T42p fatal coke overdose..:(....motherboard model?

[apollo46]

Hi,

I awoke a few weeks ago to find my T42p (2373-KTU) lying in a pool of coca-cola. It didn't touch the screen or keyboard as the machine was closed, but it obviously got in underneath through the docking connector port. Its now dead and wont even boot up, also no lights come up on the icon panel. I can't afford a new motherboard from IBM, so I want to source one on Ebay.

So, my questions for anyone who would be kind enough to answer are;

1. Can I use any motherboard from a T40/41/t42p in my machine?
2. Assuming the processor and graphics card are ok, could I transfer these onto another board without soldering?
3. If all else fails, does anyone know of a reasonable service in the UK that could replace or fix the machine for me?

I've done my fair share of PC support and building PC's, so Im sure I can replace the motherboard. But I dont want to have to ply or solder chips to/from the motherboard.

I cant bring myself to throw away my charming T42p, please help her and I!

Thanks,
Nick.

[Harryc]

Coke is mostly sugar. Sugar is a conductor of current. If Coke got into any of the components on the bottom of the machine there is a good possibility it created a temporary short circuit. I'd take the machine completely apart and clean all components with a good electrical cleaner/solvent. You may get lucky ... also after cleanup check the fuses on the board with a multimeter. There are a few, and they are tiny.

[GomJabbar]

1. AFAIK, any motherboard from the T40/T41/T42 should fit fine. You will lose graphics capability and speed, but it should still work.

2. No, the graphics chip is a ball grid array soldered to the motherboard. I believe you can change out the processor.

3. I don't know of any.

Hardware Maintenance Manual - ThinkPad T40, T40p, T41, T41p, T42, T42p

[richk]

If it has been more than a few minutes, cleaning probably won't help. Any T40/41/42 MB will run. A T40 will make your memory run as PC2100, instead of PC2700. If you reuse your fan, make sure the new board uses the same one (long vs. short)

[Kyocera]

Coke is also mostly water which is conductive, you are better off getting yourself a new MB. There are some chemicals "blue shower" comes to mind which is a pretty powerful cleaning agent for electronic circuitry, cleans and dries out instantly, if you can hose the board down with something like that or another appropriate chemical cleaner it may be OK, my experience is NO.

http://www.elexp.com/che_1677.htm

http://www.happcontrols.com/cleaning_ma ... 021000.htm

[GnatGoSplat]

Conductive liquid tends to highly corrode any components carrying a positive current (electrolytic reaction). Good chance the board is toast and cannot be repaired, especially if the Coke seeped into the pin area of BGA components. One big problem I've seen is that even if you can get the board very clean, many of the SMD capacitors and resistors have corroded so badly that even trying to repair their solder joints results in their electrical contacts coming right off the part itself. Many capacitors and resistors also have no markings so knowing what to replace them with is guesswork at best.

I have been able to bring several liquid-damaged cell phones back to life by first cleaning off the circuit board very vigorously with a toothbrush and water. Then soaking the board for several days in isopropyl alcohol, and afterwards letting it dry for several days. The same process can be used on a laptop motherboard, but the motherboard would have to be removed first.

[zverg]

Just wanted to confirm that yes, the processor is easily removed. I just had mine out the other day to upgrade the 1.8 to the 2.0

The motherboards are the same between the 14" and 15"? strange

[SteveS]

Before throwing the baby out with the bath water (or in the case – the system board) – try to salvage it.

Two years ago, my corporate issue T43p suffered an “orange juice incident” . Someone trying to walk around the beverage cart on a plane knocked over a full glass of OJ that did a summersault before landing right into my open laptop bag, thoroughly drenching the PC. At first it refused to show any sign of life as yours does, but I did manage to salvage it. The display always had some marks from where the water got between the glass and the protective plastic layer, but other than that it worked fine.

Electrolytic corrosion will happen eventually, but not in the few minutes you took to test the computer. I doubt that your PC has experienced corrosion yet.

One advice I will correct the previous suggestions – circuit board cleaner is solvent based. It is intended to clean solder flux from the boards. While it is great at removing organic compounds, it won’t dissolve ionic compounds such as salt and sugar.

Your best bet is to soak the parts is warm to hot distilled water. After a good soak, rinse at least once in fresh distilled water. A glass baking dish is ideal. Hopefully the display did not get soaked. If it is intact, I would not attempt to open the lid assembly.

Be sure to take everything apart. Connectors such as the memory, CPU, PCMCIA expander, wireless LAN adapter, etc can trap water. Because of the small gap between the graphics processor and circuit board, it is unlikely that anything liquid got between them, as the surface tension would keep it out. Same goes for the Intel system IO chip – both are ball grid array mounted.

You probably don’t need to soak the hard drive. Look for stains on the IDE connector, but assume nothing got in beneath the board and drive can itself. If necessary, the connector can be cleaned by dipping in hot distilled water.

After a couple of rinses, you need to get the moisture out. The best way is with compressed air, but a bake in a warm (170 F) oven will work as well. Do not put the LCD, lithium back up battery, or HD in the oven! Everything else is OK. When reassembling, apply a dab of thermal grease between the fan and CPU. Be sure that everything is completely dry before mating connectors and trying to apply power.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[carbon_unit]

Well, if the board is toast you have nothing to lose by trying to clean it. Go to your local auto parts store and buy a can of brake cleaner for 4 bucks. Get the hardware maintenance manual, tear it down and wash it off (outside). Reassemble it and give it a try.
I guess you could lose 4 bucks and a couple of hours time.

[Temetka]

I know that brake parts cleaner is a wonderful product and is able to clean [censored] near anything.

However I would be adverse to using it on something as delicate as a laptop motherboard. I figure if the cleaner is strong enough to thoroughly remove engine gunk buildup then it might do bad things to the little connectors, resistors, caps, etc.

Just a thought.

++ on the idea to totally wash the motherboard a few times with distilled water and sticking it in the oven. 170 degrees is warm enough to dry the board out but not hot enough to re-flow solder or anything like that.

This seems like the most sensible approach for attempting to salvage a logic board that has suffered from a Coke overdose.

[GomJabbar]

One advice I will correct the previous suggestions – circuit board cleaner is solvent based. It is intended to clean solder flux from the boards. While it is great at removing organic compounds, it won’t dissolve ionic compounds such as salt and sugar.

Your best bet is to soak the parts is warm to hot distilled water. After a good soak, rinse at least once in fresh distilled water. A glass baking dish is ideal. Hopefully the display did not get soaked. If it is intact, I would not attempt to open the lid assembly.

I would tend to believe SteveS's advice above. Different substances require different solvents to dissolve. Salt and sugar are much more easily dissolved in water than in an organic solvents.

Here is more information to back this up. Read section on Polarity, solubility, and miscibility.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvent

[richk]

I have also cleaned (often without success) and I think denatured alcohol works better than distilled water. I also bake hotter (200 degrees)