Liquid Damage Should I Buy a New MBP?

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Afternoon folks,

Bit of a sorry thread here. A couple of days ago I somehow made the stupid mistake of spilling liquid over my 2014 MBP, not just any liquid, it was cider.

The thing was running at the time. I i stantly switched it off and wiped up most of it with the closest item I had to hand, a t-shirt. I then sat in upside down in the airing cupboard and have left it the airing cupboard next to the boiler.

Today I have tried switching it on and it powers up but the left fan is running full pelt. The screen is black, no picture. The keyboard works and when I hit Esc key I can hear it trying to exit out of a program. I managed to get it to reboot and heard the Apple chime.

I think is properly done and now I'm looking at a new 16" MBP. Is now a good time to buy as they still have i9 processors or should I wait?

Any ideas on possible fixes/solutions for my trusty work horse that has lasted me 6 years? :(

Thanks
 
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Just to add. The spillage happen from the left side of the laptop. So it hit the left side first and now it won't charge either and as i say left fan seems to be running full speed.
 
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Get some WD40 fast drying contact cleaner, disconnect battery and spray all internal contacts, leave to dissolve all remaining cider that has dried and see if it’s any good

Edit: I use this stuff regularly and it’s excellent. Dissolves thermal paste and anything I’ve spilled.
 
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Yeah I will need to look into the tools required to strip it. I've read I should strip the whole thing and seep in 99% isotonic alcohol for 48hrs?
 
Soldato
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It will likely need component level repair or a board replacement, any repair will likely be time consuming and costly. No point in sending it to Apple or an authorised repairer, they'll charge you RRP for a board replacement which isn't far off the cost of a new laptop. If you are going to attempt a repair send it to a specialist who can do component level repair but they are not exactly widespread.

Given its age, a new one may be the way to do.
 
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Yeah I will need to look into the tools required to strip it. I've read I should strip the whole thing and seep in 99% isotonic alcohol for 48hrs?

Isopropyl is good but WD40 is more readily available and because it is in a compressed can, I have found it is better at clearing crap off electronics - it blasts them away in addition to dissolving :)
 
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Thanks for the replies folks.

Can I ask a couple other questions. My Dad has quite a bit of experience striping down electrical equipment and repairing it. He is suggesting to use brake cleaner on it as he has had success with that in the past. What do ypu all think?

Also where is the best place to get a good but affordable kit to strip it down. I kmmnow about iFixit but a bit pricey. Any alternatives?
 
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Two hours to strip down and £10 worth of tools, and some isopropyl alcohol wipes/spray and an anti-static brush. If it doesn't work you have some useful tools and cleaning bits if it does work you've saved yourself £1000+

It's pretty obvious which choice you'd take IMO.

Edit: I cleaned out a laptop for friend when she spilled 2/3 pint of Bulmers berry cider, it wouldn't turn on at all, and the keyboard was knackered. Stripped it down, cleaned the lot, and replaced the keyboard (£30), and while I was in there upgraded it with a nice fast SSD, and more RAM. Better than new. :)
 
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Yeah I will need to look into the tools required to strip it. I've read I should strip the whole thing and seep in 99% isotonic alcohol for 48hrs?

Since you bought a new one, want to send me that faulty one and I can see if I can repair it for you? Nothing to lose other than a few quid on the postage, will send it back if it can't be repaired for nothing/very cheaply. :)
 
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Since you bought a new one, want to send me that faulty one and I can see if I can repair it for you? Nothing to lose other than a few quid on the postage, will send it back if it can't be repaired for nothing/very cheaply. :)

Well my old man is pretty handy with electronics, he had a go at it and managed to get it all clean and managed to get it boot again. It all works apart from the back light on the screen, the screen still works if you shine a light through the apple logo. It also is able to output to HMDI so I can get a picture on the TV and operate the laptop, after a bit of reading the thinking was the WLED fuse was gone but the meter reads that is still working. So we are not not sure what could be wrong with it.
 
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Well my old man is pretty handy with electronics, he had a go at it and managed to get it all clean and managed to get it boot again. It all works apart from the back light on the screen, the screen still works if you shine a light through the apple logo. It also is able to output to HMDI so I can get a picture on the TV and operate the laptop, after a bit of reading the thinking was the WLED fuse was gone but the meter reads that is still working. So we are not not sure what could be wrong with it.

Are you actually getting volts to the backlight? Check the LVDS ribbon cable is seated correctly as well.

Good job on the repair so far. :)
 
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Whats the best way to check if you are getting volts to the backlight?....... the ribbon cable is definitely seated properly, the next stage was going to be to reflow parts of the board, potentially and to check there is nothing causing a short on the LCD ribbon cable.
 
Soldato
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Whats the best way to check if you are getting volts to the backlight?....... the ribbon cable is definitely seated properly, the next stage was going to be to reflow parts of the board, potentially and to check there is nothing causing a short on the LCD ribbon cable.

Check pin 1 on the LCD connector while the screen is still connected and see what voltage you are getting, pin one should be the one furthest away from the board edge, the pub at the opposite end usually will read 5v. Check the pub for a short to ground of you aren't getting any volts.

Can I assume your removed the logic board and fully cleaned both sides? :)
 
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Check pin 1 on the LCD connector while the screen is still connected and see what voltage you are getting, pin one should be the one furthest away from the board edge, the pub at the opposite end usually will read 5v. Check the pub for a short to ground of you aren't getting any volts.

Can I assume your removed the logic board and fully cleaned both sides? :)

Thanks for the information mate, really appreciated. As for the board, everything was stripped down and cleaned in 99% alcohol and have been given a good clean with a toothbrush all round and on both sides. All fans were cleaned and everything is as good as new, just the screen will light up. You wouldn't be able to point me in the direction of schematics for a mid 2014 MBP board?...... would be good to know where and what to look for and what voltage read out should be expected etc.
 
Soldato
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Thanks for the information mate, really appreciated. As for the board, everything was stripped down and cleaned in 99% alcohol and have been given a good clean with a toothbrush all round and on both sides. All fans were cleaned and everything is as good as new, just the screen will light up. You wouldn't be able to point me in the direction of schematics for a mid 2014 MBP board?...... would be good to know where and what to look for and what voltage read out should be expected etc.

Not sure if I am allowed to provide links etc. but you can quite easily find them floating around the WWW. I have the schematic for the early 2014 model, as a .brd file not a complete multi-layer one, but has a good deal of the components and such.

Voltage read out would be 12-30v typically but depends on the model, and the way the LEDs for the back-light are configured. Far to generic of an answer I know, but you need to get the exact logic board and panel spec to confirm it. :)
 
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