Late 2011 13" MacBook Pro Charging Ahead with New DC-In Board

Mi Problema

I noticed a while back that the MagSafe connector was getting really hot, hot enough that it fried the two outermost terminals in the DC-In Board's port. I could only charge it when it was off or sleeping - the MagSafe connector would overheat any time I used the computer while charging. I took it to the Genius Bar and was told there was no problem, that it was my fault for not keeping the MagSafe connector and port clean (could be true despite my efforts to do so). They didn't suggest repairing the burnt out DC-In Board, which surprised me. So I looked into making the repair myself, and found iFixit. I bought a tool kit (54 Bit Driver Kit) and a used DC-In Board from iFixit. I followed iFixit's guide and made the repair and now my MacBook Pro's functionality has been restored. The MagSafe connector stays relatively cool during use when charging.

Mi Solución

The repair went fine. I worked slowly and carefully, using magnification so I could see more clearly, and took the time to clean dust off the fan and logic board while I had it all apart using a soft brush and hand blower. It took me about 3 hours to complete the job. I'm sure it would go faster if I had to do it again.

Mi Consejo

Make a drawing of the fan and logic board showing where all the screws go and place each screw in its spot on the drawing once removed. That way all the screws go back into their original positions with no guess work. Be sure to look at the suggestions other users have posted to the guide. Some of them were helpful to me when I got "stuck" a couple times. One thing I suggest during assembly is to start all the screws that hold the logic board in place before torquing them down. That way you can nudge the board around a little to ease the process of getting all the screws to line up with their holes. Another thing I did was clean off any smudges or prints left by my fingers using a cotton swab wetted (not soaked) with alcohol, so everything went back together as clean as it was when I opened the computer up.