Chosen Solution
Hi, I have a 27” iMac 27 that one of my coworkers has damaged the display connector while pulling the LCD hard and snapped some pins from the board. This was done while I was replacing a hard drive that failed. “Common thing with the iMacs.” Before coming here I have Googled the problem, read so many forums and found a post in Macrumors.com, where people had this issue and fixed it by ordering a new connector and soldering it on. I went ahead and ordered that connector, when i got it I quickly start soldering it. Unfortunately it is a bit challenging and spent days to get right without bridging it, but it is impossible. I have become so impatient that I want to throw the whole thing in the garbage, but I have got so many video projects to do being a video editor. I want to know if other people are experiencing this issue, and how to they dealt with it. Also if there are anyway repair places that I send the logic board and they fix it for cheap, I know how much Apple is demanding and I just can’t afford that. Thank you in advance for any replies. I have attached some photos for reference:
Dedicated GPU
The solder joints
The part
The same happened to me on my out of warranty iMac 27 when I was replacing my defective super drive with a blu-ray player, where I lost a pin on the right side, and on the left side, eight pins were pulled off along with the left most pin pulling off a pad, and part of a trace. I have not soldered anything since I was a teenager, and I definitely have no experience soldering SMT, so I watched, and studied a lot of video on YouTube. This made me want to get back to my old hobby, but I have no equipment! I ended up buying a new connector from L2 Computer Inc on eBay, Aoyue 968A+ 4 in 1 Digital Hot Air Rework Station along with a bent nozzle from SRA Soldering, solder paste from Zephyrtronics, schematics from NotebookSchematic, microscope from MicroscopeNet, and a meter from a local electronics store. When I got my equipment, I did some practice soldering on a practice board, gaining some experience on how the hot air soldering work, and how the solder reacts, figuring out the correct temperature to use. I used the schematics to figure out where the replacement trace should go. To replace the torn trace and pad, I used one of the pulled pins, and shaped it with needle nose plyers. I applied soldering paste onto the pads, and improvised trace/pad. For those pads with pins attached, I pulled out the corresponding pins off the new connector, and then slipped the new connector on. Using the Hot Air rework station, I used the hot air to solder the connector back on, and the soldering iron to solder the two ends back onto their respective pad. I then used the meter to make sure all the connections are correct according to the schematics, and touched up with solder paste, and hot air where ever the connection was not good, especially my improvised trace fix. I was successful, and typed up my experience with my fixed iMac 27. I probably spent more than what it cost to ask someone else to fix it, but cheaper than buying a new logic board. With my new equipment, I can now go on to fix other electronics!
I did the same thing! The graphics card died 4 years to the date. I pulled the screen and decided not to get a new card (cost at the time). I removed the drivers so at least I got some graphics so I could use it render video not watch it. I never secured the screen back to the frame. A years passed and I reached under the mac and bumped it tipping it forward and fell out ripping to cables. I had the pins exposed and at angles. I used 3 very strong lights and magnification to slip the connector back on the pins. I then used a hot glue gun to secure the connector to the pins. Ordered the other cable and a new graphics card. Replaced the 1TB HD with a 500GB SSD and I gave new life to my late 2009 iMac i7. This photo is from this morning. I missed the SD slot and inserted the SD card into the optical drive I had to take apart to retrieve.
Apple does not make the entire cable? I mean I loved being a wildwoodsman back in the day but exactly how much does a cable cost? By the time I am done buying a soldering iron, solder and flux along with a micro-tip I am guessing but bet I can get two cables from Apple who thinks everything is gold. Does anyone have a video of the tool needed to remove the retainer?
I am having trouble connecting the middle cable , there is just no room and I have bent the pins trying to connect it. I have high blood and now anxiouse . So much work to do and catch up on , All I wanted was to replace the hd for an ssd hybrid. Now up so upset . What to do. Called arround and no one wants to fix it
I did the same thing and all the crappy thin connectors broke off so I and drop kicking this to the curb at this point. Soldering connectors? Where is The Woz to come over and help?
In the end I took it to Exeter costing me £70.00 to put it right. The youtube videos make it look all so easy. NOT! All working now. Mac really should think things through better for the future. They go in reverse. They don’t think the “what if”
