What could be wrong with my T530 after a cup of water over it

Hi fooks,

My daughter uses a T530 I bought for her two years ago. Recently, while working on the computer, she got a cup of water (not coffee) over the keyboard, and then the computer went dead immediately.

We did not touch the computer for a few days.

Now each time I start the computer, I only see the power button blink one time and then go off. There is no reaction from the CD/DVD, screen, fan, etc. Completely dead.

I have another working T530. Here is what did for initial tests. I used the battery, keyboard, and memory chip from the working one on the first T530. Still the same thing.

I am not sure which one to test for the next step to find out the problem. I hope someone could give me an idea of what may go wrong in my case. I dont have accidental coverage. If I can pinpoint the problem and replace it myself, I will fix it.

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY INPUT!

 

It has liquid damage. Electricity and liquids do not mix well.

On the more serious note: take it apart, check visually for damage and signs of moisture.
Most probably motherboard is dead (doesn't really matter what part of it, since it's practically one piece).

While many components work after they have dried, powering them on while still moist could kill them for good. And whatever has gotten wet once, may just die randomly some day or work as long as rest of the computer.

 

KLF, thanks a lot for your info!

Is replacing the motherboard something an average software programmer can do? Or only Lenovo service can do it?

Thanks!!

 

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/0b48474.pdf

There's teardown instructions for your laptop.

It's not that hard. I've had trainees between 15 to 50 years or so who have not ever seen a computer from inside and after a while they would rather confidently replace mainboard in a laptop. Of course some of them failed, others even miserably.

Hardest part is to take it apart carefully so nothing breaks. Putting it back together is easier. Then you take it apart again to install some of the stuff you still had on the table but should have been under the mainboard. True story, happened to me today with a t440

 

Thanks so much for your info and the link. I will give it a try. And will report back about how it goes. Again, thanks for your help!

 

I dumped a freshly-brewed 24 oz cup of coffee on my X230 thanks to an over-eager dog. I was actually able to fix the motherboard by removing it and soaking it in a distilled water/alcohol bath overnight, then letting it dry for a few days (sounds crazy but evidently it's a common fix, and it worked!).

Cautionary tale: I didn't realize I had actually fixed the motherboard, so I bought a new one (cheap, on fleabay), and installed it. Turned out I also destroyed the actual keyboard, so I had to buy a new one of those as well (also available online for cheap). I only realized the old MB was good by re-installing it. Now I have an extra one. Chances are, if you fried the MB you probably fried the keyboard as well.

Removing the motherboard is a bit tedious, but really not too bad. I was a champ at it by the 3rd time! I used Lenovo's manual linked above. There have been various internet reports on whether or not you have to buy a new copy of Windows, since supposedly the product key is written to the MB. I'm running W8, and it was mostly plug and play, worked fine on the new MB. I did have a wireless driver issue which was a bit of a pain to resolve, but the actual hardware swap was easy.