A1706 2016-2017 13” Touchbar MacBook Pro

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Problem Solution
Questionmark folder/SSD not recognized

Fig. 1
R9350 PICCOLO_IUVD no longer soldered to board and missing pad for pin 1
(PPVIN_2V7NAND_LB). See Fig 1. Inspect the area near R9350, including the trace
coming out of Terminal 1 of R9350, oftentimes the neighboring VIA breaks up the
trace, Measure the resistor, it is often out of spec.
Example of broken trace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6lTkZnykqo (fixed by
running wire to replace the broken trace)

Troubleshoot Piccolo circuit, it's very sensitive to any sort of water damage in
it's vicinity.
Probe inductors near the Piccolo chip. If it is shorted, replace the Piccolo chip
(inject 1.3V on these inductors usually won't give you a strong hotspot).
When not liquid damaged, often a dead SSD(you're screwed)
In one case, a short circuit caused by C9416/Q9401/U9400 due to U9400 circuit
failure.
20v, 0 amps, not turning on, no shorts. Check for low resistance to ground on
SMBUS_SMC_5_G3H_SDA or SMBUS_SMC_5_G3H_SCL. On older Macbooks, this would result in
no battery recognition & a lower voltage on PPBUS_G3H - on USB-C models, it
actually results in the machine not turning on at all. Can be caused by a tiny
speck of conductive material in the battery connector.
Can also be caused by C7605 shorted on PP5V_S4.

Random crashing No answer.

No power, PPBUS_G3H shorted to ground. Inject 1V (increase if no reaction),
watch for hot spots with thermal cam. Usually it's a bad tantalum cap
Measure PPBUS_G3H to vCORE coils (coils around CPU/GPU) IF those measure UNDER 1Ohm
(0.3-0.8) then you most likely have a direct 12V short to CPU/GPU. On this board
this situation is always a no fix.

Example: No Power -- A1706 2016 4xTBT3 TB 13" MacBook Pro 820-00239 0V -

PPBUS_G3HOT Inject 1V into PPBUS_G3HOT rail. U7600 Dual MOSFET gets hot. Part
number CSD58879Q3D. Visual inspection of shorted component shows solder ball
popping out the side of component. C7601 is also damaged. Removed C7601, short
still persists. Removed U7600, short gone. As of Apr 29, 2018 no donors available.
Board not fixed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=608unuqLWj8

Charger at 5v, 0.000 amp draw - no power draw. PP3V3_G3H is most likely shorted to
ground with a 0-1 ohm short, most likely due to bad capacitor. When PP3V3_G3H is
directly shorted to ground, it won't produce heat - the PP3V3_G3H power IC is smart
enough, usually, when it detects a straight 0 ohm short, to just turn off.
Charger stuck at 5v instead of 20v
If 5v and 0.00 amp draw, most likely a 0-1 ohm short to ground on PP3V3_G3H
PP3V3_G3H missing due to a short circuit on the input to PP3V3_G3H creation
circuit.
PP3V3_G3H missing due to a short circuit on the rail itself(refer to symptoms for
repairing short to ground on PP3V3_G3H below).
Corroded LDO cap for PP3V3_G3H around a CD3215. On right side of board, check under
shielding by SSD under the right CD3215 for hidden corroded cap. Example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb5dkH_mTEc (PP3V3_G3H 1.5V, also bad ISL9239)
PP3V3_G3H missing due to PM_EN_P3V3_G3H missing due to bad ISL9239 (U7000) Example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb5dkH_mTEc (PP3V3_G3H 1.5V, also corrosion at LDO
capacitors next to CD3215)
Bad U6903, responsible for creating PP3V3_G3H
Diode providing input to U6903 is bad
Bad C6905, C6906 caps around U6903
Bad CD3215
Bad CD3215 ROM chip (U2890)
300mA for a few seconds then reboot (PP3V3_G3H present & working CD3215): corroded
resistors around thunderbolt ROM chip (U2890 or UB090)
If the issue is a bad CD3215, one way to get an idea, is to see which does not boot
loop. When you plug the charger in with the USB-C amp-meter, it will turn on for 2-
3 seconds, then turn off and turn on again. Whichever port doesn't boot loop
usually has an associated CD3215 that is bad. Also, the bad CD3215 will
occasionally get hotter than the rest. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=pVg6Oxn9IUM

See Charger stuck at 5v instead of 20v

PP3V3_G3H short circuited to ground

A CD3215 is short circuited to ground, will show up instantly on thermal camera
which one it is.
CB300 corroded, but you can't see it because it is hiding under the metal around
the NAND. LOOK CLOSELY!
Some other random component - but check CB300 first.
Charger not turning on USB-C amp-meter at all. Check PP20V_USBC for each port's
resistance to ground.
USB-C charge port is shorted to ground, inside the charge port. Replace the charge
port, it is modular. See if it changes.

Battery not recognized First, try a known good battery.

If it doesn't work, check the battery cable going to the board. Sometimes there is
corrosion here, sometimes the customer tore the bar on the connector off the
connector.

In some rare cases the SMC still is a factor in battery recognition on this board.

No backlight Make sure the issue is no backlight, and not no image!

Verify that the screen assembly does not have the "flexgate" issue. Open laptop
just a tiny bit and see if image/backlight shows. You can tell it is a flexgate
issue when you can see a backlight when the machine is barely open, but you cannot
see a backlight once the screen is fully open. This is caused by the screen cable
being too short and is a design fault that Apple released a service program for,
but only for 13" 2016 models. The exact same cable and therefore the exact same
problem also occurs on 15" models but there is no service program for it. To fix
the flexgate issue, replace the screen cable with the longer version that is sold
as a spare part. You can watch a video of how to fix the flexgate issue here....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neigIMBUQf0
Blown backlight fuse rarely if ever happens. This board has a current sensing
circuit in place that keeps the backlight fuse from blowing if there is a short to
ground on the backlight line.
Short to ground on backlight output due to bad capacitor on output.
Bad screen - if backlight voltage is 49-55v, bad screen. This can also be caused by
the flexgate issue. Watch the video linked above for more info on how to fix the
flexgate issue.
Corrosion on current sense vias/traces for backlight to U8400 LP8548
No image Check the LCD cable and the connector on both the screen side and the
logic board side. The backlight power line is right next to the eDP data line for
the image. Any minor corrosion here results in 30 volts or more going to the CPU
data line. This we have no solution for since replacing the CPU isn't economically
viable.
It can be a bad GPU inside the CPU, which we have no solution for.

"Braindead" Laptop turns on but draws 100-200mA, no image.

Rest in peace. No Solution.

High fan spin/missing left/right sensors U5860/U5850 often get damaged in

opening/prying
Q6000/Q6050 often get damaged when handling board, they have a higher profile than
most components.

These components missing can cause a mix of single high fan spin, both fans
spinning fast, the computer being slow, or functioning normally with missing
sensors. Good Luck.

not charging and stuck at 5v with 20-30 ma PP3V3_G3H present & working CD3215
thunderbolt ROM on one of the sides is bad, need to be replaced.
watch this video from 15:14 to get more info on this specific diagnosis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXAK2l1oMZM

Not charging battery (machine turns on), charger taking 20 V, 700mA Check to see
if the battery is recognized, check if PPBUS_G3H is present, check Q7065 (MOSFET
between battery and PPBUS_G3H), check with good battery
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgLgY6X0mKs (caused by bad battery,
PPBUS_G3H present, Q7065 checked)

Two USB-C ports drawing 5v/0.15a, other two 5v/0.25a The two CD3215 on the
5v/0.15a side were hot. Replaced these, ISL9239, MOSFETS associated with CD3215,
PPDCIN_G3H & PP3V3_G3H restored, and works.
Liquid damaged ISL 9239 chip causing the laptop to fail to turn on with NO
PPBUS_G3H. Replace the ISL 9239 chip. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=eGr_DRojGNg (USB-C Macbook Pro not turning on no PPBUS_G3H).