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broken hinges, dodgy battery and a drink spilled on the keyboard, original air.

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LeeM

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 1, 2012
603
0
right, just been to look at my friends original macbook air. last year it got a drink spilled over the keyboard and the keyboard hasnt been working since. he's just used an apple bt keyboard since but since then its stopped working completely.

ive took the battery out and plugged a charger in and it powered up no problem. the only thing which appears to be affected is the keyboard, only half the keys work so im thinking the sugar in the drink is probably crystalised between the terminals so im just going to wash the keyboard.

now does a drink spillage seem like something which could ruin the battery, or is it more likely to be the logic board?

im trying to get it working properly so we can take it to get the hinges fixed by apple (hopefully free) is this something they still do?
 
H

Hawkeye16

macrumors regular
Sep 16, 2009
208
39
Iowa
Only for someone who doesn't want to replace the logic board/ keyboard, or anything else that may have been damaged.

At this point it will probably cost more than the computer is worth honestly. But if you really want to you could start replacing the internals until it starts working again!
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
17,336
6,676
LeeM said:
really?
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Yes, really. It usually shorts the logic board, which necessitates replacement. At this point, it is 4.5 years old. The best best it is to replace it, since it will cost a lot more than it is worth to fix it. Even a 2010 refurbished model (which is available in the Apple online store for $769) will run circles around it.
 
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LeeM

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 1, 2012
603
0
KPOM said:
Yes, really. It usually shorts the logic board, which necessitates replacement. At this point, it is 4.5 years old. The best best it is to replace it, since it will cost a lot more than it is worth to fix it. Even a 2010 refurbished model (which is available in the Apple online store for $769) will run circles around it.
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i know i was being sarcastic.
i was thinking at most it needs a new battery keyboard and hinge. thats why im trying to find out if water damage could short the battery out as it works fine with no battery attached.
ive read reports of people getting free repairs, refunds, refurbs and all sorts from apple for the broken hinges. apple acknowledge the fault but dont state which parameters the machine needs to fit into to be repaired/replaced, and obviously i need to get it into a working state before i can take it in to find out and i could potentially do that for less than £200
 
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TheRealDamager

macrumors 65816
Jan 5, 2011
1,043
11
But even if you spent all that time and money and managed to get Apple to fix the hinges for free, its STILL a Rev A Air - old and slow.
 
L

LeeM

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 1, 2012
603
0
well he hasnt got over £700 to drop on a new laptop. it seems to run fast enough

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and ive also took it completely apart and put it back together in less than an hour today so its not exactly much time. I've read of people getting 2010/11 refurbs in replacement, if they did that it would be worth it.
 
T

TheRealDamager

macrumors 65816
Jan 5, 2011
1,043
11
LeeM said:
well he hasnt got over £700 to drop on a new laptop. it seems to run fast enough

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and ive also took it completely apart and put it back together in less than an hour today so its not exactly much time. I've read of people getting 2010/11 refurbs in replacement, if they did that it would be worth it.
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Not impossible, but highly unlikely. Best of luck - I truly hope if works out...
 
L

LeeM

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 1, 2012
603
0
back to the point. would it be possible that this caused damage to the battery? logic board looks fine no corrosion.
 
T

TheRealDamager

macrumors 65816
Jan 5, 2011
1,043
11
I would guess no, but it's not impossible. It's much more likely that the liquid would have gummed up the keyboard and / or shorted the logic board (or other electronics).
 
L

LeeM

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 1, 2012
603
0
it works fine (apart from half the keyboard) with no battery plugged in and on ac power
 
L

LeeM

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 1, 2012
603
0
im going to wash the keyboard first lol! its already broken so worth a try. if that doesnt work im gonna buy from someone who accepts returns yeah
 
L

LeeM

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 1, 2012
603
0
i was just going to use a bath of pure distilled water but the alcohol is a good shout.
 
Orange Furball

Orange Furball

macrumors 65816
May 18, 2012
1,325
6
Scranton, PA, USA
asting said:
Isopropyl alcohol is always good too.
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It can be too abrasive, so you should mix it up with water.

LeeM, just don't use disk soap. It leaves a residue and doesnt work out well. Trust me. It must be distilled water at least, add alcohol as you see fit. Distilled water doesn't have any minerals so it evaporates completely, and alcohol evaporates without a residue.
 
dreamsINdigital

dreamsINdigital

macrumors 6502
Sep 4, 2006
301
5
Why don't you just try taking it in to get the hinge repaired as it is? The worst they can do is just say no. The broken hinge isn't really related to the keyboard and battery.

I'm also going to try to take my Rev. A MacBook Air in soon for hinge repair. It's got dents on the back corners of the upper lid, but hopefully they'll still repair the hinges for free. I've read of them replacing the entire top half of the computer, screen included, but I've never heard of them giving out a newer model refurb.
 
A

asting

macrumors 6502
Jun 10, 2012
378
3
Orange Furball said:
It can be too abrasive, so you should mix it up with water.

LeeM, just don't use disk soap. It leaves a residue and doesnt work out well. Trust me. It must be distilled water at least, add alcohol as you see fit. Distilled water doesn't have any minerals so it evaporates completely, and alcohol evaporates without a residue.
Click to expand...

For sure. I didn't mean to imply using it at full strength.
 
L

LeeM

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 1, 2012
603
0
its the plastic part essential? dont mind how it looks as long as it works
 
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