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MacBook leaking? Ughhh

timswim78

timswim78

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 8, 2006
696
2
Baltimore, MD
I just opened my brand new Macbook (white, 2ghz, superdrive). When I took it out of the protective wrapping, I noticed that there were some drops of clear liquid on the bottom of it. I smelled the drops, and they definitely have a "chemical" smell. It looks like the drops may have originated at the battery.

I plan to call Apple tomorrow and ask about this (Their support just closed). In the meantime, has anyone else experienced such a problem?
 
timswim78 said:
I just opened my brand new Macbook (white, 2ghz, superdrive). When I took it out of the protective wrapping, I noticed that there were some drops of clear liquid on the bottom of it. I smelled the drops, and they definitely have a "chemical" smell. It looks like the drops may have originated at the battery.

I plan to call Apple tomorrow and ask about this (Their support just closed). In the meantime, has anyone else experienced such a problem?
Click to expand...

No, I have never heard of, or experienced, the water/liquid. Have you turned the Macbook, and where there any issues?
 
Perhaps somenoe at the factory spent some time, you know, showing the MacBook a "good time."

timswim78 said:
I just opened my brand new Macbook (white, 2ghz, superdrive). When I took it out of the protective wrapping, I noticed that there were some drops of clear liquid on the bottom of it. I smelled the drops, and they definitely have a "chemical" smell. It looks like the drops may have originated at the battery.

I plan to call Apple tomorrow and ask about this (Their support just closed). In the meantime, has anyone else experienced such a problem?
Click to expand...
 
HowEver said:
Perhaps somenoe at the factory spent some time, you know, showing the MacBook a "good time."
Click to expand...

LOL


I would take out the battery and check it out. If nothing appears to be on it/leaking from it, you might be fine. Have you tried turning on the computer?
 
timswim78 said:
I just opened my brand new Macbook (white, 2ghz, superdrive). When I took it out of the protective wrapping, I noticed that there were some drops of clear liquid on the bottom of it. I smelled the drops, and they definitely have a "chemical" smell. It looks like the drops may have originated at the battery.

I plan to call Apple tomorrow and ask about this (Their support just closed). In the meantime, has anyone else experienced such a problem?
Click to expand...

Very weird, i would call Apple if i were you... ;)
 
You should be careful, don't touch it. Phone Apple.

It could be anything, I know that notebooks can contain harmful chemicals.
 
I called Apple. They said not to use it, touch it, etc. They said that the store that I bought it from would issue me a replacement. However, I bought it in a another state, and that store has no branches within 700 miles of me. To further complicate matters, the store no longer carries MacBooks.

I asked the Apple guy if I could just take the case number and get a replacement at my local Apple store. He said no, I would have to go back to the original retailer.

This is kind of frustrating. I wish that I could just drive ten miles and walk out of the Apple store with a new laptop.
 
Excellent, let us know how your appointment/date goes.

Let's just hope the genius doesn't ask that the problem be replicated in the store--at least not the way it sounded when first described above!



timswim78 said:
Update. I've got a genius appointment this evening. Hopefully, it gets resolved tonight.
Click to expand...
 
HowEver said:
Excellent, let us know how your appointment/date goes.

Let's just hope the genius doesn't ask that the problem be replicated in the store--at least not the way it sounded when first described above!
Click to expand...

I went to the store and everything went fine. I ended up paying them $150 to upgrade the Blackbook, which had more RAM and a bigger hard drive.

The genius tried to be helpful but didn't seem to have any decision making authority, so he brought in the manager.

The manager started sticking his finger in the ooze (by accident), and I mentioned that it might not be a good idea to do that. He agreed and washed his hands.

After the whole ordeal, I decided just to try to sell the Blackbook. (The thread is in the FS/FT forum). I plan on just getting a MBP or another mini in the coming months.
 
Thanks for letting us know. I love my Black MacBook though.

timswim78 said:
I went to the store and everything went fine. I ended up paying them $150 to upgrade the Blackbook, which had more RAM and a bigger hard drive.

The genius tried to be helpful but didn't seem to have any decision making authority, so he brought in the manager.

The manager started sticking his finger in the ooze (by accident), and I mentioned that it might not be a good idea to do that. He agreed and washed his hands.

After the whole ordeal, I decided just to try to sell the Blackbook. (The thread is in the FS/FT forum). I plan on just getting a MBP or another mini in the coming months.
Click to expand...
 
MacBook Leaking

My daughter's MacBook is leaking an oily liquid from the battery lock. We noticed because she has a colored plastic cover and the liquid was more apparent within the shell. When I took it to the store, they said they couldn't figure out what is was as there is nothing in the computer like that and it must have been a spill. However, when I pointed out that it was oily and only seeping from the lock (not soda, or coffee that had been spilled into the keyboard or case cover) they were stumped. They basically said that they had no idea since the system was still functional. I addressed that the thermal compound between the CPU and the heat sink is silicone and when overheated will melt into an oily liquid and a residue. Their response was that the system would fry if it got that hot and be inoperable. I'm now dealing with another Mac Genius who says there has been several service tickets regarding "leaks" and he's researching the issue for me. I'll keep you posted.
 
whitneysc said:
My daughter's MacBook is leaking an oily liquid from the battery lock. We noticed because she has a colored plastic cover and the liquid was more apparent within the shell. When I took it to the store, they said they couldn't figure out what is was as there is nothing in the computer like that and it must have been a spill. However, when I pointed out that it was oily and only seeping from the lock (not soda, or coffee that had been spilled into the keyboard or case cover) they were stumped. They basically said that they had no idea since the system was still functional. I addressed that the thermal compound between the CPU and the heat sink is silicone and when overheated will melt into an oily liquid and a residue. Their response was that the system would fry if it got that hot and be inoperable. I'm now dealing with another Mac Genius who says there has been several service tickets regarding "leaks" and he's researching the issue for me. I'll keep you posted.
Click to expand...


Yes please do keep us updated, very interesting topic
 
whitneysc said:
My daughter's MacBook is leaking an oily liquid from the battery lock. We noticed because she has a colored plastic cover and the liquid was more apparent within the shell. When I took it to the store, they said they couldn't figure out what is was as there is nothing in the computer like that and it must have been a spill. However, when I pointed out that it was oily and only seeping from the lock (not soda, or coffee that had been spilled into the keyboard or case cover) they were stumped. They basically said that they had no idea since the system was still functional. I addressed that the thermal compound between the CPU and the heat sink is silicone and when overheated will melt into an oily liquid and a residue. Their response was that the system would fry if it got that hot and be inoperable. I'm now dealing with another Mac Genius who says there has been several service tickets regarding "leaks" and he's researching the issue for me. I'll keep you posted.
Click to expand...

Silicon has a melting point of 1400K. It's not the silicon.

It's also not the battery as liquid lithium would be noticeable (death and fire ect) as well as incredibly unlikely.

I would suggest that the liquid comes from the production of the laptop, probably unremoved solvent from the application of the waterproofing of the logic board.
 
MacBook Leaking

In my research the failure point of the Thermal Compound is 380-425F which is within the possibility of an over heating CPU.


Fezzasus said:
Silicon has a melting point of 1400K. It's not the silicon.

It's also not the battery as liquid lithium would be noticeable (death and fire ect) as well as incredibly unlikely.

I would suggest that the liquid comes from the production of the laptop, probably unremoved solvent from the application of the waterproofing of the logic board.
Click to expand...
 
"In my research the failure point of the Thermal Compound is 380-425F which is within the possibility of an over heating CPU"

I don't know where to even begin with this....

First and formost, at 380F your CPU isn't over heated, its fried, as in crispy dead. IIRC 380F is almost DOUBLE what Intel claims to be the thermal limit for the C2D.

Second, at 380F the plastic case would be a soft melted blob of plastic goo.

So while the thermal compound has a failure point around 400F, the rest of your daughter's computer has a thermal failure point WAY lower.

A big 2nd to what Fezzasus said.
 
Fezzasus said:
Silicon has a melting point of 1400K. It's not the silicon.
Click to expand...

Solid silicon, yes. Various pastes, sealants and other stuff that incorporates silicon, like the 'silicone sealant' around your bathtub, have different properties. Because more people are familiar with rubbery and squishy things called 'silicone', it's common to think of those first.

I'm reasonably confident that the OP wasn't saying it was the substrate of their chips that was causing the liquid.
 
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