Spilt Coffee on Macbook, still turns on but slow

Hello Everyone. So my sister spilt coffee on her Early 2011 13" Macbook Pro. No applecare or other warranty. I Immediately had her shut it down and turn it over to let the coffee spill out. A day went by and she said a good amount of coffe had leaked out of the computer. She then said there was a period of shutting on and off when it was plugged into the charger, with the unit not getting past the apple chime. I had her unplug it and close the computer until I could come pick it up.

I decided to open it up to see if i can clean up any of the damage. The logic board did have a good amount of coffee residue on it on the bottom side, but not much on the CPU side. I used some rubbing alcohol and q-tips to clean the board up as much as i could. I gave it a day to dry and they put it back together. To no surprise, it did not turn on when pressing the power button. I attached the charger and presto, it turns on! Here are the things I noticed as it turned on:

1) Extremely slow and Laggy
2) Half of the keyboard and the power button do NOT work
3) CPU %System usage is at a constant 80-86%
4) the kernel_task in activity monitor is at a constant 325-330%
5) Applications and everything still work, just at an extremely slow speed
6) CPU fan speed is constantly on and at high speed, even though there is no heat coming off the CPU
7) trackpad works, but is very sticky

From what it looks like, it seems that along with the keyboard and power button problems, the temperature sensors are faulty. Is there any way to fix this without getting a new logic board? I can open up the unit again and try to clean up more. The only thing that is concerning me is that once the unit goes off, i might not be able to turn it on again.

Any help would be appreciated. I have no problem opening up the computer and taking it apart. I also only want to take it to apple as a last resort.

Thanks!

okay so i took the laptop apart again. didnt clean again this time but just took all the components out to see if there was any liquid still around. I put everything back together and tried to turn it on. this time, the power button actually worked and got to the login screen. all the keys were working and the CPU and fan were working normally.

I closed the screen to put the back lid back on. Now when i turn it on, it goes only to the white screen for about 5 seconds then turns off. The only way I can power it back on is if I reset the SMC.

I did a little diagnosing and found a few things:

1) The laptop WILL boot without the HD plugged in. I plugged in the HD to another computer as an external and it is functioning fine.

2) it will try to boot off the optical drive, but will shut off mid way

3) computer will NOT boot off an external

4) does not seem to charge from the AC adapter anymore

5) I tried to check the RAM, but that seems fine as well

Looks more and more like the logic board or a combo of many little issues.

im letting all the components dry more overnight. I will try again in the morning and if all else fails, I have an appointment made at the genius bar. I just hope they can give me a thorough explanation of what is actually wrong and not just "the logic board"

okay now its getting a bit weird.

I was trying to get into the apple diagnostics by holding down the letter "D" on the keyboard and instead of going into diagnostics, it went into the log on screen. the weird part is that as soon as i take my finger off the D key, the laptop shuts down within seconds. If i keep on the D key, it will stay on.

Any suggestions?

well the laptop works when any key is pressed down, not just the letter D. So this seems like a short in the keyboard, mainly the power button portion. Im just curious about the battery not charging, so il have apple take a look. there is also an AASP in the area so I can take it to them as well for a quote.

Il report back on some answers.

iMacC2D said:

Except... maybe... a Hardware Technician? There are absolutely viable options worth trying before writing the machine off. Once we've exhausted those, then we'll decide whether or not to give up.



The inability to stay powered on is a short in the keyboard by the sound of it. I don't honestly think that a short in the Logic Board is causing this behavior, especially as the keys and power button were only partially functioning previously. It's likely to be a progression of this issue rather than an entirely new one. I had to repair my own MacBook after receiving it second-hand for the exact same issue. Out came the old Top Case (Keyboard), in went the new one. Cleaned up the corrosion on the board and it's now in to its 12th month since that repair.

The battery issue does sound a little more sinister, but it could be something as simple as the connection between it and the Logic Board that needs cleaning. At the very worst, the charging circuit is no longer functioning, which could be the result of a damaged fuse or battery IC - but lets not jump to conclusions just yet.

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I am thinking the same thing at this point. I have found a small repair shop near my apartment in NYC that says they can diagnose the laptop for about $25. I was thinking of buying a replacement keyboard and magsafe port off of ebay but figured that I rather have a full diagnosis before I start spending money on parts.

But I do agree that this does not seem like the logic board anymore, which was my biggest concern. I will report back once I get some answers. thanks!

Update:

The computer can now boot and stay on without holding any keys on the keyboard down. Not sure if it was just a matter of time for more liquid to dry or what, but its sure a good sign.

Another thing I have noticed is that even though the charger is plugged in, it doesnt even provide power to the laptop. it will show that it is plugged in, but a decrease in battery percentage with the laptop plugged in can be seen. I will try to do some troubleshooting on this tomorrow.