A new client called me last week with an Apple MacBook need. They wanted the battery replaced because it isn’t holding a charge like it did when it was new. I researched the procedure and discovered a few videos of it. It looked complex but one video I watched made it look doable if you were careful. The logic board (Motherboard) had to be partially raised to access the flimsy ribbon cable for the battery pack. The client said another computer company quoted them a high price for the job and now I can see why.
I accepted the challenge and from the start it had problems. I had trouble finding a star screwdriver that would fit the case screws. Once the case cover was removed I realized the nightmare I was in for. There were five batteries in the system GLUED to the laptop chassis just like the video. Each had to be pried off the chassis with more force than I had gathered from the video. During the last battery removal the worst thing could have happened: I tore the touchpad ribbon cable which was underneath the battery. I had to order a new touchpad and cable once this happened.
It was a royal pain getting the motherboard raised off the chassis and the thin ribbon cable pushed under it. The battery cable connector was so small and fragile that getting disconnected was very dangerous. Once I got it all back together it got damaged. Tape had to be used to hold it to the motherboard. I couldn’t get it charged because my client never gave me the charger for the laptop. Later I found out that the new battery wouldn’t charge for my client. He gave me back the laptop and the charger but I never could get the new battery recognized or charged! I took it completely apart again and no solution. I gave up and returned it to my client who thankfully understood how hard this project was. The laptop still works under AC power but not on battery.
