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If you get USB activity, board boots.
You can also connect external monitor (not really needed).
Good enough to know that and check if signals are steady.
It is not possible to test. The device keeps switching on and off, the external SSD light doesn't flash and keeps switching on and off. SMC_PBUS_VSENSE is 1.12V when the light is on and when it is off it drops to 0V.
If I press power the machine turns on, but no image.
If I hold down power for 5 seconds it turns on, but it's not SMC bypass mode, because it doesn't stay on with the fan running.
Testing the board with only the external SSD and the charger, the external SSD light doesn't blink.
Tomorrow I will try to initialize the device by pressing PM_ONOFF.
Man, this Mac is very intermittent. I made a video of its behavior. Most of the time it doesn't turn on even when pressing power. At the end of the video, the device accelerates the fan.