Novice makes $800 repair for $40.

My Problem

I have a 2011 Macbook Pro 13 that would not charge the battery. After serveral phone calls to Apple Help and a trip to "certified" Apple repair center, I was told that they had to send it out to repair ("probably" the power board). Estimate $800, No thanks. Then I found ifixit! After getting the part for $29.99 and a couple of $5 tools, i decided to give it a try. Now, you have to know that I have disassembled many machines, appliances, etc., I rarely get them back together correctly. I usaully end up replacing them.

My Fix

Following the Ifixit 40 step guide (a lot for me) I disassembled about 70% of the laptop and replaced the 13 " Magsafe Power DC - in Board. Reassembly was a bit tedious but not to difficult with the step by step photos in the Ifixit guide. Much to my (and my wife's) suprise, it fired up and started charging like new. Working great all in one hour.

My Advice

Get the right tools and instruction (Ifixit) you can do a lot more than you might think!