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My Macbook 1707 PMIC got hot. Removed the chip and the fifth pad from the bottom left (PP5V_S4) was carbonized (also the exact trace to this pad is not obvious). After carefully scraping the pad to expose some copper it shows a 0.3 ohm short. I know this is a complex issue but what is the best way to deal with this? Assuming ground is the top layer surrounding each pad, is the right way to deal with this to scrape away the ground top layer around this pad? If it’s not the best way to deal with this, what do you recommend ?Thanks for your guidance.
Dealing with missing pads depends on what IC they are under and the position of the pad. It is not easy finding a trace under a buck converter as sometimes you have to scrape down a few layers to find it and you risk severing other traces on different lines if you scrape down to many layers. In your situation I would put some UV mask on the pad and just run a jumper from the closest PP5V_S4 component, it’s a no-brainer if the pad is on the outside.
We really don’t get this deep as most people here are more focused on assembly level replacement for the repair. You really need to get your hands on the schematics and board views for your system. Do a search for 820-00928 which is the board number, you should be able to find someone who found them after falling off the back of the truck ;-} You should jump over to Louis Rossmann’s site Louis Rossmann - 15” MacBook Pro - 1707 repairs
