(Early/2006) MacBook Random Shutdown Syndrome Fix
Posted Nov. 16th, 2009
(From a reader mail. Early model (2006) I assume as I remember this issue originally coming up back then (a sensor wire insulation melted/shorting out on some builds due to wire touching hot heatsink), noted on an old page here from 2006 on (early) MacBook problems that refers to a Sept 5th, 2006 news page post on 'random macbook shutdowns solved' with same cause/fix. Apple had posted a doc back then on "MacBook: Shuts down intermittently" that said simply to "contact applecare". (Now that old article URL converts to a revised doc though.). The Sept. 22nd, 2006 news page also had a post from a MacBook owner on the repairs Apple did which noted replacing about everything including a new ("M42") heatsink.)
Subject: Macbook RSS (Random Shutdown Syndrome) fixed
Hi Mike, I just repaired a macbook with Random Shutdown Syndrom.
Perhaps it might be interesting for your site.
How to:
If you are fit in soldering it is an easy job.
Disassemble the top case and lift the heatsink with fan+cables.
Next step: Look at the small black cables, in my case they were melted to one block and sticked on blank metal (heatsink). This causes a short circuit and forces the system to these immediately shut downs.
I decided to position the new cable section far away from the heatsink
and mounted them on the fan housing, fixed with hot glue.
Pay attention to the cable's height - the topcase must fit.
The fourth cable I run in the space between heatsink bracket and fan, surrounded by thick shrinkage tubing.
I also mounted extra paperboard between the heat shrink tubing and the heatsink to protect the isolation from the heatsink«s heat.
That is all, assemble the macbook and perform a long time test if modification is successful.
Regards Juergen
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