HELP! Liquid Damage?

[katierebeccamatthews]

Probably the wrong place to ask but I'm running out of options and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Basically I spilled a small amount of Pepsi Max onto the left side of my keyboard. I left my laptop on and cleaned it off with a paper towel as it was only a small amount. Then a few minutes later, the laptop abruptly turned off. I know now that what I should've done was turn it off, take the AC out and take the battery out so now I've done that and placed it upside down. The problem is I can't afford to replace it or get it repaired if it's the motherboard. It literally just got repaired in September two days before the warranty ran out for minor problems.
Then about ten hours later, I tried turning it on with just external power without the battery in and it powered on normally for three seconds then made a single beeping noise and shut down again, any ideas on what to do now? What happened and how can I fix it?

Thanks a lot!

 

[alvine]

Sorry to say but you have to get it repaired again...you probably shortened the motherboard. Be more carefull next time

 

[katierebeccamatthews]

Sorry to say but you have to get it repaired again...you probably shortened the motherboard. Be more carefull next time

dayuuum got any clue as to why it turns on but shuts off again?

 

[A Bad Day]

I suspect it was short-circuiting from the residue of the coke on the motherboard.

 

[katierebeccamatthews]

I suspect it was short-circuiting from the residue of the coke on the motherboard.

can it be fixed at all or no? o.o

 

[alvine]

you can try fixing it by removing the keyboard and wiping any coke residue with paper towels and denatured alcochol

 

[Guest]

I am afraid this is a common fault I have to repair.

Liquids generally do no damage unless there is power on, this causes electrical shorts. The chances are you have short circuited the motherboard, and the best option is to get it repaired by your local pc shop unless you are comfortable stripping the laptop and testing the components.

It is simply impossible to say what has broken without systematic testing to diagnose the failure.

 

[felix666]

Cola drink is a lotta sugar and some other aromatas. It has dried up now, so it may have stuck your keyboard keys in a bad position, or seeped where the keyboard contacts have to travel. Unless it went into fans, stuck them and let your cpu burn out, all is needed is a good cleaning.
If you have any skills with a screwdriver it may be all it needs to get the keyboard off the laptop. (you may find the correct procedure from the search engine, as some websites show teardowns of products) All you need to clean it is water. Clean warm water first to dissolve the sugars, then if possible rinse with DI or distilled water, then use your vaccum cleaner with the tube at the other end, to blow warm air and get the water off and to let it dry before reinserting it into your laptop.
If you see that the drink has seeped elsewhere in the laptop, then it may be a tougher call. But essentially if you send it for repair, they will first use a similar cleaning method for whatever has been soiled.
Good luck!

 

[RetiredChief]

Dissassemble;
Immease KB and MB is distilled water and agitate for 10->15 Mins.
Repeat, but with Alcohol (Drug stores carry 91%, I use 100%).

Air dry, then preheat oven to 150 F, turn oven off, Place keyboard and MB in oven for 1 Hour.
Re-assemble, If works then great. If Not Recommend New laptop. Repair is probably going to be more than cost effective.

Big problem with soft drinks is the High acidic level which which short out electrical circuits. Damage would have been done way before it dried.

 

[katierebeccamatthews]

I am afraid this is a common fault I have to repair.

Liquids generally do no damage unless there is power on, this causes electrical shorts. The chances are you have short circuited the motherboard, and the best option is to get it repaired by your local pc shop unless you are comfortable stripping the laptop and testing the components.

It is simply impossible to say what has broken without systematic testing to diagnose the failure.

This is helpful but roughly how much would you normally charge for this? I can't really afford anything £100+ and it has a lot of important work stored on it. Do you think my data is still salvageable?

 

[ss202sl]

Your drive is probably still good. You could get an external enclosure for it pretty cheap, and plug it in to a usb on a computer.