MacBook pro liquid damage

[Sierra409]

I have a MacBook Pro. Purchased in the Fall of 2008. AppleCare has always covered everything but now they won't. My mac was having kernel panics. Turns out The ram is fried. But I am not sure why and dont believe it is due to liquid damage. When Apple found liquid damage when going in to replace ram they said it voided warranty etc. They now say it will cost $1200+ to repair in comparison to the original $150 cost AppleCare was going to cover for new ram and labor.

All accident liquid was some time ago and there werent not really any impacts when it did occur. My Mac has been to apple for other repairs since and there wasnt any mention of liquid damage so I am kind of confused.

All in all for that price I can purchase a new Mac. This will probably be what I do but I wanted to get some feedback.

What is it actually going to take to deal with liquid damage and at what cost?
Is it possible to just ask then to replace ram now and deal with liquid damage later?

I ask that because it was functioning fine until a few weeks ago. I would rather fix my Mac at a more affordable price then pay the price they are asking or buy a new Mac.

All feedback appreciated. Thanks!

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

well there are "liquid sensors" (little stickers that change color when wet) inside your mbp in various spots, so that's likely why they won't replace it. Maybe the original damage didn't trigger the stickers but humidity since then has changed them, or maybe they just didn't notice it and that's why they repaired it before....

in either case, why not just go on newegg and buy yourself some new ram? You could get 8gb (not sure if '08 mbp can handle that much) but it's only $83. You can replace it yourself, and be good to go. Either way, yeah don't pay $1200 to repair it, buy a new computer if it comes down to that!

 

[Sierra409]

Thanks for the feedback.

I know my ram was upgraded when purchased. I dont recall specifics.
But it has been a great reliable Mac and I have never been dissatisfied.

Do I just put ram in? I have never done any thing like that before. Since thats what's messed up will all be ok afterward?

What will happen if I dont deal with liquid damage?
Could I get that repaired else where for a better price?

Thanks

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

Thanks for the feedback.

I know my ram was upgraded when purchased. I dont recall specifics.
But it has been a great reliable Mac and I have never been dissatisfied.

Do I just put ram in? I have never done any thing like that before. Since thats what's messed up will all be ok afterward?

What will happen if I dont deal with liquid damage?
Could I get that repaired else where for a better price?

Thanks

umm idk if that will fix your problem, but it's a cheap fix and if it doesn't work return the ram... no money out of your pocket. I would think that if only your ram is shot it would fix it but to be honest you'd have to try it to be certain.

I don't really think you can repair liquid damage other than replace the whole logic board if that's what's needed, but it doesn't sound like it to me. The water gets inside, ruins whatever it's going to ruin, then evaporates. Sounds like the water got to it a while ago so i think any damage would have already been done. You can put the macbook in a bag of rice to help dry up any moisture that might be in it but that's really about all you can do.

You probably won't find anyone who will repair it cheaper. A mac shop (non-apple) may replace the ram for you, but it's so easy to do you're better off doing it yourself. Only other thing a repair shop is going to do is replace your logic board (which is the most expensive thing and why they want $1200 from you) so if that turns out to be the problem replace your macbook rather than repair a 3 year old computer.

here are tutorials for replacing ram on macbook pros

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1270

best of luck to you

 

[eljanitor]

You can buy RAM anywhere you like and install it yourself. If the liquid damage has ruined the main board, that's probably the $1200.00 + labor repair. You can take it to any mac repair shop you feel comfortable with. I would make sure you are getting new apple parts, wherever you may decide to go.

 

[vant]

Humidity does not change the color of the 'stickers'.

The stickers are laminated. The only way for them to trigger is a droplet big enough to become absorbed by the strip inside.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

Humidity does not change the color of the 'stickers'.

The stickers are laminated. The only way for them to trigger is a droplet big enough to become absorbed by the strip inside.

umm high humidity can lead to condensation build up which CAN trigger the stickers... pretty sure it's even mentioned on apples site that use outside of "normal operating conditions" may qualify as water damage...

If I turn the hot water on in my bathroom and leave the mbp in there for 3 hours with 95% humidity you better bet that can cause water damage.

so straight from apple...

These indicators will be activated when they come in direct contact with water or a liquid containing water. They are designed not to be triggered by humidity and temperature changes that are within the product's environmental requirements described by Apple.

so if you are outside of "normal environmental requirements" (eg. high humidity or extreme temperatures) the MAY be triggered.

Not to say they always will, and I didn't say that was the cause, but it's a possible cause I layed out for why he had his mbp repaired after the water damage but they said nothing about the "stickers" being triggered.

 

[Just "Vinnie"]

Is it possible to just ask then to replace ram now and deal with liquid damage later?

For free? Under AppleCare?

Why in god's name would you expect Apple to waste good parts in a machine that doesn't even work? (At their expense to boot. )

 

[Sierra409]

My MacBook Pro is a 17 inch and 2.4ghz.
What is the max amount of ram that's suitable?

Based on the link posted earlier, it says that 4gb is the most that can be recognized. But in the additional notes it says that 4gb can be added to each slot for max of 8gb. I just wanted to confirm this is correct?

If so I am going to purchase two 4gb rams to install myself. Please send recommendations of what sites are valid sources to purchase from.

Thanks!

 

[discounteggroll]

I highly doubt RAM is the issue, especially since it's OEM. MAYBE bad RAM slot, but that was more of an issue with the white/black macbooks. Most likely a logic board, but I would bring it to an apple authorized service provider (not an apple store). That way you get a second opinion. I would not spend $80+ on RAM just to find out that it is not bad RAM

 

[Godzirra]

Afraid it doesn't sound like the RAM that has gone, as the unit would beep a certain amount of time if it detected bad or dead RAM.

When does it kernal panic? On boot, after booting to your desktop?

See if you can boot using your install disk and then run Apple Hardware Test from the CD/DVD?

It could also be a corrupted startup file on the hard drive, or the hard drive itself. We've had quite a few kernal panics and its happened after the unit has booted, and turned out to be the hard drive, and nothing else.

On a side note, what did the Apple guy say about the liquid damage? Did they say where it is, what component is damaged?