Macbook A1181 won't turn on

[ToiletNinja]

I've had this Macbook A1181 for quite some time and don't know what the previous owner did to it or its previous problems, but it won't turn on, not ever.

I bought a new battery for it because the old one was bloated and was pushing up against the trackpad, and also bought a new charger. When I plug in the charger the light goes from green to orange, then back to green.
It never turns on. All help is appreciated!

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

It may be a few things:
-Inoperative/disconnected power button/top case
-Major hardware failure - logic board, MagSafe board, etc.

-Did you purchase a genuine Apple battery and power adapter, or third-party?
-Have you tried an SMC reset?

C

 

[ToiletNinja]

Hi,
Yes I bought a third party apple battery and power adapter, I've never had any issues with third party replacement items, other than they may not last as long but it does work just fine.
The battery does sit with a bit of a gap, as if was a tad bit too small.
I have to sit it just right for the light on the battery to register power (blinks one dot).

• I just tried an SMC reset, with no response.
• I have replaced the MagSafe board in the past, the one I got was pulled from a working macbook so it wasn't third party.
• I tried locating the secondary power solders on the motherboard before, but as far as I remember, I wasn't able to find it.
• The only type of feedback I get is the light on the power adapter (this one) turning green-orange-green.

 

[ToiletNinja]

So I managed to disassemble it even though the screws are all jacked up from previous attempts (I won't put it back together until it's working and I get a new set of screws), this may have affected testing, but this is what I found;

• There is no hard drive (although I knew this already)
• The upper case assembly's (keyboard, trackpad, power button) ribbon cable was disconnected (I have no memory of this)

Here are some images I took, they may or may not help;

 

[Cory Cooper]

-Third-party batteries and power supplies aren't recommended, as they sometimes are not built to the same spec as OEM Apple units.
-Did you buy a 60W power adapter?
-The batter connector itself could be bad, or their could be issues with the logic board itself.
-Since the top case's cable was not connected, that could be a cause of it not powering up.

C

 

[ToiletNinja]

Yes, the power adapter is a 60W model, as shown;

After I found out the upper case assembly was disconnected, I reconnected it and tried again. No luck.
Do you happen to know the model number of the logic board for this specific machine? I guess with every other possibility out of the way, that's the only thing left.

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK...

-60W is correct unit...wanted to make sure you didn't have a 45W, which wouldn't power on the MacBook.
-Top case could still be faulty and cause the no power issue.

I don't have the part numbers for Apple service parts. These companies might:
iFixit
Powerbook Medic
We Love Macs

C

 

[ToiletNinja]

Managed to pull the motherboard and discover the part number. 820-1889-A. I'll be ordering one soon.

 

[ToiletNinja]

I got my replacement logic board yesterday, and was able to fully reassemble the computer. Now, several other things are happening. The battery charges, and holds well, but the computer does not want to power up from battery. I need to plug in the adapter and press the power button several times before it finally starts up. This morning, however, it won't turn on even then. What does happen is the light on the charger turns green for a short while right after pressing the power button, or longer if I hold the button down.