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Yikes, I spilled wine on my MBP

MrPineapples

MrPineapples

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 4, 2006
51
0
London, UK
Hi I've been reading through the forums looking for help. I spilled a glass of wine onto my MBP's keyboard, I did the obvious things... I mopped up the wine straight away & turned the laptop upside down, removing the battery & left it to dry. I've given it a clean (without taking it apart) & have turned it back on.

The problem i'm having is with the keyboard, the buttons are unresponsive & it appears as if the computer thinks some are constantly being pressed. I luckily have a second usb keyboard which I can use although i'm option clicking every time I use the mouse? Is there a way of turning off the built in keyboard as a temporary solution?

I'm taking it to an apple store tomorrow (it's in warranty but obviously liquid damage isn't covered). I'm hoping it's going to be just a case of replacing or fixing the keyboard, do you guys have any ideas & if it does need replacing are there cheaper options than apple (i'm in the UK) and to be honest I'm a bit skint at the moment, I also work from home so can't afford to be without my computer for too long. Can I do it myself?

I feel like a bit of an idiot, I'll be keeping liquids away from now on for sure.
 
Silver-Fox said:
I didn't think liquid damage was covered =\
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It isn't, Apple will repair it but at a cost, I was wondering what the cost is & if there are cheaper ways of doing it (either a 3rd party or replacing it myself?)

I'm in London, I've seen people offer suggestions for US & Canadian parts suppliers. I'm just not sure if I have any options other than Apple?
 
MrPineapples said:
It isn't, Apple will repair it but at a cost, I was wondering what the cost is & if there are cheaper ways of doing it (either a 3rd party or replacing it myself?)

I'm in London, I've seen people offer suggestions for US & Canadian parts suppliers. I'm just not sure if I have any options other than Apple?
Click to expand...

Get in contact with Amsys. They offer free pickup within the M25. We send all our macs up to Amsys when we cant repair them.
 
MrPineapples said:
It isn't, Apple will repair it but at a cost, I was wondering what the cost is & if there are cheaper ways of doing it (either a 3rd party or replacing it myself?)

I'm in London, I've seen people offer suggestions for US & Canadian parts suppliers. I'm just not sure if I have any options other than Apple?
Click to expand...

You can replace it yourself with a bit of work. You can order the keyboard online (ebay, etc) and there are walk-throughs on www.ifixit.com as well as some videos on Youtube. If you search the forums, you will find a ton of threads on spills, usually relating to keyboard replacement. Protip: Buy the right tools
 
The solution is obviously to drink less wine and more beer, which is served in wider mugs that resist tipping better. ;):D

If you have the right tools and are generally handy with electronics the keyboard is one of the easier parts of the MBP to replace.
 
i cant see it being any less the like 250 pounds.

if you want to tempt doing it yourself, you could take it to the apple store, see what needs fixing then buy the parts off line
 
I've just had a call from the apple store, they've noticed the liquid damage and say it'll cost £300 to repair. This is partly due to the fact the superdrives been playing up (for ages) so I asked them to take a look at that too. But now that's not covered either. So I have to pay for both to be replaced.

I could survive with an external drive I suppose, & fit the keyboard myself?

£300 ($600) seems like a lot. I'm completely skint, but work from home so need my computer. Catch 22..... Arrrghhhh...
 
Thats a lot for the Apple Replacement...I would say read up about replacing it by yourself and then decide if you can do it or not.
 
nyzballa12 said:
Thats a lot for the Apple Replacement...I would say read up about replacing it by yourself and then decide if you can do it or not.
Click to expand...

I think that's what i'm going to have to do. It's a pity I can't get the superdrive fixed under warranty, It's literally only work for 2 months of the computers life. It isn't full on broken it just fails to burn. £300 is just too much.
 
I just went to collect itfrom the apple store on Regent Street. After waiting a while a 'genius' appeared with my MBP asked me to look over it & sign that it was ok. I looked over it & there was a wopping great big gap between the base & the top plate (with the keyboard etc), and it looked like the top plate was bent. I complained, they apologised... now I'm waiting again (hopefully only 2-3 days) for them to fix the damage they did to the machine.

The keyboard will still be broken though.
 
MrPineapples said:
. . . the top plate was bent. I complained, they apologised... now I'm waiting again (hopefully only 2-3 days) for them to fix the damage they did to the machine.

The keyboard will still be broken though.
Click to expand...

MrPineapples, you may have just hit the jackpot! The keyboard is integral with the top case, so if they messed up the top case and have to replace it, you get a new keyboard FREE!

If by chance, they don't replace it for you, I highly recommend replacing it yourself, (follow Sirus2400's suggestions) then take it back later on (hopefully to a different genius) to get the DVD replaced. Considering that the failure to write DVDs preceded the wine issue, Apple should step up and fix it.

Best of luck to you.
 
I hope you gave them a stern dressing down for damaging your mbp and trying to pass it off hoping you wouldn't notice. That's deplorable.
 
Let's Hope you get it fixed, they're not so careful with our macbooks.
 
Wait until it dries some more maybe.. I left my laptop under an open window window (it was the only outlet available at the time) and it had rained :eek:

Let my laptop dry for a couple of days and it worked perfectly fine. I've had other occurrences with spilled liquids on laptops, including soft drinks.. Let it try and all is fine.
 
^^^ That also happened to me with an old toshiba I had years ago. I had a leak on the roof. It rained all night. In the morning my computer was soaked. Left it to dry for like a week or two. the computer worked without a hitch for years, until it was destroyed by a little cousin...
 
alphaod said:
It's $1200 here in the US, so I guess they would price that accordingly.
Click to expand...

To replace a keyboard? They told me £300 ($600).

But since I can buy the part for £40 & it doesn't seem too difficult to fit, that seems high to me. I'll see what it's like when I go to pick it up, It seems stupid to me that they're replacing the whole top plate but leaving the damaged keyboard in there. Maybe they'll feel sorry for me and fix it, but I doubt it. I think I could forgive them for damaging my laptop then though.

idyll said:
Wait until it dries some more maybe..
Click to expand...

I left it to dry for 24 hours, turned it on & it worked fine apart from the keyboard (most of the keys stopped working) It's now in the apple store.
 
MrPineapples said:
To replace a keyboard? They told me £300 ($600).
Click to expand...

Most of the time, it's not the keyboard that gets messed up, but the connectors from the keyboard to the logic board, hence needing another logic board, maybe thats where the $1200 comes from.
 
600 is RIDICULOUS for a keyboard. I'm sorry but that is just way too high. I'll do it for 100.
 
Apple always overcharges for parts and labor. An LCD replacement can cost almost as much as an entire refurb laptop with the same specs. I'm not too surprised but I hope you end up with a working laptop at least.
 
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