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Water spilt on keyboard, macbook works, screen doesn't!

A

ardesigns

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 20, 2008
59
0
Hi guys. A couple of days ago, I spilt a decent amount of water onto the keyboard of my Macbook (while it was on). The Macbook immediately shut off. I tried turning it on again and it would not turn on. I then tried plugging it in and turning it on and that didn't work either. I read up online about what to do when your Macbook suffers water damage. After I learned that my warranty (even though I have Applecare) doesn't cover water damage/accidental damage, I panicked. The same site said the best thing you can do is let it dry. So, I let it dry for a 2 days and then turned it back on with the battery in. It didn't work. I waited another 2 days or so and, with the battery out, only using the AC Adapter to power the computer, it turned on and made the Apple "turn on" sound :D!! I waited a few seconds but all I saw on the screen was a flickering white "glow" in the lower right hand corner, the rest of the screen was blank. Clearly, the LCD suffered some damage, or at least whatever is hooked up from the computer to the attached LCD.

What do I do now? Do I allow it to keep drying and hope for the best? What will happen if I bring it in to an Apple "genius"? Will they replace/repair the screen for free under my warranty (I have Applecare and the computer was purchased about 6-7 months ago)?

I really appreciate any help!!!

Thanks,
ARDesigns
 
Sounds like your inverter got toasted. Chances are they will fix it, but not for free. Although, the inverter (IF that's all that's wrong) shouldn't be that expensive.
 
You shouldn't have tried turning the mac on without letting it dry first, you probably shorted the logic board.
If you spill something again, turn the macbook off and remove the battery, leave it open and on its side (like an open book) which will allow the water to drain. This will take 5-7 days, maybe even longer to be on the safe side.

All you can do now if repair it yourself or buy another macbook, not worth taking it to apple it would be cheaper to buy a new macbook.
 
Going the Applecare route Apple will surely notice that the damage is not normal and will probably be able to see the water damage. New macbook for sure. Sell yours on ebay perhaps.
 
Sorry but I'm being told different things here...is it my "invertor" thats fried or my entire computer?

Thanks,
ARDesigns
 
ardesigns said:
Sorry but I'm being told different things here...is it my "invertor" thats fried or my entire computer?

Thanks,
ARDesigns
Click to expand...

If your entire computer was dead you wouldn't be able to turn it on, so the guess is just the inverter board for your display.
 
Take it to Apple, be honest, and tell them what happened.

Ask them what is wrong and how much it will be to fix it. If it's too much money, you can head over to iFixit.com and try to buy the parts yourself to fix it.
 
myuserid08 said:
You shouldn't have tried turning the mac on without letting it dry first, you probably shorted the logic board.
If you spill something again, turn the macbook off and remove the battery, leave it open and on its side (like an open book) which will allow the water to drain. This will take 5-7 days, maybe even longer to be on the safe side.
.
Click to expand...
yep
 
Hi guys. Thanks for all of your help. I brought my MacBook to an Apple "Genius" and got VERY lucky. Apparently my screen was still showing a picture, but the backlight was extremely dimmed. While it still had to be repaired, the repairs were within my warranty. The inverter and screen are being fixed at no charge.

They did do one weird thing though. They asked for my password. Any idea why they would do that?

Thanks,
ARDesigns
 
No idea why they would ask for your password. Maybe to make things easier on them? I suppose they could get anything they wanted without it though. I would assume they had a good reason to need it.
 
They asked me my password too, I asked why, and they said that it just incase any of the repairs or tests require installing any updates.
 
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