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Spilled beer, interesting effect

D

Droid1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 8, 2011
14
0
Greetings.
So the other day i spilled beer(just a little) on my macbook pro. I quickly turned it off, turned upside down and let it dry off near an air-blower. The next day i turned the computer on, it worked, except for one thing - it was like if the alt(option) key was pressed all the time, but it wasn't stuck of anything.
At start i thought if i reprogrammed the keyboard layout it would be fine, but then i realized its the alt(option) key that is causing this trouble.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
 
Beer would be one of the last things you want to spill. You've could have done damage to your logic board. Since your warranty is void I'd take it apart and clean the board. Before thay, see if cleaning the keyboard just helps, you may have gotten lucky.
 
jessica. said:
Beer would be one of the last things you want to spill. You've could have done damage to your logic board. Since your warranty is void I'd take it apart and clean the board. Before thay, see if cleaning the keyboard just helps, you may have gotten lucky.
Click to expand...

could it possibly solve my problem if i cleaned the logic board?
 
No, don't clean your logicboard. I would probably advise you to just stay out of your machine.

Theres a great chance the spill DIDNT affect the logicboard. Being is that most of the laptop seems to be functional. What is does sound like, is that your top case has sustained some liquid damage. Causing the issue.

I would take it in to your local Apple reseller / Apple store and ask for a top case replacement. Depending on where you go the repair will probably run you from $275-$400. *You nay have to pay a diagnostic fee, etc)


A top case should fix your issue. (I'm an ACMT)
 
Adamine said:
No, don't clean your logicboard. I would probably advise you to just stay out of your machine.

Theres a great chance the spill DIDNT affect the logicboard. Being is that most of the laptop seems to be functional. What is does sound like, is that your top case has sustained some liquid damage. Causing the issue.

I would take it in to your local Apple reseller / Apple store and ask for a top case replacement. Depending on where you go the repair will probably run you from $275-$400. *You nay have to pay a diagnostic fee, etc)


A top case should fix your issue. (I'm an ACMT)
Click to expand...

Just right when i spilled the beer and i turned it upside down, i couldn't keep it completely horizontal at start and i believe the spill could have gone right under the area of alt(option) key. As the spill was fairly little and my computer doesn't seem to have any other problems appart from the button being pressed at all times, i decided to consult the store first.
p.s. But i can write totally fine if i connect an external keyboard to my mbp. The button pressed on laptop doesn't seem to affect it. Im guessing it's because it switches my keyboard as my main input when i start typing on it.

Thank you.
 
Last edited:
Droid1 said:
Just right when i spilled the beer and i turned it upside down, i couldn't keep it completely horizontal at start and i believe the spill could have gone right under the area of alt(option) key.
Click to expand...

Thumbs up as you probably saved your logic board by inverting the computer ASAP :)

I have been told that individual keys can be replaced by Apple Authorized Repair Centers (which are usually small electronics and electronics repair stores) for a fraction of what Apple charges. It may be worth calling them; you can find who is authorized from the mainframe on Apple's website.
 
NickZac said:
Thumbs up as you probably saved your logic board by inverting the computer ASAP :)

I have been told that individual keys can be replaced by Apple Authorized Repair Centers (which are usually small electronics and electronics repair stores) for a fraction of what Apple charges. It may be worth calling them; you can find who is authorizd from the mainframe on Apple's website.
Click to expand...

Yeah. That's what i had in mind. I'll try contacting them tomorrow. Let's hope that i did save the logic board, in that case im a lucky guy :)
Thanks.
 
I agree that you probably saved it by inverting it. I spilled a diet coke across my keyboard (most of it went on the floor) and did that immediately. It saved mine, thank goodness. I agree with the other poster who said it was a top case issue. Let us know how it works out.
 
i've got a great spillage story

fall 2009, i had a bottle of wine, half full, that i threw into my messenger bag (corked) with my MBP (an elderly Core Duo from early 2006) - needless to say the cork got bumped off and the bottle emptied

my Apple Care had expired earlier that summer, and for months, the damn thing worked really poorly - would almost never power on (would sometimes take me 100+ tries to get it turned on), and when it was on, it would sometimes randomly shutdown; wifi was bonkers, and some of the ports didn't work

slowly but surely, almost everything returned to normal - power is fine now, as is the wifi; my only issues are that it can no longer burn optical media, the keyboard no longer lights up, and only the right fan works

i am definitely looking to upgrade soon
 
kukrisna said:
fall 2009, i had a bottle of wine, half full, that i threw into my messenger bag (corked) with my MBP (an elderly Core Duo from early 2006) - needless to say the cork got bumped off and the bottle emptied

my Apple Care had expired earlier that summer, and for months, the damn thing worked really poorly - would almost never power on (would sometimes take me 100+ tries to get it turned on), and when it was on, it would sometimes randomly shutdown; wifi was bonkers, and some of the ports didn't work
Click to expand...

Not that AppleCare would have mattered as it would be void by you spilling liquid on you Mac. AppleCare isn't an insurance, it's just a warranty.
 
So i had my mbp fixed by changing the keyboard(top case).
Apparently i had saved the logic board, no spill had gotten to it, but it did get inside the keyboard.
Thanks all for your help! No more drinks near the laptop! :D
 
Yeah, a little late, but not sure why anyone was suggesting logic board... It was clearly the top case.

For future reference, and people who possibly search this thread, stuck keys or not working keys is almost always indicative of a bad keyboard, which these days is a component of the top case.
 
no drinking and computing sir

Computing anonymous

you should take it to apple and just tell them what happen you may get a nice gen that will work with you or just fix it "just this one time"
 
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