Chosen Solution
Hello Fixers. First time posting here. I have read so many posts and watched many videos about similar situation. I know that this MBP15/L11 has probably a faulty dGPU, but i would love to try to have a solution before to stop. Tried: Reset SMC, NVRAM/PRAM, no changes.Removed battery and SSD, no changes.Replaced the RAM sticks, no changes.Disconnected everything and connected again (on the Logic board), no changes. Obeservations: Apple Logo never turns onDisplay seems totally blackPutting a light behind i cant see anything on the displayIt always chimes (that should be a good point)keyboard backlit never turned onHinges are a bit noisy, not stuck, but sgheeek (soft) noise So, at this point i am thinking it could be something: Keyboard not working/detected?Lid sensor?Display is dead Can i start with an USB keyboard connected? Or do i have to find a keyboard and connect trough the connector on the Logic Board? If the Lid sensor, i have seen i have just to remove the Logic Board and go to check/clean the sensor (that is on the side of the bottom half, right to the battery)? Any ideas?
Given the age of the system you should check the battery, on the left side of your case you’ll find the battery checker
How many LED are lit and are they blinking? If you have a USB keyboard and mouse you should be able to use it to run the Startup keys. Here we want the try entering into diagnostics using the D key as well as see it the Target Disk Mode works pressing the T key Reference: Mac startup key combinations Lastly, make sure you reset the SMC following this guide How to reset the SMC of your Mac Let us know how it goes Update (10/08/2020) Well this doesn’t look good. Your logic board does have an issue which might be repairable but I don’t think its worth it. Instead I would do what I’ve done for quite a few 2011 systems! replace the logic board with a 2012 board. It offers a better CPU & GPU. In fact the system I’m banging on right now is one of the systems I’ve upgraded! Its a drop in with one slight modification to the displays LVDS cable. When you’re ready I’ll fill you in on what’s needed. Here’s the part numbers for the logic board: 15” Macbook Pro Logic Board - 2.3GHz Core i7 (I7-3615QM), GeForce GT 650M w/512 MB, Apple P/N 661-6491 15” Macbook Pro Logic Board - 2.6GHz Core i7 (I7-3720QM), GeForce GT 650M w/1 GB, Apple P/N 661-6492 15” Macbook Pro Logic Board - 2.7GHz Core i7 (I7-3820QM), GeForce GT 650M w/1 GB, Apple P/N 661-6493 Sadly COVID has messed up parts recovery houses, so you’ll need to search a bit. Make sure you check the seller out and use a credit card which offers buyer protection. It will cost you aprox. $350 ~ 550 USD for the premium board. With a new logic board you’ll get many more years out of your system!
