has 0.02volts. Some others on there reaching 3 to 5 V. I think i have anywhere a short. I meassured one tiny Cap with 0.5 ohms and all the Big ones in the Blue also have 0.5 ohms. So i think it is the known UP800 chip? because i do not see any damaged Cap on it. I looked with a Mikroscope and they look normal to me.

[Orux]

I have a second M1 Logic Board wich is working here. But i am afraid putting it in and damage something on that one... or is it possible and nothing gehts damaged?

[mon2]

Focus on the caps in the blue region of your pic. Remove all power. Meter in resistance mode. One meter probe to ground. Other meter probe to one of these caps (they are all in parallel so any one is ok). One side of the caps will be ground so it should be ~0R ohms. You can touch your meter probes together to understand the baseline for your 0R ohm measurements. Now move the probe to the other side of the same cap. Still a low resistance to ground? If yes, then for sure you have a fault here - it is common.

Understand that there is a whole another bank that also is on the same power rail. See attached.

Would you have a thermal camera? If not, IPA (alcohol) should work to evaporate quickly over the cap that is shorted. It takes only a single cap to bring this rail down and disable the backlight. We did a similar repair a few weeks back and being lazy, plucked each cap one at a time till the resistance was no longer a short condition.

Certainly inspect the bank of caps on the bottom side to see if there is a crack or off color.

[Orux]

When i measure on the GND Side of the Caps i get 0.4 Ohms. So this means they have contact to ground in ur picture i measured the top caps wich u see when u open the bottom of the mac. if i measure the Yellow Points on all caps i get around 160kohms on all. so now i try the other side of the board.

[mon2]

Yes. So at least one cap is defective in this output bulk cap cluster. Carefully inspect each to check for cracks / discoloration. If a suspect, flux and remove it and then measure the resistance again.

You can also consider a voltage injection of even 1 volt here. Then check who heats up or cracks under this pressure.

[Orux]

Oh boy. i dont have the parts to put 1v in it! ^^

[mon2]

Not required. Then the hunt by plucking off each of these capacitors will have to do. As noted, inspect each with a microscope. Often the shorted cap will be cracked or chipped or with a small hole. You can pour IPA alcohol onto the bank of caps and review which cap makes the alcohol evaporate more quickly when there is power to the logic board. That is the shorted cap.

[Orux]

they look all normal. No Cracks nothing. Not even a sign of Water...... mhmmm And no Volts also reaching those Caps. Oh boy i want it so hard to get it to work again