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Water damaged iBook

Bubbasteve

Bubbasteve

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Dec 23, 2004
1,163
0
Charleston, IL
My girlfriend recently (well last summer) bought an iBook for college. Just tonight she called obviously upset, telling me how she accidently spilled pop/soda on it. I'm pretty positive AppleCare doesn't cover that but I was hoping I could get any good advice to relay to my iBook-less g/f.

I guess it would be good to say that whenever she attempts to turn the iBook on, the iBook releases a "strange sound."

Please don't say to wait and buy a new MacBook because neither I nor her have the $ for that.

Any suggestions would greatly help
 
How long did you wait until you turned it on?

You should hvae let it sit, with the keyboard popped off, battery out laying down for about a day or two. then try and plug 'er in.
 
I think there are latches that you pull down somewhere on the top of the keyboard. You pull down both at the same time and then you slip the keyboard off. Let it dry out for a while, and hopefully it will work. You can also call Apple and explain the situation and ask them what you can do to help the iBook. The warranty doesn't cover this, but they can surely give you advice. Good luck!
 
Do you think they would really notice? Sometimes when I call tech support I really feel that they don't know that much. Its worth a try? If, of course, the drying off doesn't fix it, which it could.
 
The two latches.

Right next to the ESC and F1 key and F11 and F12 key, that's how you pop the KB off. ;) :)
 
AP_piano295 said:
you could clean it off and lie about why it isnt working.
Click to expand...

I have a even better solutions, pour kerosene into it and set it ablaze, but remember to put out the fire so you still have something to lug down to the service centre.

And seeing as to how the iBooks are EOLed this tuesday... new Intel Macbook!
 
generik said:
I have a even better solutions, pour kerosene into it and set it ablaze, but remember to put out the fire so you still have something to lug down to the service centre.
Click to expand...
Thats a good one. I might just try that myself. :p
 
generik said:
I have a even better solutions, pour kerosene into it and set it ablaze, but remember to put out the fire so you still have something to lug down to the service centre.

And seeing as to how the iBooks are EOLed this tuesday... new Intel Macbook!
Click to expand...

Haha, awesome!

Rich.
 
Bubbasteve said:
My girlfriend recently (well last summer) bought an iBook for college. Just tonight she called obviously upset, telling me how she accidently spilled pop/soda on it.
Click to expand...

You need to work out where the liquid could have gotten into the iBook.

If it was spilled on the keyboard then you might want to consider having the keyboard replaced since getting soda out of a keyboard usually isn't very successful.

No matter where you think the soda got into the machine it should not be turned on until you are certain that you have cleaned up the liquid and the machine is completely dry. It is important to clean all the soda up since if there is any on the electronic components then over time the acidity of the soda with eat through the circuit board. Rubbing alcohol and q-tips are good for cleaning this sort of spill.

If you think that the soda mostly just seeped into the sides of the keyboard then you might be able to clean it all up by removing the keyboard and cleaning underneath. But your best bet is to find a non-apple repairer who is willing to open the machine up and clean out any soda. This sort of repair is usually only about an hour of repair time and thus far cheaper than getting a new machine.
 
wet powerbook

Last year I purchased a PB 1.33 my first mac. As I was taking my book bag out of my car the powerbook fell out of my bag and into a puddle about 2 inches deep. I only owned the laptop for five days. I let the laptop dry for about 12 hours and then tried to boot up, the screen flashed and then nothing.
I went to the apple store and said I woke up and the machine would not boot up. After an hour they told me that they had found water in the machine and it would be a minimum of $900 for a deeper repair, to replace the airport card, dc board and processor.

I then conctacted apple care through email and stated the situation. The next day I had a reply that my new powerbook 1.5 would be arriving the next day and to send the old one back to them.

I would contact apple before allowing any third party to open the machine, apple could possibly take care of the situation before having to pay anyone.
 
generik said:
How do you contact Apple by email?
Click to expand...

applestoreinfo@apple.com

Dear Ryan,

Thank you for contacting Apple.

Apple has issued Return Material Authorization (RMA) number 7403115514 for the PBG4 on your order number W139315**. We have also sent you a prepaid FedEx online label to rrhelmst@****.edu. In this email, you will find instructions for printing out your shipping label.

Please pack the item along with any cables and documentation in the original packing materials. Then, using the label you have printed out, ship the package to this address:

Apple
Attn: #7403115514
2811 Laguna Blvd.
Elk Grove, CA 95758


We have replaced your order under sales order number 70215237**.

We are shipping your replacement order to the following address:

 Ryan H
**** Sterling Forest Drive
**** NC *****


The estimated ship date of your new PBG4 is on or before 8/03/05.

You will receive an email confirmation of shipment at rrhelmst@****.edu.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Sincerely,
 
Should that not work, do all the above. Turning it on before it was dry likely did some damage, but it's possible it did not (I spilled coffee on my G3 tower once, it wouldn't book, then three days later--and after cleaning thoroughly with q-tips--it would and still works well 3 years later, though I understand I am a rare case). DEFINITELY take apart the ibook (you can find picture manuals on how to do this online with a little googling) and clean it up, as soda leaves sugary residue than can wreak havoc later, since it won't solidify for a long, long time...
 
I suppose she turned it on this morning and it worked. Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm not sure if she opened it up and cleaned it, she just let it dry. I'm afraid to open it right now since it's working again.
 
You should consider it. As it heats up, some of that gunk might melt and, well, move down to somewhere that it might fry the motherboard or something...

EDIT: Congrats, though, great news that it works! Tech is always so much more durable than everyone thinks. :)
 
Call her and tell her not to use it! The fact that it's working right now proves that there was no real damage done to the unit. The soda probably gunked up and as the unit heats up, it will melt and seep down to more important parts. Remove the keyboard, clean the surface, the back, and inbetween the keys. Feel what's under the keyboard. Is it sticky? Clean it with water-free alcohol and a swab. I'm not sure how the internals of the iBook are (don't own a Mac yet), but if there's anything else easily removeable, check it.
 
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