Half a can of coke fell into my PB!! how to clean it?

C

crcr2003

Registered
i m so sad :( because yesterday half a can of coke fell into my powerbook and now several keys of the keyboad doesnt work or they got stuck if i press them (F11, F12, delete and most keys on right upper side).

I suposse coca cola has a lot of sugar or anything similar because if i press them they got stuck and i cant bring them up to the normal position. help!!! i cant use F12 or any key on that side of the keyboard!! can someone tell me how to remove the keys or the entire keyboard to try to clean it? i guess the warranty is over, right? f"!#!" coke!! :mad: how should i clean it? water? any ideas?

if i send the powerbook to Apple Support to see if they can clean it, it will be very expensive? or they dont do that?
 
cmon, please help me! i really would love to know how to remove the keys from my powerbook to clean it. cmon im a newbie!! :(
 
Describe your Powerbook... Is it a titanium model, or a newer aluminum model (faster than 1Ghz processor?) What size is the display?

Liquid spills can be very difficult to clean up, normally the keyboard is ruined. Sometimes you get lucky, but this is rare.

If yours is a titanium G4, then the keyboard is simple to replace - takes about 30 seconds if you are clumsy :)
The aluminum models will be expensive to replace. Expect to pay for an hours labor, they have many screws on the bottom side of the keyboard, and some models are also held in place with double-sided tape. If yours is one with keyboard backlighting, the reassembly can be tricky.
Take these to a service provider for a good quote...
 
You can try - work on just one key cap at first, just to try. Work a flat blade under the left side of one key cap, and pop the key cap off. There is a plastic scissor assembly under each key. These are quite tricky to put back in place if removed. If you can clean around those keys without removing the scissor assembly, you may be successful. This can turn into a good hobby, as you can discover the technique for popping the keycaps off. If the scissor is in place, just place the keycap back in position, and press firmly down on the keycap, which will snap the keycap back in place. You can also discover the correct way to reassemble the scissor if you remove that.
This is a big challenge if more than a couple of keys, and many times does not help, as the keyboard is already ruined, but if you have some free time, you can experiment. It's not hard to do, you just have to pay attention to how the pieces come apart, and how the little scissors lay in position.
 
dude...I feel for you. That is just the worst thing ever. I would die if I spilled soft drink on my iBook G3, let alone a brand spankin' new PowerBook!

an air compressor *might* help in the final stages. Obviously, it wouldn't do much now, but for getting out some of the smaller bits of dust and dirt it could be useful. Depends how sticky things are!

I agree with DeltaMac though, you really should get experts to look at this. Get them to check if any other components have coke on them and clean if necessary.

and for the future...switch to pepsi ;)
 
just to let you know, i spilled a full mug of tea on my desktop keyboard. i spent 3 hours taking all the keys off, cleaning them, cleaning the keybaord and everything, but it still didn't work.

i had to buy a new one.
 
Also Coke has loots of acids in it that will corrode any traces or wires in the machine. You need to make user it all gets cleaned out of there.
 
FWIW.....Last year I spilled a perfectly good cup of coffee on my Titanium PB. There were all sorts of electrical buzzing/zapping sounds (shorts) and then it went dead. I brought it to CompUSA on Friday. On Monday, the Apple tech booted it up without problem, but the keyboard had a few non-functional keys.

HOWEVER, I drink coffee black. The techs said that sugar is the enemy because it will crystallize and short again. One person said their PB stopped working 2 months after a coffee spill.

I was very fortunate that my renter's insurance covered the cost of a new Aluminum 1.67GHz even though I caused the accident.
 
Umm, yeah, and coke is sugar water. Basically.

No really, it sounds like it can have both immediate and long-term effects, so if I were you I'd get it looked at by an Apple guy. Or gal. You just can't tell how far the damage is if you don't check it, right?
 
crcr2003 said:
i m so sad :( because yesterday half a can of coke fell into my powerbook and now several keys of the keyboad doesnt work or they got stuck if i press them (F11, F12, delete and most keys on right upper side).

I suposse coca cola has a lot of sugar or anything similar because if i press them they got stuck and i cant bring them up to the normal position. help!!! i cant use F12 or any key on that side of the keyboard!! can someone tell me how to remove the keys or the entire keyboard to try to clean it? i guess the warranty is over, right? f"!#!" coke!! :mad: how should i clean it? water? any ideas?

if i send the powerbook to Apple Support to see if they can clean it, it will be very expensive? or they dont do that?
Click to expand...
I'm debating on helping you, because, first of all, you never should've had a can of Coke that close to your computer. Secondly, if you're going to drink around your computer, at least make sure it's a few feet away or put it into a spill-proof container with a lid.

OK, OK ... that said, I'll help you. If I can. By the time you read this, it will probably be too late and all that Coke has well settled into your once-precious PowerBook. This is generally the protocol:

1. Immediately pick up your laptop and gently shake it upside down (with the lid open) to remove any excess liquid.

2. Wipe it down good with a water-dampened lint-free cloth.

3. Then, take a reverse vacuum (can of compressed air will do) or a special computer vacuum tool and suck up (or blow out) any excess liquid that remains.

4. Again, turn it upside down and let it air dry that way.

This is the best you're gonna do. If it doesn't work, you could always take apart your computer--if you know what you're doing and attempt to clean it from the inside out.

Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top