Spilled coffee on MBA...back to life 2.5 months later

[madflava54]

My wife spilled coffee (white mocha from SBux) on her 2011 11' MBA back in mid-December. It powered off immediately and she took it to Apple and was quoted $800 in repairs. We decided it was a tough loss and would just have to use a Dell for awhile. I tried to power it back on back in January and no go. I decided to power up the MBA again today and it magically worked! I cleaned the insides with distilled water and Q-tips, but not too aggressively. I could potentially do more, but lack the tools and don't want to risk damaging the Air further.

The only thing that does not work is the battery. It's dead. The battery's condition is "Replace Now." The laptop will not power up without being plugged in. A few questions:

1) Will Apple replace the battery at $129 still?

2) Are there any potential fire hazards with possible sugary coffee residue in the laptop?

Thanks in advance for the help. I am still in shock that this thing is working right now.

 

[iAppl3Fan]

My wife spilled coffee (white mocha from SBux) on her 2011 11' MBA back in mid-December. It powered off immediately and she took it to Apple and was quoted $800 in repairs. We decided it was a tough loss and would just have to use a Dell for awhile. I tried to power it back on back in January and no go. I decided to power up the MBA again today and it magically worked! I cleaned the insides with distilled water and Q-tips, but not too aggressively. I could potentially do more, but lack the tools and don't want to risk damaging the Air further.

The only thing that does not work is the battery. It's dead. The battery's condition is "Replace Now." The laptop will not power up without being plugged in. A few questions:

1) Will Apple replace the battery at $129 still?

2) Are there any potential fire hazards with possible sugary coffee residue in the laptop?

Thanks in advance for the help. I am still in shock that this thing is working right now.

Give it a shot. I think they will replace the battery for you. It's probably best to use some compressed air to do some more cleaning on the inside. I would run some more test to make sure the computer is stable before spending money on a new battery.

 

[madflava54]

Give it a shot. I think they will replace the battery for you. It's probably best to use some compressed air to do some more cleaning on the inside. I would run some more test to make sure the computer is stable before spending money on a new battery.

I watched a few Youtube videos on it at 1080p. Then I stressed it by playing 3 1080p videos and walked away. It of course lagged like crazy. The backlight of the keyboard works. Sound is working. I will have my wife use it tomorrow and see if it seems noticeable slower or anything, but to me, the Air is running pretty well for a 2gb system.

 

[iAppl3Fan]

I watched a few Youtube videos on it at 1080p. Then I stressed it by playing 3 1080p videos and walked away. It of course lagged like crazy. The backlight of the keyboard works. Sound is working. I will have my wife use it tomorrow and see if it seems noticeable slower or anything, but to me, the Air is running pretty well for a 2gb system.

Let it run for a few hours or over night to test the uptime of the system. I wouldn't store any critical documents on there initially to be sure all systems go but sounds like it's good.

 

[madflava54]

Let it run for a few hours or over night to test the uptime of the system. I wouldn't store any critical documents on there initially to be sure all systems go but sounds like it's good.

I will run Braveheart through Amazon Prime overnight.

Any idea in regards to fire hazards? Or any ideas for cleaning? I guess I could order the necessary screwdrivers from OWC and take it apart further using iFixit for guidance.

 

[iAppl3Fan]

I will run Braveheart through Amazon Prime overnight.

Any idea in regards to fire hazards? Or any ideas for cleaning? I guess I could order the necessary screwdrivers from OWC and take it apart further using iFixit for guidance.

Use compressed air can's to clean to remove "dust" or debris. That's safer than water on a q-tip. You may try rubbing alcohol on a q-tip. It's less dangerous because it evaporates.