So I may have ruined my new P170EM!

Recieved my brand spanking new P170EM one week ago and have managed to spill a glass of apple juice over the keyboard. Oh joy! Must've almost punched a hole in the wall hah! I instantly shut down the laptop, took out the battery, drained it and let it dry.

Cleaned the outside and keyboard as much as I could and started it up to see how things were. Seems everything is fine other than slightly sticky keys.

Now i'm at a crossroad. Do I open the back to clean it out and in the process void my warranty with OCUK?

Or do I leave it until monday and call them up to see what they can do? If so would spillage be covered in the warrenty?

 

Hang on. Opening the back voids your warranty? Says who? I'm fairly certain upgrading your RAM or re-pasting your GPU/CPU is sanctioned by Sager, so if your reseller is being difficult contact Sager directly and complain. You should be able to do whatever short of hardware modding like soldering something or messing with the mobo. As a matter of fact I'm kind of astonished that all those guys who fry their components through overclocking and overvolting almost always get a free expensive replacement when RMA'd because the companies can't actually prove foul play.

If the computer works then in all likelihood it's fine, if the spillage had been severe enough to reach the mobo from the keyboard then you would've had a fried machine, so don't assume you have a sticky layer of apple juice on your mobo

 

On the matter of spilling liquids on laptops I am an expert. I have spilled 3 whole cups of coffee on laptops, my G73 even got spilled on twice. All the laptops survived and lived happy lives. Granted I had to replace the G73s keyboard but everything else is fine. If your laptop turned on and it's working it means you made it. It is not ruined and it will continue working.

I would leave it to dry for a couple more days or even a week to be safe. I don't think you need to open it and I don't think it will need cleaning, you may want to replace the keyboard at some point.

Now regarding the warranty I think opening the case doesn't void it, specially with Clevos but probably spilling juice on them will, most warranties don't cover liquid spills, so check with your reseller.

 

clevo's are user upgradable so you can take the base plate off to clean out fans and vents, upgrade ram, upgrade hard drive, repaste cpu/gpu thermal paste etc

spilling a cup of coffee compared to spilling a glass of apple juice is two totally different things (depends if the coffee had sugar in it).
sugar can be a killer.

ive read many a times on here that immediately turning off and removing battery and placing the laptop in a tray of rice (not fried rice) is the best thing to do as this will dry out any liquid.

warranty does not cover accidental spillages with most companys but check out their warranty terms and conditions and contact their support. they are at the gadget show in birmingham until tomorrow.

i would also remove the keyboard to try and clean up as much as you can but in the long run the damage could already have been done (but hopefully not)

this video is for the P150 but gives a good idea. i know the 17" has a slightly different layout

 

No the spillage is not covered by OCUK unless you took out specific accident cover and it is your fault, you can look into maybe getting a replacement keyboard.

 

so if nothing has happend to the laptop until now then it should be fine? In regards to replacing the keyboard...how and where can i get the p170em keyboard replacement?

 

You should be able to get them from any reseller. They are easy to replace.

 

Could I get one from OCUK? Could someone maybe link me to it? I dunno the name of my keyboard.

Also whats a reasonable price for a p170em keyboard?

 

You may be able to get it from OCUK. It's just a P170EM keyboard, just ask for that. You could ask PWN or PCspecialist as well.

 

ok thanks ill give them a ring tomorrow! hopefully it wont cost to much. looked around and seems clevo keyboards go for between 20-40 pounds?

ive cleaned out my pc as best as I could. Pc still seems fine, but not sure whether i should get it checked further?

 

I would recommend you take it to a trusted repair service for a good checkup just to be safe though as others have said if it's working you made it.

 

You shouldn't have done permanent damage. You can take your new P170EM apart all the way. Just look at the youtube video to help, and then use your best judgement on how to take everything apart, including the motherboard. I don't know what liquid you can use to clean up (isopropyl alcohol?). Then let it all dry and put it all back together again (if you remember). When everything is working fine use this a lesson to not have drinks near your baby.

 

Yes alcohol would be best with q-tips, if it has not seeped under the keyboard however I would just replace that, I can see replacements on ebay.

 

ok OCUK arent selling the keyboards. So could anyone link me to someone who does (not ebay). Or maybe tell me the name of my keyboard so i can search it?

Or are there any other keyboards I could replace it with?

 

Yeah I would definitely take it apart and clean any areas that look like it may have gotten some liquid on it. I spilled wine on an older Sager laptop of mine a while back and did a full disassembly and cleaning with rubbing alcohol, and in the end I just lost a USB port. Although it had some random funkiness going on.

 

There's the SteelSeries keyboard for the MSI's. The MSI GT70 uses one. It fits the P170EM / NP9170 and it is also colour backlit but it's chicklet style.

I've heard it's also hard to find so good luck.

 

I just want to clarify what is covered by the warranties and what isn't. I've extensively asked Sager and Mythlogic and Xotic what's under warranty and what's not, so I have some fairly good idea of what everyone should be like.

Liquid damage is not covered. If the cause of the destruction of any part in that machine is liquid damage, you must replace it under your own money. The replaced part, if gotten from the same reseller (and you give them the old part) should be back under your original warranty timeframe. In my case I was told to send my failed hard drive and my keyboard at once, and they replaced the HDD but not the keyboard. I bought a new keyboard from them and back down it came and it was under warranty for me afterward, so that's where my experience and judging of this comes from. ALL OTHER PARTS OF YOUR MACHINE NOT DAMAGED BY LIQUID IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY.

Secondly - Opening, cleaning, UPGRADING and replacing parts are all in-warranty. Some resellers do NOT like you changing the thermal paste yourself just in case, like Mythlogic. They won't void you for it though. Sager (and Xotic) will happily walk you through the process however, so that's a difference in warranty policies, though not a huge one. Mythlogic does have a much better upgrade plan and such so that balances out too. In the case of upgrading; parts you acquire on your own means are NOT warranty covered unless you acquire them from your reseller. Parts replaced by your reseller under warranty adopt your remaining warranty time too. If your GPU dies and you get a new one 2 months before your 3 year warranty ends, you have only 2 months on that new GPU for warranty.
I am not certain how new parts from your reseller (non-warranty replaced) go under warranty. I believe they all have a default of 1 year, but I could be wrong.

Batteries and... ugh something else but I cannot remember what. It's batteries and some other part of the machine that they consider consumables and do not replace under warranty after a year, regardless of how long your laptop's warranty is. I'm sorry I really forget the second part.

And lastly, if you break a part while cleaning (I.E. you accidentally statically charged your GPU while cleaning and it fried) it won't be replaceable under warranty.

I think I covered everything. If you liquid damaged it and it isn't broken you're lucky as hell and should just be happy. But taking it apart and cleaning and making sure everything is fine is all well and good and you're covered and all. Enjoy!

 

D2 Ultima covered it very well!
The Battery and AC Adapter are covered under a 1yr warranty.
Best thing to do is contact your reseller before you open up the computer to see if they will void your warranty or any part of before you actually do so.

 

AH it was the AC adapter. I always forget that. Thanks Hutsady =D

 

This is what I recommend you to do. Before you spend your money and time to replace the keyboard, I will suggest you to clean it. It's good news that the only issue you are running into is sticky keys.

I am making the following assumptions. If you are replacing the keyboard, you are not going to send the whole laptop in to have the reseller replace it for you. In this case, you still have to learn to take it apart and replace the keyboard yourself. Since you have to take it apart yourself, you can try to clean the keyboard.

Remove the keyboard from the laptop. Soak the keyboard in water. Then let it sit overnight to dry. Put the keyboard back in the next day. You should be good to go.

Obviously, electronics and water does not mix well. However, when there is no electricity, it won't short circuit. I used this method to clean my external keyboard all the time and never had a problem. Even if this method kills your keyboard, you still have to get a replacement keyboard anyway. There is no risk trying out this method for you now.

 

I am sorry but that is dangerous. It won't dry overnight and if there is still moisture the computer will shut down at best or fry at worst. The keyboard may become permanently damaged.

I have no issues with soaking it in water but one night is not enough time for it to dry. Try at least a week.

 

I would not immerse it in more liquid, you can corrode components in these.

 

Yes, anytime water and metallic mix, there is a chance in corroding. Drying out will have to depend on the humidity as well. The point is that he is planning to buy a replacement keyboard anyway, so there is no risk to him damaging the keyboard.

Ok, this is the actual process to clean the keyboard with water. Actually for almost any printed circuit board. Make sure you remove all batteries that are on the circuit board. For the motherboard, there will be the CMOS backup battery. I will assume that this keyboard does not have battery. Rinse with water. Use high pressure air and blow as much water as possible. Then put the keyboard into a 40 degree oven for an hour. This is also assuming that you have a 40 degree oven.

The longer the electronics is left exposed to water, the higher chance of corrosion.

 

Or go around gently with a q-tip and alcohol and not risk damaging it.

 

Agreed 10000%. Best thing you can do is disassemble and look for evidence of the spill and clean thoroughly with q-tip and/or paper towel and high % alcohol.