MBP 13 2011 Spilled coffee......

My girlfriend spilled coffee on her 2011 MBP 13. At the moment, it still turns on, but the keyboard is non-functional, as is the power button, and the battery cannot be charged by the adapter. I opened it up (just the bottom case, not all the way through. There was so much coffee still in there, incredible. I tried to clean what I could with some alcohol, some of the connectors had turned greenesh-oxidized color. My question is:
1. How can I get the keyboard working again? (do i need a new one?)
2. How can I get the battery to charge again? is the mobo bad, or is there a separate circuit for charging that can be replaced?

 

Water damage is never fun. Chances are a few components got fried -- there isn't much you're going to be able to do if the laptop has had plenty of time to dry out (and if not, why are you turning the laptop on?). If the laptop has oxidized components though I'm pretty sure the damage has been done and there is little you can do to repair it.

Chances are the motherboard is severely damaged; it explains both the loss of the keyboard as well as the loss of the battery. If the laptop does have any separate PCBs/circuits they'll be for I/O only. The MBP 15" does not have any non-motherboard PCBs in it and the MBA 13" only has one small I/O daughter board. You'll have to get a completely new motherboard -- trying to identify any damaged PCB components, and replacing them, is not going to happen.

 

I would call your homeowner's or renter's insurance company and see if they will cover it.

 

plus parts are prohibitively expensive a keyboard, ok actually the entire upper assembly is a couple hundred, a motherboard is $895-$1300USD for a 2011 model 13"

I concur to see if homeowner or renters insurance will help, even the 500 deductible may be worth it depending on how much a claim ups premiums ( some policies will jump if you start claiming electronics )

 

she's gonna pay up the 750 and get it fixed... i told her to wait and use one of my older laptops since ivy bridge is around the corner, but she doesn't want to, oh well. Thanks for the help guys, the board looked done anyway. Several major oxidation points all over the place.

 

I would check this actually! One of my friends got his 2010 MBP covered of the same cause.

 

As a point of general advice, this is not a great idea. You don't want to pay nearly the entire cost of a laptop to repair a laptop that has been water damaged.

 

Indeed. Esp if you're already prepared to pay @ $750, better to at least look at the refurbished MBP's @ Apple.com and see if something relatively recent is available for just a bit more.

$750 also strikes me as a bit high - In the past, the Genius Bar has offered to repair notebooks that are non-functional for a flat fee of $300. Where did that estimate come from?

 

lowest water damage quote I got was 800, wish I could get a flat 300 fee

 

Last I looked, Microcenter had upped its price to $,1099, but even so there is no way would I get it fixed for that $750

 

I've never heard of this magical $300 flat fee. It also doesn't make any sense. Why would they charge a $300 flat fee for $750+ worth of parts (not even considering the cost of labour?)

 

It's worth $350-$450.

If you want it repaired, try:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LIQUID-SPIL...le_Laptops&hash=item2a05725ca2#ht_2302wt_1135

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacBo...ltDomain_0&hash=item415eacb55d#ht_2155wt_1392

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Macbook-Uni...ltDomain_0&hash=item27c220d7e2#ht_3009wt_1185

 

also, I'd recommend against using a home owners insurance claim for a "small" claim such as this. I know the laptop repairs are not really "small" but compared to severe home insurance claims it is. Some companies look at these "small" claims as a chance to cancel your policy... and thats not good for when you REALLY need your home owners insurance like when your A/C or heater fails.

If the laptop isn't working and if you've basically given up on repairing it you might as well take it all apart, and seeing about cleaning and drying each and every bit of it. Remove the motherboard, keyboard, etc and clean it all up. Maybe you'll find thats all it was and not something permanent (fingers crossed!). Or maybe you'll find the damage is just to one isolated area that can be fixed or replaced affordably.

And if the circuitry is fried, keep all the other parts because they will make good spares later for your next laptop.

 

I dont think home owners insurance covers A/C or heater failures?

 

Central air is part of the home, of course. As long as the unit is damaged by the covered cause. They won't replace it if you just want a newer model.

What I meant before is just my opinion. I wouldn't use my home owners to replace a damaged laptop or for car repairs, etc for example. But every circumstance is different and requires evaluation so I guess I shouldn't make a blanket statement such as "never".

 

I don't know, I used homeowners to cover 4 pairs of Oakleys and a bunch of work equipment that were stolen out of my Jeep a few years ago. Had no issues with them covering it and no price jump.

All in all the value of the items stolen racked up to $2000, after the deductible they gave me $1500. Seems about on par with a laptop claim. Though I will concede that each company and each plan is different.