Hey,
After a little spill, my MBP powers on, but the keyboard backlight on the sides isn't working. Is there a way to repair this, or do I need new parts. Also, can it be fixed with a replacement keyboard, or would I also need a top case?
Thanks
The backlight of the MBP keyboard consists of 4 white LED's, attached to the back of the keyboard with double-sided sticky tape. A spillage could be shorting a couple of them out, hence the darkness. OR.. the liquid could be muddling the light because it's in the actual keyboard.
What you can do, if your a dab handy with some precision tools is to dismantle the machine and remove the keyboard. You can fine a helpful guiide on
ifixit - but dismantling the keyboard to it's dismantle it to it component parts will take a few hours and there are no guides for this...
After you've dismantled the keyboard to the component parts, you'll need some paper towels and a hair drier that has a "cool" setting - you don't wanna melt the membrane part of the keyboard!! OR any of the connecting flex.
Once done, the rest a matter of reassembly in reverse order!! Shouldn't take more then 4 hours to complete. While your at it, don't forget to dab off excess water from the top-case - if all done correctly, the backlight should return to normal.
BEWARNED...
If things go wrong, you could end up with a dead keyboard or worst.. a dead MacBook Pro.
Good-Luck!