i've done a silly, please help!

[ItsDanbob]

Hello,

I am an owner of a A1466 Macbook Air, which was involved in a Vimto related incident some time ago.

I tried to dry it out and hope for the best, alas i find myself on Macrumours asking for help

The current situation is this: when laptop is unplugged, i get nothing - Apple chime, no Apple logo, nothing.

When laptop is plugged into power, it switches on. I was delighted at first, but then, after around 6 or 7 minutes max the laptop shuts off without warning, so something is clearly shorting.

I'd like to get the laptop back working, and hoping to do this myself. I have experience in mending PC's, and it can't be any more broken than it already is, so thought i'd give it a try!

I'm awaiting a multimeter from a friend, but in the meantime, i'm wondering which component people think i've ruined? My initial thoughts are the battery, but does anyone have any suggestions on where else to look?

TIA!

 

[paardenkapper]

There is something shorting out the MacBook. The battery could be damaged as well.

At first I'd remove the motherboard and soak it in isopropyl alcohol and scrub every bit of the case and every tiny part.
Swap the battery for a new one - you don't want short circuits anywhere. Running the MBA like that isn't very wise.

 

[real_mon2]

Hi. Be sure you have the proper screwdriver & tips to remove the bottom side housing plate. Remove the bottom cover and disconnect the battery. You can disconnect the battery using your finger tips. Then connect the magsafe adapter to power up but select the keys to allow for a PRAM reset. This will result in a dual chime sequence. Report if this fixes the fault or not.

You can also test with a SMC bypass and this is where the sensor readings on the board are ignore. The liquid spill may have reached the trackpad or other regions and during a normal boot process, the device drivers are loaded which are then making use of the assorted onboard sensors and resulting in this power cycling.

Do inspect the logic board for the red dots which will offer a hint on the path of the liquid spill.

The logic board should function without the battery. As a suggestion, source some pharmacy grade IPA (alcohol) and cotton swabs - both should be available from your local pharmacy or Costco. Use it clean up any corrosion on the board where you can see the liquid spill.

 

[ItsDanbob]

There is something shorting out the MacBook. The battery could be damaged as well.

At first I'd remove the motherboard and soak it in isopropyl alcohol and scrub every bit of the case and every tiny part.
Swap the battery for a new one - you don't want short circuits anywhere. Running the MBA like that isn't very wise.

Thanks for the reply - i'll add isopropyl alcohol to my basket!

Just wanted to also clarify. Whilst plugged into power, it's only been switched on once - as soon as it shut off, i allowed a second or two to allow my heart to sink, it was then unplugged and not touched again. Very nervous about faulty elecrticals myself, my better half had an incident with her own laptop about a year ago which ended up blowing up and setting our living room alight!

 

[paardenkapper]

Thanks for the reply - i'll add isopropyl alcohol to my basket!

Just wanted to also clarify. Whilst plugged into power, it's only been switched on once - as soon as it shut off, i allowed a second or two to allow my heart to sink, it was then unplugged and not touched again. Very nervous about faulty elecrticals myself, my better half had an incident with her own laptop about a year ago which ended up blowing up and setting our living room alight!

Once might be just enough to kill vital circuitry but I'd keep my fingers crossed - maybe you can get it working again.

Use a guide from ifixit, tear down the device as good as you can - as written before use the right tools and try to clean the spill.
The good thing about isopropyl alcohol is that it does not conduct and will evaporate after a while by itself.

Good luck!

 

[rpmurray]

Maybe take it to an Apple Store to get it diagnosed?

 

[maerz001]

It can be anything inside. Keybord, trackpad, logic board, even the cable connections to screen etc.

So this is a great guess and try and error. If u don’t have spare parts it doesn’t make much sense to invest a lot of time

 

[ItsDanbob]

Hi All,

Thanks for all your responses.

A little update:

I've bought myself some Isopropyl Alcohol, and all the necessary tools. Cleaned the board of any stickiness/ corrosion. Done PRAM and SMC resets.

Tested power with the battery disconnected, which works - like new!

Powered off, reconnected battery and tested again. Again laptop functions well, and it no longer shuts off. However, battery doesn't charge. It's recognising that there is one connected, checked system report and i'm getting the correct Wattage from my charger.

Before I declare the battery FUBAR and commit to purchasing a replacement, is there anywhere i could've missed with my cotton swabs?

TIA

 

[real_mon2]

In the system report, are you able to review a valid number of battery charge cycles, battery health, etc.? If yes, then the smbus pins (SCL and SDA) on the battery pack are working correctly.

 

[StoneJack]

just change battery

 

[paardenkapper]

Hi All,

Thanks for all your responses.

A little update:

I've bought myself some Isopropyl Alcohol, and all the necessary tools. Cleaned the board of any stickiness/ corrosion. Done PRAM and SMC resets.

Tested power with the battery disconnected, which works - like new!

Powered off, reconnected battery and tested again. Again laptop functions well, and it no longer shuts off. However, battery doesn't charge. It's recognising that there is one connected, checked system report and i'm getting the correct Wattage from my charger.

Before I declare the battery FUBAR and commit to purchasing a replacement, is there anywhere i could've missed with my cotton swabs?

TIA

At first congratulations for rescuing your MBA.

As far as my knowledge goes the battery is not simply an AA battery but has ICs and controllers of its own.
You would have to disassamble the battery packs and look for shorts and corrosions there - but DON'T.

The danger in piercing the battery and making another whoopsie could lead to a nice cozy fire.
So - buy a new battery then.