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Released June 2012 / Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost / Up to 1 GB GDDR5 Video RAM

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MacBook Pro has a bad backlight. How do I know which parts are broken?

My MacBook Pro’s backlight broke on the board the other day. However, I really don’t want to spend $200 for Apple to fix it and would rather just do it myself instead. Although, I’m afraid to say that I have very little to no experience with this stuff. I do not even know which fuses I need to replace in order to fix this problem. I also am not sure if I have the right resources for this. All I have is a $7 soldering iron (also, I can obviously buy the replacement fuses if I need to). Could just a soldering iron pull this off? Also, would anyone happen to know which chips and fuses are blown on the board or how I can find out which ones are broken? I have provided pictures of the board.

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Based on only doing research with Louis Rossmann, I believe the backlight chip is where that “P” symbol is, right? That’s why i took a close up picture of that.

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I agree @oldturkey03 the LVDS connector looks like it got wet as it has some corrosion.

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Hi Cameroon,

After 2 years what was your solution?

Thanks

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@kimahrironso - I doubt Erick will respond as its been quite awhile.

If you have the exact same issue then you'll need to follow our answers below or find someone with the needed skills and tools to do it for you.

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Using screen sharing doesn't help in testing the screen as the displays data stream goes over the network not through the GPU logic.

What you should try doing here is connecting an external monitor via the Thunderbolt port using a Thunderbolt or mini DisplayPort cable to HDMI or VGA adapter.

It does sound like you have a backlight issue here as well. What worries me is the system overheated we should check the battery here if you have the external display working or can use screen sharing to your MacBook Pro you'll need to install this great app on your MacBook Pro first. CoconutBattery past a screenshot of the main window so we can review things Adding images to an existing question

Once we get an idea on the battery we can see what needs fixing.

Update (04/07/2018)

You'll need an Ohm meter to check the fuse. Here's the location:

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If its good then your displays backlight LED driver is blown, which is just to the left of the fuse.

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The battery appears to be perfectly fine. From the looks of it, it looks like my GPU is fine and that the backlight went bad. Although, how can I tell if it's the display itself or if its the backlight circuit on the logic board?

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@thekingcameron by looking at the external monitor

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So if the screen shows up on the external monitor, I’ll just need to buy a new display? I don’t need to do a board repair or anything?

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No, this is a logic board issue not the display. The chain of events is the power for the backlight LED's is through this logic to the display.

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%#*@ it. Well, I guess I just need to suck it up and take it to the Apple store tomorrow and see what they can do.

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@thekingcameron yes that is the fuse. Now you have to check it for continuity and check if you get power on it when your computer is on. Careful that you do not shorten anything else out. If your fuse is good than you have to troubleshoot the complete backlight circuit. You need the schematic, the board view and a good meter to do that.

Also, check and post some images of your LVDS connector. Looks a bit odd on one of your images. This may not be a straight forward fix or diagnostic....so be prepared.

We should also see if the expert on here @reecee is going to pick this up.

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Cameron Torres will be eternally grateful.
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