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Are the 13-inch LCD assemblies of all Macbooks designated as Model 1181 freely interchangeable for years 2006, 2007, 2008? Some of these are Core Duo and others are Core 2 Duo. Thanks for any help.
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The displays are indeed interchangeble. The only difference is the LCD frame. The C2D models have 3 airport antennas.
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I have a Early 2009 model of Macbook which came with an airport card that only has 2 Wires connected to them. Black and Grey, no Blue cable on this model. So I would transfer the airport card with the 2 cable connector.
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Ah, good. So you've done this before, and the airport cards are also interchangeable?
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Yes, they are.
Not in my case. I swapped a 2 wire airport (2006 CD) for a 3 wire card to match a display (taken from 2007 C2D) and machine won't start up. It's fine if I don't attach the antenna.
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Keep in mind also that some earlier A1181's use a different inverter cable, specifically the "4-wall" "downward plug-in" inverter cable, rather than the more current "3-wall" inverter cable. However, swapping the inverter cable in an A1181 screen assembly is very easy, and only requires removing the hinge cover so you can get at the cable. The cable is only a few inches long.
Also, in reference to which antenna cables connect to which connectors, I've always plugged them in fairly randomly without paying attention, and I've never really had a problem as a result. For the most part I don't think it matters. And also, if you ever have a weak wireless signal, one trick is to switch around the cables onto different connectors, and that often makes an improvement. Just last week I had an A1181 that had never been opened, and that had a really weak signal. I swapped the connections on the wireless card, and the signal was strong again. I have no idea why, but it worked.
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Good catch!! +1
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Er, if I transplant an older LCD from Core Duo (apparently with fewer than 3 antennas) into a Core 2 Duo, how do I manage the increased antenna requirements of the newer model? As a corollary, if I transplant a Core 2 Duo LCD into a Core Duo, which antenna terminals should I use? Are the connectors coded or unique so I'll know which connector goes to which antenna?
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I read somewhere (am not even sure if it's here in ifixit or elsewhere) that when fitting an older LCD with 2 antennas to a newer Macbook with 3 antenna connections in its Airport card, use two outer connections only in the card. Do not use the innermost connection.
On another note, it was also mentioned that the older style Airport card with two antenna connectors is fully compatible with Macbooks that use the newer, three-connector card.
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Bernie....I have an early 2009 Macbook. I have replaced the LCD on this machine and I can tell u first hand that there's only 2 antennae...Black and Grey, there is no blue wire. The Airport card on this model has only two terminals for the black and grey model.
It depends on the connectors from the LCD head. Some are 3 wall - some are 4 wall. It doesn't matter about the WIFI connectors cuz you can install the 2 or 3 wire WIFI card in the slot (which ever you need) and it works fine. The 3 or 4 wall connectors will also be on the speaker and BT connections.
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