2008 MBP mechanical question(s).
 

I always thought it was a 2007, but the sticker inside says 03 2008. anyway, it is a 15' 2.33Ghz MBP, C2D.

So, i ordered a new HDD and Optical drive.

Opening the machine was simple and changing the two drives similarly so. However, now, reassembled, with, or without the upper (keyboard) casing detached, but ribbon connected, there is absolutely no reaction to the power button whatsoever. With the battery in, the power adapter charges it happily, up to green light status.

Here is my dangerous assumption: Logically, the only guilty-looking party is the power/trackpad-logic board ribbon, even though I exercised total caution when disassembling the upper case.

Anyone with the relevant experience see anything else I should consider?

So far, in troubleshooting mode, I have replaced the RAM chips, and even reinstalled the old HDD. No change. Deadsville.

Is there an earth requirement between the upper case and the main body? I saw the brass "spring" at the rear, to the right of the left hand fan. That said, I would have thought the casing screws would handle such an earth if required.

Any assistance much appreciated!

A 2.33 GHz MacBook Pro would be a 2006 model, and sold as new up to June 2007.

recheck the various connectors on the bottom side of the top case, especially the ribbon cables that plug in to the trackpad, and the tiny flex cable that plugs in to the keyboard.
There should be 4 or more connectors to inspect on the bottom side of the top case.

I have also seen a loose (damaged) plug on the logic board, where the top case ribbon cable attaches. If that happens, then the only fix is replacing the logic board.

Thanks delta. The interesting thing is that there is a vendor's sticker inside the upper casing that says 03/2008. I have always been pretty sure it was bought in 2007. How the hell did that sticker get there? Why would the vendor open a new Mac and put it there???

I did try the power button whilst holding that power/trackpad ribbon cable in place with my finger and still nothing. that's why I started to suspect the ribbon. Surely reasonable finger pressure would make the contacts if power was present? Or not? A new logic board really puts the machine in the bin methinks. Well beyond economic repair, no?

My point was also to check the OTHER connections, not just the one. There would be 3 (maybe 4) to check.

And, could be the ribbon itself.

The 'vendor sticker', may be just that - a vendor sticker, left over from some kind of inventory (and not actually meant to be a date). Or - I used to leave a small ID sticker inside certain repairs, so I could easily tell which ones "I" actually touched, or disassembled.
Is it possibly something from a previous service?

Thinking back, I did have a HDD failure and that sticker is dated within what would have been the warranty period. I thought the HDD failure was before that on a PowerBook, but clearly not.

All the connections appear good.

Is there any way to test that logic board connection? Reading around, I have seen a few mentions of jumping two points on the LB that would cause the machine to start up, but I don't know which ones and having examined the LB with a magnifying glass, I couldn't find the point mentioned, which is apparently marked "power".

The power button pads do exist on your model. Apple moved them around on different models. Yours will be about 1cm to the right of the right front fan mount screw. The pads are labeled "PWR BTN", not "power"

OK, so do I just short them with the tip of a screwdriver then?

Thanks delta!

Yes.
That's the idea to short across those pads.

Hmmm...

Just did that and nothing happened at all. The battery is fully charged. The RAM is in and seated. Now what?

Maybe it's not the ribbon after all then?

Try with the battery out, and just the power adapter connected.
Also, try with battery only - no power adapter.
Do you get anything at all, like the LED next to the lid latch button?
Be sure to re-check the ribbon cables for the drives, and any other connectors that you may have disturbed. most can be seated by pressing down firmly on each connector. A couple push horizontally, but most are vertical connectors.

I did it without the ribbon cable attached. Should it be attached for this test?
TIA.

Battery out: Nothing.

Battery, no adapter: Nothing.

No lights, sounds, or anything else.

Leave power disconnected, and battery out overnight. Try again next day.

I'm about out of ideas that don't involve a lot of money...

Will do.

By expensive, would that be a new logic board..?

Does the LED on the power adapter connector light up (green) when attached to your MacBook Pro - or does it also not come on?

Check the backup battery connector - in the forward right corner of the logic board. Battery is underneath the optical drive, but the tiny connector is right on the edge.

You would try replacing the left I/O board (which has all the ports). If that doesn't help, then it's the logic board. The first is not easy to do, even if you can find a replacement part. You could check with some site that sells Apple replacement parts for the logic board. I'm thinking that if you get that far, it will cost more than the MBPro is worth.

Yes, the power adapter light on the MagSafe lights up and the battery charges perfectly well.

OK, I will check that connector in the morning as it's getting late here and I need the daylight for that. If the backup battery connector was not correctly seated, would that prevent the machine from starting completely?

Agreed, if it goes that far, I will sell the spares I bought and subsidise a mac Mini with the proceeds. This was a simple disassembly job and it has gone totally wrong on me. I have disassembled computers on several occasions and never had anything like this occur. Such is life, I guess.

Thanks again for the guidance here!

I don't know if the backup battery should affect whether power comes on, but it IS associated with power for the hardware, and is something that you may have overlooked, and accidentally dislodged when replacing the optical drive.

I see that the backup battery is a standard CR2025, encased in blue rubber and it does not look extricable.

Do you have to buy these pre-encased from Apple?

Left it overnight, battery out, attached the adapter and still nothing, from either the power button, or the jumpers.

Bin job.

Hello Mac Mini, then.

Just to give you the last word on this machine, I took it to the local AARC and they inform me that the logic board is dead.

After they told me that logic boards for the first iteration white CD iMac are no longer available, I do not have complete faith in them, but am willing to believe them on this occasion. Whilst I accept that I am not a trained computer repair engineer, I am very good with my hands and I took that machine apart very carefully indeed. Replacing the parts was almost child's play. Purely from an experience pov, I am interested if anyone can point me at what could/may have happened to kill the logic board. The machine was disassembled on a free-standing table, using the correct tools and me wearing rubber soled shoes. The battery was out and the power disconnected.

Cheers!

In my country I never take my mac to certified Apple repair shop any more. Last time they said the logic board was dead and wanted me to spend 900EUR to replace it. I took it to another laptop repair shop where they replaced a cap on the logic board and my MBP is running well two years since. I saved 800EUR.
I can understand that replacing Logic board is safe way to handle the problem. We do not know what else may have been killed on the board. But if you are willing to take a risk spending a little you may get lucky.
So take your MBP to your local laptop repair that can repair mac's and see if they offer you a different solution.
But as what may have killed your mac you never know. I bought a iMac second hand. When I picked it up it was working fine. At home it did not turn on. Between shut down and start up the power unit died. These days where mac was built to work for many years have gone with Pismo and Quicksilver.

Yes, there is a place I could try in BKK, but I'd have to find it first.

Maybe ThreeBKK could refresh my memory of where it is? Around Din Daeng, was it?