I have a Macbook Pro 15" 2011 2.2 i7. Was running like a dream until I tried to add a second drive with an optibay. To cut a long story short a puff of smoke came out of the airport card. After the initial shock I rebooted to find no airport and the machine was running super hot when plugged in running off the mains. My dilemma is the machine works perfectly but is a potential fire hazard. As I soon as I plug into the mains the temps hit 70 quite quickly, too hot to touch underneath. When switched off it comes on by itself when plugged in also. So it has become a big silver coaster. Apple say they will replace the logic board and airport for £465 (which is actually not a bad price) but could it be something simpler. Any help would be appreciated. My household insurance will not cover 'mechanical' parts. If I had spilled coffee, dropped it or was stolen I would be fine. Any help would be much appreciated. I have Applecare also which makes it worse.
Is the Macbook Pro 15 Early 2011 Logic Board goosed
logicboard
Related Solutions
I think you're out of luck. From iFixit, here's the logic board from the original MacBook Air:
And here's the logic board from a 2012 MacBook Air:
Unlike desktops, which typically use standardized parts, laptops use fairly specialized components, and on top of that, Apple tends to iterate its designs fairly aggressively even within models with similar outwards appearance to achieve better cost or performance (e.g. smaller logic boards means more space for the battery). Because of this, most Apple components beyond hard drives and RAM are only interchangeable with those of the exact same generation.
I have received my new logic board today and installed it successfully. I also upgraded the Macbook with a 240GB SSD and 4GBs of RAM.
I only encountered 2 problems which can be worked around easily. The first one was the different SuperDrive connector. I simply didn't connect the SuperDrive, but you can easily order the right SuperDrive, since they're not that expensive. The second and most important problem I encountered was the different layout of the heat sink. This needs replacement as well in order to get it working properly. I'm still waiting for this part to be delivered. For now, my Macbook shuts down after a few minutes, because it gets too hot.
After I've received the right heat sink and installed Yosemite, I'll give you guys another update.
Best Answer
Since you've paid for AppleCare - send it in. It doesn't make sense you would be charged for a repair unless there was some sort of external damage, so perhaps you misunderstand the quote.
Perhaps the pricing was for an estimate if the fault was not covered so you could be prepared in case that were the case.
Call back and ask to have your situation cleared up or drop by a store with if one with a Genius Bar is convenient. I would remove the third party RAM and accessories (as Apple will ask you and inspect for before beginning service) before presenting your Mac for service. Inform them you have had a second drive in the optibay and offer to let them have / evaluate the part if desired to ensure it didn't cause the malfunction.
Here are the North American terms of service - and you can see that Apple may charge you a diagnostic fee if you send them a Mac and the failure is due to third party parts being the cause.