Just installed new iFixit battery. Boots up, but loud fans and problem
So Yes,
The iFixit battery I installed came pretty much 100% charged, but as per the instructions to calibrate, I let the powerplug connected because it needs to charge past 100% for another two hours it says.
So when I start the device up after reassembly, I get the black boot screen with the apple logo and the loading gauge below it. When the gauge reach about 60%, the fans start blowing lightly. Then it takes a bit to reach around 80%, and by that time the fans blow really loudly, what seems like maximum speed to me. Then it takes quite a while for the login screen to show up. And from there, the entire mac responds very slow to everything. A lot of spinning beachballs and the mouse freezes every now and then,
I tried resetting the SMC as shown on the apple website for macbooks without T2 and non-removeable batteries but that didn’t help.
Update:
EDIT: here is a picture of what it says after recovering with D.
It says SMC reset, which I already did a couple of times. Ok, Ill do another one then, so I did.
The exact steps I did to perform this SMC reset was.
Pressed and held left shift, ctrl and alt (option), then the powerbutton for 10 seconds (used my stopwatch this time to make sure I had at least real 10 seconds and that Im not crazy)
Problem persists unfortunately.
I googled the code, and found this thread on iFixit: SMC Problem Reference Code PFM 006
One of the people found that the solution is to disconnect the battery connector and the trackpad connector for 5 minutes, and then simply reconnect. I did the same thing with the connectors and after reassemble decided to perform another SMC reset. This time, the machine's very first reaction to pressing the powerbutton is instantly launching into fans blowing at full speed. Even before the black bootup screen starts initiation. There is no buildup in speed either. Just full on the first second. What is also different now is that the computer CPU speed actually runs normally. But the led indicator of the magsafe didn't light up.
Then I rebooted holding down the D button to see what was up this time around. This time the error was PPT001 and that the battery was not detected. Which I further googled and the solution here was also to reset the SMC again, which I did. Lo and behold the led indicator of the charger came back when I booted after SMC reset. Only to find out that we are back to the original problem of bad CPU performance and fan speed building up at bootscreen. Back to square one.
I suppose I messed up the logic board.
EDIT2: as per Dan’s suggestion in the comments to add a screenshot of what TG Pro app reports after scanning temperature system components:
EDIT3: As we make further progress thanks to Dan, here are two pictures of the the internal SSD. Looks like this is the original SSD, surprisingly Samsung :-)
EDIT 4: Pictures of the back of the logic board
EDIT 5: Here is a screenshot of TG Pro after the mac has been cleaned out and the harddrive has been replaced. Still the same problem.
Update 01/05/21
First off, to @danj I feel bad for changing my mind and unaccepting the answer after I first accepted the answer. Which was out of appreciation for the time and effort. Which I’m still appreciative of by the way.
But at the end of the day, I realised the iFixit route hasn’t worked out at all. In fact I’m even a little worse off now. Of course hindsight is always 20/20 but realising that for $200 having it done in an Apple store, it would have cost less time and money (even now with purchasing an OWC ssd just for troubleshooting. Not even counting the logic board fix… ). It’s not sitting very well.
Another thing I don’t really understand is, looking back, it only makes sense that the logic board runs a high risk of damage. It must be me though, because the vibe I got from the many people that disassemble the motherboard is that it is ‘just’ a matter taking the logic board out and putting in if you’re careful enough. But my experience was that trying really hard to be very very careful, you still have to shift the logic board a couple of millimiters with quite a bit of trial and error because its so easy to have a connector cable drop below the logic board. And you keep having to fiddle a couple of times all the time cringing and realising that even that teeny tiny bit of friction might ruin something delicate.
So I hope you understand I can’t bring myself to take out the logicboard anymore to take a look at the SMC chip. Because that is what must have caused the damage in the first place.
And again, I really appreciate the help, and I do understand probably my case might be an exception. But if this particular quest would pass as solved, it would obfuscate the risks when people are researching this project. Which wouldnt be right either imo.
Ok rant over, Needed it off my chest and hopefully I can leave it behind me soon.
Is this a good question?
5 Comments
From the sounds of it you have a sensor error which is why your fan is ramping up as well as your system goes into CPU Safe Mode which is were SMC reduces the CPU's clocking so your system doesn't over heat.
Let's see what's happening by running the onboard diagnostics. Restart your system and press the D key. Did you get any errors?
Reference: Mac startup key combinations
by Dan
Hi Dan,
Thanks a lot! I updated my question with the necessary details.
by kthone
@kthone - OK, let's see if we can narrow down which sensor is messed up. Install this app TG Pro. You'll want the full version here to get the deeper details. Post a snapshot of the main screen here so I can see all of the sensors (you'll need to resize the window to get all of the sensors to fit in one snapshot)
by Dan
@danj Thank you Dan for your input and helping me diving further into it and learning. So I got the pro version and updated my question with the screenshot.
Looks like the hardrive temperature sensor is the only that TG Pro says might be off. Other than that, so much green! Or is there something that could be done by the TG Pro app that I am missing? Must say the mac doesnt allow for much exploring currently haha.
by kthone
Nope! You got what we need. TG Pro is a very useful tool.
by Dan