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Hello, I am trying to figure out if I have a dead logic board or I just need a magsafe dc input part. Problem My original magsafe adapter died due to fraying. I then purchased an after market one with the highest ratings on amazon. It was going to be used until I re soldered my original. I then used the “new” after market one for about a week with zero issues. Then the other day, when the computer was about to die (less than 8 minutes left) I went to plug it in…. And computer went right off… Battery light ON CHARGER went off and only would go back on if I unplugged it from macbook pro. Did some research and found that a handful of others also had same issue with this specific charger and basically said it fried their logic board or the charger simply failed. Also when I attempted to reconnect this after market charger again, (after trying different wall sockets that work etc) it seemed to make a zapping sound when it connected to the magsafe port on computer. When pulling it back off I saw what appeared to be slight black marks on the 2 and 4 pins inside the magsafe jack (on computer). Also noticed black marks on same pins on the aftermarket charger. Was concerned this was a sign of frying logic board or dc input jack. Did some more research and found that other people had same issue with a variety of MacBooks and some people mentioned it was just marks from use. I clean jack and began the trouble shooting process… Bought a brand new oem 85 w Apple charger off amazon and used multimeter to test its functionality. Charger appeared to work, no other computer nearby to directly test the charger on though. Plugged in new oem charger and same issue …. no light on magsafe connector indicating charging, also I should mentioned, that since the computer originally turned off, the battery level indicator light (on side of computer) also wasn’t working and the same issue even with the new oem charger remains. I have opened up macbook and disconnected internal battery and attempted to see if it would turn on just with charger. didn’t work. I have reset the smc, didn’t work, no lights no power at all. I should also mention that before all this occurred, my battery was around 80-90% life still and was holding a charge very very well. My questions

  1. Did my healthy battery somehow get fried by aftermarket charger and therefore need new battery? And wouldn’t I be able to by pass this by disconnecting it and just using the oem adapter? How to I verify if battery is fried or still functional considering I don’t have another computer to test it on and the fact the battery was so drained and in need of a charge when the problem occurred? is there a way to test this with the multimeter?
  2. Is my Logic board fried?
  3. Is my magsafe connector dc input fried?
  4. What other trouble shooting steps can I do to identify issue/see which one needs replacement?

Unlikely to be battery. Most likely damage to the charging circuit on the board–which itself is generally repairable. Because of the black marks, rule out DC in board. You can find more information than you’ll ever want to know on Louis Rossmann’s YouTube channel on MacBook board repair. He fixes this issue every day. I wouldn’t bug him with questions, but if he has time he will float over here and give you a troubleshooting plan. Alternatively, send your MacBook out for motherboard repair–most shops that do MacBook board repair have seen this classic problem many times.

Hi there, I’ve got exactly the same problem. The battery was at full charge when the MBA was turned off. Now it won’t turn on. I have checked the battery with a voltmeter and it has plenty of juice in it . Macbooks should work without a battery if the charger is plugged in. If you unplug your battery from the logic board and you can boot up, then your battery is dead. If you disconnect but can’t boot up, then the problem is going to be a lot more expensive to fix.