Chosen Solution
I recently bought a MacBook A1342 on eBay for £50. The owner said that it boots but that he couldn’t access the files due to it needing a new motherboard. My thought process behind it was that it just needed a new HDD (SSD)! I bought it, replaced the HDD with an SSD and it works! My only issue is that, even though he didn’t say it in the ad, the keyboard is faulty and some keys are pressing other keys when typing. I’ve completely torn it down to its bare shell to see if I can get the keyboard out to clean the inside of it but it seems to be part of the uppercase and I can’t for the life of me get it out. I don’t want to put it back together without at least trying something. My question is, can I run the uppercase under some water (and then maybe a light bath in 100% isopropyl alcohol?) and let it dry out for a couple of days? It won’t damage anything will it because there’s no current running through it, right? See pictures for it’s current state.
Many thanks! Ollie
@nick & @aactech - I rinsed it under the cold tap for around 5 or so minutes, making sure the water got in everywhere. I pat dried the outside and made a shallow bath of isopropyl alcohol and put the uppercase in there. Gave it a good swish around and let it soak for a couple of minutes, took it out, pat dried it, let it sit for 5 minutes and then made a second bath of alochol for it to go in, to displace any remaining water. It’s currently drying out so I think on Tuesday or maybe Wednesday night, I’ll put it back together and let you know if it worked!
Here’s how to replace just the keyboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAAd1kw0…
You need a topcase for this machine unless you know how to plastic weld the new board in place. You can’t replace it like you can in the Pro version of this machine. The guide you need can be found here. The part can be found here as well. Depending on what the machine is worth and how much you paid, this may total out the system. Since you’re likely to total it out over this part, try to clean the keys and hope for the best. Take off the keycaps so you can get proper exposure and keep them in a safe place as well. Your best bet for a new one is a good condition parts system with serious damage that totals it out, like the motherboard. The topcase is expensive on it’s own just about anywhere.
I presume you followed Andrew Bookholt’s teardown? MacBook Unibody Model A1342 Upper Case Replacement Why not just replace the keyboard for US$24.99 ? MacBook Unibody (Model A1342) Keyboard
@nick & @aactech - I put it back together and, although the water rinse and alcohol bath didn’t damage the keyboard, it’s still not fixed the original issue. The keyboard is still pressing other keys when typing. It must be another issue so I think a new uppercase/keyboard unit is needed! Thanks both of your help. Although the keyboard still isn’t working, my original question was answered.
