Coffee + Keyboard = Death

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btstechie · #1 Post by **btstechie** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:27 am

Coffee spilled onto laptop. It went down on it's own. I know that the chance of this being repairable is very slim. However, after removing the keyboard, I do not see a lot of stains or evidence of the coffee. I think most of it was held in the keyboard. I was wondering if there is a fuse on the MB that might have blown and if so where is it located.

yak · #2 Post by **yak** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:08 pm

For reference, here you can find pics of both sides of a T41 system board:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 953#379953

Other T4x models are pretty the same when it comes to the power circuit.

The fuse is most probably located right next to the AC adapter connector (the 4-pin white connector next to where the battery would be, top side of the board). But I'm not 100% sure.

#3 Post by **richk** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:32 pm

When I tried to count them, I think I found 18 fuses.

btstechie · #4 Post by **btstechie** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:44 pm

When I tried to boot, I didn't have the 3 screws back in the keyboard. Are they needed to complete any type of circuit?

#5 Post by **richk** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:01 pm

btstechie · #6 Post by **btstechie** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:29 pm

Got it to boot on battery. Plugged in AC adapter after it came to rest. Went down as soon as I plugged it in.

#7 Post by **underclocker** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:11 am

You can try soaking the board in distilled water and letting it dry thoroughly, some have claimed to bring a motherboard back to life after a spill. If you proceed, please post the results.

P.S. I've been able to bring back a T40 after a wine spill by removing the keyboard and carefully cleaning the obvious dried wine areas with distilled water, a child's toothbrush (very soft bristles) and a clean cloth. I cleaned the keyboard, too.

btstechie · #8 Post by **btstechie** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:24 am

Finally got it back up and running....Thanks Everyone

sjthinkpader · #9 Post by **sjthinkpader** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:09 pm

Congratulations,

This happened to me once. Got a call on a coffee spill. I told them to remove the battery immediately then cleaned the motherboard with spray contact cleaner after dis-assembly. The machine is still working today.

Removing the battery immediately is most important as many types of liquid will cause electrolysis and then corrosion on the board.

joester · #10 Post by **joester** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:56 pm

No to mention that liquid is also a conductor, and will migrate electricity to areas where you don't want it. That's what kills.

Corrosion is what to worry about if you got it shut down in time to keep it from being zapped.

Joe

o1001010 · #11 Post by **o1001010** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:30 pm

the t42 have a drain hole right?

vdrummer · #12 Post by **vdrummer** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:33 pm

o1001010 wrote:the t42 have a drain hole right?

Well sort of(useless). The T6x, and X6x series have areas on the keyboard that will drain spills to the underside of the laptop. Even that is not foolproof(I had a user some how get spillage up in the area by the bluetooth/modem PCA).

Coffee + Keyboard = Death

Coffee + Keyboard = Death

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