Chosen Solution
I’m looking for the power on pads on my Macbook Pro 13 Retina Late 2012. Can’t seem to find a guide to look for them on this particular model.
This series does not offer power pads, the best way to check the system without the keyboard (or one you suspect is bad) is to disconnect all the cables as well as the battery, Now press the power button to finish discharging the circuit for a good 15 sec’s. If the keyboard power button worked reconnecting the battery should spontaneously boot the system. If not either the systems logic was not discharged as the power switch connection was bad or the logic board its self has a problem. While it’s possible to probe the keyboard connector contacts to short out the power switch lines I don’t recommend that, as you can damage the contacts. Instead I use a spare keyboard which I can plug-in to test things.
