Help! Beer spilled on keyboard!

hey, as circumstance would have it, i spilled a partial beer (coors lite) on the keyboard of my inspiron e1505 two days ago.

1) i immediately turned it off (it was on at the time of the incident)
2) i turned it upside down and shook out all the loose beer
3) then i, <cough> turned it back on
4) it made a sad beep, the screen flashed and then it shut itself off
5) now when i try to turn it on using the power button nothing happens.

this was two days ago. i haven't turned it back on since that unfortunate day. my warranty is out. what can i do?

how bout blow drying it?

 

it was a bad idea to turn it back on the first time. you probably shorted something since it was still wet inside ... anytime u get electronics wet, you should have let it dry out first for at least 24hrs

looks like your down a laptop man.

 

Your only hope is that it will dry in time and work once again...

In my experience, It may but with some dire changes...things not working correctly.

 

I think you're doomed unfortunately... The liquid must have cause short circuits, that's really bad...

 

what can i do now? should i keep waiting, should i try to blow dry it? or just cross my fingers and turn it on?

 

if its been two days, 48hrs, as long as you haven't left it in a very humid area, then most likely everything is dry by now. give it another shot ... but it probably wont work unfortunatly.

 

we've turned on the blowdryer. the keyboard smells strongly of hops.

 

i'm so sorry

 

Normally I'd suggest letting it dry. Seeing as you already rolled the dice and turned the thing on, I'd say flip the switch.

Basically, you already fried the thing. Chances are, you've got nothing to lose at this point. If it turns on, consider yourself lucky, and if you ever do this again, give it a few days before you flip the switch.

 

thanks beer - i'm sure you feel my pain

 

btw beer will remain sticky forever, even after it dries. Best to do is to try cleaning it out with a light moisturized blanket and then dry.

 

Almost certainly you fried something important right then. The fact that it tried to turn on indicated that the laptop likely would have been fine if given the chance to dry out.

If the spill was really minimal and it has been more than 24 hours since you spilled beer on it, try turning it on now. If you spilled a good ammount of beer, then go find the manual for your laptop, and start taking it apart so it can air out. You should be able to get off the keyboard, ram, hard drive, battery and some of the plastics. And since its very very likely dead already if you want, go nuts and take out everything down to the motherboard. Let it dry out for another 24 hours once you have take it apart, then put it back together and try turning it on again.

 

random: ive heard stories of people dousing their wet electronics with rubbing alcohol due to its extremely fast evaporation rate. just binds to the water then disapesars in seconds. anyone ever try this? lol

 

UPDATE: we've turned it on. it actually powered up! it made some strange beeps. everything looked fine, but you're right, the keyboard is jacked up. some of the keys work, most dont, the return works, and a few keys are typing on their own like its being held down. everything else works.

is there any hope? what next?

 

wow u lucky... nice
next step is to go to ebay and search "inspiron e1505 keyboard"

buy a new one, and replace it.

 

just go to a pc repair shop.

 

You probably drank a brand of US beer which is more water than beer. In that case the damage is significantly smaller.

 

You can clean it with rubbing alcohol. But the longer you have it on while it has any wetness inside, the more corrosion will occur - so if you really want to rescue it, take it appart and clean it with isopropyl alcohol.

 

Go find a USB keyboard and use that. If everything else looks OK, get a new keyboard.

 

Happened to me once that issue, as described.

Your keyboard is gone; Fortunately you shut it off in time not to fry anything important.

Suggest you simply get a new keyboard (ebay ?), should be inexpensive and easy to replace - and it should be brand new again, you lucky guy

 

1. Take the keyboard off.

2. Soak it in distilled water for a few hours to a day.

3. Hang it upside down to dry.

I know it sounds crazy to purposely soak a piece of electronics in water, but trust me. It works. As long as power isn't applied to electronics, while they're wet, they're fine.

 

Also not a bad idea. I just checked ebay, you can get a new one for around twenty-five bones, shipped.

 

how bout u just call dell and tell them that the one of the keys popped off...and they send you a new one and you dont have to return the broken one...i did this twice for my e1405...as long as its under warrenty they will not give u a problem.

 

alternatively, you could try reading the thread next time before replying. he already said he was outside his warranty.