Chosen Solution
So I bought a MacBook Pro 15” mid 2012 (A1286) recently with the idea to upgrade a lot of the parts to make it more powerful. The model I ended up buying was the highest spec CPU 2.7 GHz i7-3820QM and the higher resolution 1680 x 1050 display. Directly after these upgrades I have observed display issues. The colours are off (a little psychedelic) and the screen looks much more pixelated in general.
See photos: ++http://bit.ly/mbp-a1286-photos++ Steps: Take off screws and back plateDisconnected batterySwapped SSD in 2.5" HD slotRemoved fansRemoved 11 motherboard connectionsRemoved 7 x T6 screws holding motherboardLifted motherboard up (left side first)Disconnected DC IN circuitRemoved screws holding heat sinkRemoved heat sinkCleaned off thermal compound with dry clothApplied new thermal compoundPut everything back together in reverse order After performing these steps is when the display issues began. I have tested and output to an external monitor is 100% fine. Does this mean the GPU is fine? And by extension isolate the problem to the LCD and/or LVDS cable? I have ordered a replacement LVDS cable and will try swapping for the new one. Notes: There was a LOT of thermal paste (see photos) on the CPU and GPU when I removed the heat sinkTried to swap CD drive for 2.5" HD adapter but could not get it out even after removing screwsPrevious to this I swapped the onboard 16GB of 1333MHz DDR3 RAM for 16GB of 1600MHz, but the system had been working fine afterwards up until the above Any advice at all would be very welcomed. Thanks in advance, Cillian Update (10/12/2019) I cleaned again as you suggested and I think this time I got it a lot cleaner!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/MMZXU1KHC5fgfK… But I still had the psychedelic screen. However I was not able to lift the black plastic insulator as you suggested. Is there a way to ensure getting it on and off again safely? Or possible to buy a replacement as a backup? I’m gonna give it another clean (looking at zoomed in image I think I can do better) before attempting to replace LVDS cable. Is this a sane next step in your opinion? Thanks in advance! Update (10/31/2019) So turns out there was a lot of thermal paste residue underneath the black plastic GPU insulator:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DH36Du2RofMiPy… After a full and very thorough clean:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6TVLEktHeBZ4h6… I still had the same issue. You can see some images of the LVDS cable and motherboard connections:
http://bit.ly/mbp-a1286-photos I updated to latest MacOS, and even tried booting into Ubuntu via a live USB (playing idea that it might be software), but still the issue remains. My current options are: (1) Replace LVDS cable (tricky since only have cable not display assembly). (2) Pay €70 for a diagnostic at an Apple specialist repair shop. (3) Take a hit, and sell on as ’not working fully’ on eBay. Any further thoughts? Thanks in advance! Update (09/12/2019) Yes the problem again does not show on an external display:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WNqwDW7pYoTCad… Is there any way to isolate the problem to either LVDS cable or display? I guess I would need another display assembly to easily test that? So my next (and possibly last step) will be to swap existing LVDS cable for new one I have purchased. Thanks again for all your advice. Update (01/07/2020) I swapped the LVDS cable - issue still present. Now I think the issue has to be display itself, something on motherboard, or damaged display socket (LVDS) on the motherboard. Logical next step would be testing out a working display - not sure how feasible this will be! If I fork out the money for a new display/another MacBook, and it turns out to be GPU/motherboard, it will be wasted. Any ideas for finding a working display assembly without buying one? Or anything else more sensible to do next?
Sad to say you’ll need to go back in and do a bit more cleaning of the old thermal paste. You’ll need to clean up the areas I’ve marked here in Purple I’m thinking the old paste is messing you up. Other than the RAM and SSD did you switch out the display its self?
Besides wiping off the bulk of the paste you need to use a solvent with cotton swabs to clean off the paste thats caught between the SMD chips on the chip carrier of the CPU. Use extreme care! As you can lift these tiny components which will not be able to replaced. For the GPU you’ll need to carefully lift the black plastic insulator plate to clean under it as well. I suspect some of the thermal paste got pushed down underneath it. Clearly the person who has the system last went overboard with the thermal paste. You likewise over did it too! You only need a thin coating across the chips surface so the heat is transferred to the heat sink. Anything that goes over the edge is wasteful and can create problems! Depending on paste it can be conductive or create a capacitive load on the lines. I personally use a loadable spray can which has a snorkel tube. I load it with the solvent I need and using a compressor charge it with air. I prefer this than using the spray cleaners as I can make sure I’m using a clean solvent. I do this outside so the fumes are not hanging around where I work. This is a lot safer than using a cotton swab and can get underneath the chips as well. So get all of the old thermal paste out of the nooks and crannies of the SMT devices on the CPU and clean under the plastic insulator of the GPU. Apply a lot less thermal paste so you just cover the chip and you want to use a dot or line (depending on the shape of the chip) so you don’t exceed the chips surface but enough to get to the corners. You may need to try it a few times to get it just right! Arctic Silver ArctiClean
