Troubleshooting malfunctioning keys after coffee spill

A few months ago, I spilled some coffeee on my N100. Since then, the '0' key sticks (i.e., I have to hold it down firmly for a moment to produce a '0'), and the'-' key next to it doesn't work at all, no matter what I do. And a few of the function key caps have come off, but they work otherwise.
Would it make any sense for me to buy the individual keys as opposed to a whole new keyboard? Would that even work in this situation?
Thanks in advance.

I th6ink you need a new keyboard as th6ey seem very vulnerable wh6ich6 is wh6y th6ese irritating5 dig5its appear wh6en using5 mine (and it is noth6ing5 to do with6 NumLock). I g5et oth6er strang5e effects.
rednavel 3000 N100

Similar Messages

After coffee spill - can't find hard disk - passes other tests

after coffee spill - can't find hard disk

hi,
this is considered as Liquid spilt on the NB.
most likely not covered under the warranty.
please check if you have accidental damage warranty on the NB.
to confirm the Hard Drive is functioning follow the below steps
Shutdown the NB
press power button and keep tapping "F10" as soon as the power light comes on
it will take you to the Blue color screen where you cna see system setup
look for "Diagnostic" option and Press right arrow key to select it
you'll find Primary Hard Disk self test - press enter to run it
you will come to know if the Hard drive is functioning
Safety Note - Do not try to take out any internal parts other than battery and adapter

Keyboard creating loud fan noise after coffee spill

After a coffee spill my keyboard has been creating my fans to run very loudly. The temp. is still pretty normal at 40C. When I have the computer on and disconnect the keyboard, the fans return to normal. I've tried cleaning everything inside and removing the fans and putting them back in. Is there anything else I can do? Thank you.

Go to the Apple Store after you have made an appointment with the Genius bar. Liquids are the kiss of death to keyboards. Sorry to give the bad news.
Ciao.

Few keys won't work after coffee spill

I realize this subject has been beaten to death because I have done searches here and Google multiple times but I can't seem to find a precise answer for my problem. Yesterday, around noon, my daughter spilled some coffee on the keys of my aluminum 13" Macbook. I wiped it off immediately and powered the laptop down. I read some tutorials on removing the keys so I decided to do that and wipe up some of the spilled coffee from under the keys. I put all the keys back and I turned my computer on this morning only to find that none of my keys worked, but the mouse pad still works fine. I plugged an external keyboard in and continued to log in. I opened Word and began typing and about 1/2 of my keys began to work. The "L" key opens up Spaces instead of typing the letter "L". So, a few questions:
Is it possible I didn't clean the keys good enough and that is why some of them are not working?
Is my Macbook, late 2008 aluminum 13" considered a unibody style?
I'm having trouble finding information on my specific Mac body style. I'd like to search for some tutorials on how to get a better view point of the keyboard to see if I can clean it a little better. I am prepared with the fact that I may need to buy a new keyboard. Also, I live about 4.5 hours from the nearest Apple store so that is out of the question. Thank you in advance for any help.

hi, calleasto
sorry to hear about this mishappen. I recognize it, since it happened to me a few years ago, also my daughter pooring thee (not coffee - but the difference is marginal - ) into an external keyboard. I took it apart and cleaned and dried it very carefully, but never got it working again. This was an external keyboard.
a similar failure occurred to other people with they laptop keyboards (and to me, without "using" any liquid). I presume - without knowing really the interiors of the laptop keyboards - that (1) they are read out in a kind of matrix (sensitive bars arranged in rows and (almost) columns corresponding to keys), which needs two layers of contact strips; and that (2) the layers are separated by plastic sheets.
Your diagnostics seems to imply that
1) there are still bad contacts (might be liquid where it shouldn't be);
2) the contact point has shifted ;
The latter could perhaps be due to liquid shifting the pressure away from the point where it should be applied.
What i would do:
Give the keyboard much time for drying - perhaps by removing the keys again. But there is always the chance that the temperature of the coffee, and the residues are causing troubles and might cause some keys not to function properly.
I think (i am not sure !!) you have a "unibody": i think it is "unique " in the sense that it has no screws (except at the bottom) - and no Firewire outlet. I have never opened my MB, but the only way i see for opening it is from the bottom (there are 4 screws at mine) - but i do not know whether it is advisable to open it. I would check via Phone with Apple before doing anything myself.
Hope this helps.
Thomas

Physical buttons on E440 touchpad won't work after coffee spill: capacitive layer works fine

Hi, can you help me with my stupid problem?
I have 2 questions:
1) Is there a way to enable trackpoint to work with the capacitive layer? I.e. to be able to use it without physically pushing the pad down. Now, as soon as I touch the trackponit, it disables light clicks (touches) of the touchpad, I guess to prevent unintended palm clicks
2) Is there anything I can do to make the buttons work again? (See the story below.) I have cleaned it all even inside, but there were almost no stains at all anyway, none on chips or cables. And it partially worked just this morning.
I guess I could soak it in water, then ethanol, and finally dig into rice grains for a week or two as a last resort...but I hope for a more electronics-friendly solution.
Story:
I spilled my coffee into the keyboard and touchpad, and even though almost no water got onto the motherboard (a few drops), I cut off the power supply in less than 10 seconds, and I cleaned it all thoroughly (even managed to get inside the touchpad itself and assemble it all back...what a pain), it works weird.
At first, it registered about 1/10 or 1/20 of physical button presses (depressions of the pad). So technically it somewhat worked. The capacitive (touch) layer worked fine including multitouch. Then I tried to just click on it repeatedly for about 100 times rapidly, and it started to miraculously work 100% fine...for about 30 minutes, then it returned to the 1/20 state again. But as soon as it started to work fine, the multitouch recognition died, so it wouldn't scroll etc. And after returning to the bad state again, multitouch was still dead. Then I tried to reinstall the drivers: multitouch has started to work (so scrolling and gestures are OK now). But the physical buttons appear to be absolutely dead at this moment, it won't register any click/depression at all. The capacitive layer works fine though, so I can still use it as a normal touchpad without physical keys.
But this renders trackpoint unusable as it requires physical depressions of the touchpad to register clicks.
Thank you very much!

hi, calleasto
sorry to hear about this mishappen. I recognize it, since it happened to me a few years ago, also my daughter pooring thee (not coffee - but the difference is marginal - ) into an external keyboard. I took it apart and cleaned and dried it very carefully, but never got it working again. This was an external keyboard.
a similar failure occurred to other people with they laptop keyboards (and to me, without "using" any liquid). I presume - without knowing really the interiors of the laptop keyboards - that (1) they are read out in a kind of matrix (sensitive bars arranged in rows and (almost) columns corresponding to keys), which needs two layers of contact strips; and that (2) the layers are separated by plastic sheets.
Your diagnostics seems to imply that
1) there are still bad contacts (might be liquid where it shouldn't be);
2) the contact point has shifted ;
The latter could perhaps be due to liquid shifting the pressure away from the point where it should be applied.
What i would do:
Give the keyboard much time for drying - perhaps by removing the keys again. But there is always the chance that the temperature of the coffee, and the residues are causing troubles and might cause some keys not to function properly.
I think (i am not sure !!) you have a "unibody": i think it is "unique " in the sense that it has no screws (except at the bottom) - and no Firewire outlet. I have never opened my MB, but the only way i see for opening it is from the bottom (there are 4 screws at mine) - but i do not know whether it is advisable to open it. I would check via Phone with Apple before doing anything myself.
Hope this helps.
Thomas

Keyboard issue after coffee spill.

I've problem. I've spilled a bit of coffee (sugar+milk) on my W500's keyboard - (Enter key area). And now, there are such problems: After pushing keys: F5, F9, Backspace, backslash, Space the behaviour is like hitting the Enter. Could anyone help me please ?
Thanks in advance.

Hello rafek,
please take the keyboard out of your machine and let it take a full bath in isopropyl alcohol.
Then dry it gently with a cold fan.
Here you´ll find some video´s how to pull out the keyboard.
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T430s - 2352CTO motherboard replacement after coffee spill

Hi All,
I had a terrible accident with coffee, I spilled a full cup with cream and sugar.
It seems after I press enter the system reboots and took it to the service center and told me the motherboard was fried and replacement would cost 3000$.
The FRU is 04x1737, do you know where can I buy it cheap?
The parts for my T430s are detailed here.
http://download.lenovo.com/parts/ThinkPad/t430s_fru_bom_20130401.pdf
Could any of those plannars replace the board
04W3734 Pln i5-3320MUMA YTPM
04W3735 Pln i5-3320MOpti YTPM
04W3739 Pln i5-3320MUMA NTPM
04W3740 Pln i5-3320MOpti NTPM
Any other advice to bring it back to life?
Thanks and regards,
Isidoro!
Solved!
Go to Solution.

No difference other than sku variations for regional builds. Lenovo and ebay are always sure bets, but I've also sourced both new and refurb parts from PowerSource and another etailer who sells all on ebay now I think. Called Thinkpad Parts.
Any chance your T430s is still under warranty? You'd be surprised how generous they can be for covered repairs due to human error like yours.
W530 | 3840QM | 32g @ 1.35v CL9 1986z | 512g 840 Pro | 1t HGST 7200 | FHD AUO v.4 | Quadro K2k | GOBI 5k | Centrino 6300

Keyboard repair after coffee spill??

I have an orig 15in MBpro onto which I spilled about a half a teaspoon of coffee (this time<g>). 3 of 4 arrow keys now don't work. Spills are not covered by AppleCare, and I have about 6 mos of AC to go which I don't want to void by opening up my machine.
Here is my plan.
1 Remove battery and pop off offending key tops
2 Apply 1-2 drops to key subsystem of
a) distilled water
or
b) 95% ethanol
3) Wiggle around the rubber key subsystem
4) Blow with hairdryer on low for (a) long time or (b) short time.
5) Start up and hope for best.
I assume the volatility of the alcohol is an advantage.
Will it damage parts?
Thanks,
David - Dallas

Here is a link that may be of help:
http://nonverbla.de/blog/2006/11/12/how-to-clean-your-macbook-pro-keyboard/
You probably don't want to actually drop water onto the subsystem--you don't want to risk water getting deeper into the machine and carrying coffee with it maybe down to the logic board. Coffee is corrosive. It would be safer to use something like a Q-tip dampened with distilled or deionized water and clean up any residue. I would avoid using ethanol--it will attack some finishes. Isopropanol is more benign, but since water will dissolve coffee, I don't think alcohol would even be necessary. I would also just let everything air dry and avoid using any heat on it.
The alcohol might serve as a desiccant to help dry any traces of water, but if you should not be using that much water.
You want everything to be bone dry before starting up.
The keys may well not be working due to sticky residue which has dried below them. Removing this residue completely may well get them working again.
In my opinion, it is well worth attempting this sort of a repair on a keyboard. If something is busted, you don't have much to lose by trying to fix it. If you can't, then you always have the option of replacing the keyboard.
Good luck!

Coffee spill and power book

could you please advise where to go to clean my powerbook after coffee spill on the keyboard, in sf bay area. do apple stores offer this kind of service, please?

Hi Yelena,
Do you have a titanium or aluminium powerbook? ( See http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88248 to how to identify your Powerbook)
Cleaning the keyboard is unlikely to help very much. It may need to be replaced. There's also a risk that the coffee will have got inside the Powerbook, in which case you may need other components replaced.
If you have a titanium powerbook, replacing the keyboard will be easy and fairly inexpensive, however there's a much greater chance the coffee has got inside the machine. If you have an aluminum one, replacement will be a lot more time consuming and expensive, but there's a much smaller chance of coffee getting inside the machine.
As far as actual locations in the bay area to get this done, I can't help with that.

I have a Macbook Air that had some coffee spilled on the keyboard and as a result the plus/equals key is no longer functioning. Can I use a program like Ukelele to reprogram a different key to be my plus/equals key? Can I program a function key? key

I have a Macbook Air that had some coffee spilled on the keyboard and as a result the plus/equals key is no longer functioning. Can I use a program like Ukelele to re-program another key to do that function? Can I re-program a function key to do this function?

Water + electronics do not mix. Something was damaged insode, and the logic board may be corroding as is.
Take it to a Genius Bar for an evaluation and repair estimate.
This is accidental damage and not covered by warranty.

Troubleshooting Logic and I/O board on A1370 11" MB Air after wine spill

OK,
My wife spilled about 1/4 cup of wine on the keyboard of her MacBook Air. This is an A1370 (EMC 2471) 11" (Core i5 Mid 2011) model.
I have read the articles in this forum and others on what to do when you spill on one of these computers.
What I would like from this forrum is guidance/help/suggestions/best-guess on determining what I need to replace.
Here are the details.
Directly after the spill, she tells me that the computer turned itself off, and would not come back on - no lights, no start chime, nothing.
I immediately took the back off the computer and mopped up what I could without completely dissasembling the system because it was late at night.
The next morning, one of the kids tried to start the computer (ya, I know that's bad and don't know why the **** he did it but he did). He "fessed up" later and said that when he pressed the power button the keyboard lights came on and chimed then went off and that was it.
I proceeded to take apart the computer, removing the battery, logic board, I/O board, airport, HD, etc.
I noticed that there was wine stain on the logic board and the I/O board and other areas and cleaned it all up with isopropyl and Q-tips.
I then gave the logic board and I/O board a very thorough wash with a cleaning spray by MG Chemicals called "Safety Wash II". Basically alcahol.
I scrubbed the two boards thoroughly with a soft bristle brush for about an hour, then I soaked the entire board in isoproyl alcohol bath for 2 hours then sprayed and scurbbed again until I felt that I got all the wine off.
I did notice a small amount of "purble" on two of the tiny contacts for the LCD connection on the logic board but could not remove no matter how much scribbing I did. The two contacts were number 3,4 if you are counting from right-to-left when viewing the logic board from the bottom of the PC, with the fan to the right.
After a good dry with a hair dryer and letting it sit a few more hours I put it all back together, crossed my fingers, plugged in AC and pushed the power button -- nothing happened.
I had an orange light on AC adapter so I let it charge over night. The next day the AC light was green and the backlight on the keyboard was lit. Tried starting and still nothing.
I took the back off again and disconnected the battery then plugged in the AC adapter. At that point the fan started spinning and I got the start "chime" but nothing on the LCD.
I disconnected AC and plugged in battery and noticed the same thing.
Now whenever I disconnect AC chord and reconnect it I get the chime with fan starting but nothing more.
Also, the backlight on the keyboard stays on all the time and the fan runs all the time if the batter or the AC is connected.
So, I am wondering what I need to replace?
logic board?
I/O board?
keyboard?
all of the above?
Would appreciate guidance.

Zane is right, ....I used to repair laptops for years as well,.....diagnosing such things is FUTILE.
Lucky you there are are almost no parts IN the macbook Air. Its IO and Logic and thats really almost it.
Contact Apple for in shop full diagnosis and parts replacement,......youre not going to "diagnosis" nor "fix" it after a spill (without parts replacement) by any means.
Even if you had a BEST CASE spill.....corrosion and failure would ensue on average 7 to 20 days.......then kaput.
Spills turn the best computer repair person into what looks like (to the customer) dufus......WHY? ......because its a "spin the wheel and GUESS where ALL the liquid went"
replace A......works ok for a week.....whoops, ..........oh yeah, theres a couple drops under under a solder connection on part B........replace that....

UH OH... coffee spill!

Hello all,
Just a question about what I should do!
I recently dumped a cup of coffee on my MOM's MacBook Pro keyboard. As you know the MacBook Pro's have lovely light up keys. Since 'the spill' the spot where the coffee got in through the keyboard cover, do not work properly. I feel so awful, and would like to fix this for her.
Her computer is still under Apple's 1 year warranty, but it is a school district owned computer. I don't know who to send it too, or if a quick clean under the keyboard may fix it...
Any suggestions will be much appreciated
Thanks!
Heather Kimme

Apple's warranty does not cover "accidents." You can try your local Apple repair facility or an Apple store but you will probably have to pay.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304398
http://buy.apple.com/locator/service.html
To clean the keyboard on your own - How to remove and clean your Macbook Pro Keyboard
Cleaning Macbook keys after a spill

Coffee Spill on unibody MBP

I spilled half a cup of coffee on my laptop, needless to say I was horrified and immediately shut down the computer, turned it upside down (to drain) and wiped it down. After all the brown liquid has been cleaned off, i took out a few keys in the most heavily flooded zone, was surprised to find no coffee in the recess. I turned it back on. Thankfully it came back without a hitch.
I read a few tips on dealing with coffee spills afterwards, and they recommended that I take apart my computer for a thorough drying. Since it turned back on and there is no visible liquid anywhere, do I still have take it apart and dry it? I'm asking because I am traveling right now, just checked out of my hotel room, so access to a hair drying is not available.
Thanks
Angela

No. Your insured property is also covered off the property.
If the damage occurred inside an automobile, your auto policy will be primary, homeowners secondary.
P.S. No I do not work for any insurance company. I just know how various policies works or should work.

Keyboard coffee spill resulting in strange mouse behaviour

Following a coffee spill on her bluetooth keyboard (which presumably resulted in panic and manic button-pressing) when my mother clicks on an item in the dock, the menu appears - as if she had ctrl-clicked.
Is this just some hard-to-budge coffee on one of the control key contacts or is this behaviour the result of some universal access setting or something that she has activated when panicking over the spilled coffee?
When clicking on an item on the desktop for example, the context menu doesn't appear then - implying that it's not coffee stuck on the contact (which would cause all mouse activity to appear as if a ctrl-click presumably.
Any tips for extracting coffee from Apple bluetooth keyboards also appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
G4 iMac USB 2.0 / G4 iBook Mac OS X (10.4.4)

A user here did this once.
I took the keyboard apart to get it cleaned out.
Letting coffee dry in there is not the Suufi way, (From the movie "Romancing the Stone").
Anyway, washed it out in the sink and let it dry overnight, Put it back together and it worked fine.
The problem with letting it dry as it is: the coffee will take a month to completely dry and if there's sugar, there's the stickyness. Save the headach and take it apart, clean it up or just throw it away.

Big coffee spilled on my macbook. Now ok except battery.

Hello first thanks for your help.
I spilled a BIG cup of unsugared coffee on my macbook pro 13p retina Mavericks. Brand new it only has 4 weeks.
I have let it dry for 48h. Everything is OK (amazing!) BUT it only works when it is plugged into the wall.
This means the battery doesn't work anymore. As soon as I unplug, it shuts down.
State of battery is "must be replaced now".
Also I have a few questions...
- is it likely if I get the battery replaced it will be OK? (coffee could have damaged something else... battery connector, ...?)
- if I get the macbook opened, and try to clean with demineralized water, dry again all, could my battery recover?
- is there any software or utility that could try to fix this?
- can I buy the battery myself (where?) and replace it? I would prefer a brand new original battery
- seems my computer is SLOW since this. Can this be linked to the battery, and get better when a new battery is in?
Thanks !

Your macbook will soon start shutting down and get worse as corrosion sets in, get service ASAP
Liquid spills, why your MacBook chassis is a one-way valve for spills
After a substantial spill many people will turn their notebook upside down and shake it, not only does this not work, but it spreads liquid havoc throughout your machine and makes things often as bad as possible.
The keyboard itself acts like a one way valve in the case of a substantial liquid spill. While liquid pours into the bottom chassis easy, it does not come out easily at all, and in the case of any spill, most of it will not come out by turning it upside down. Disconnect all power and contact Apple for diagnostics and repair.
Do not attempt to, after a spill, ‘dry out your MacBook’ and test it
After a spill most people invariably try to “dry out” their notebook by various methods, including hair dryers and otherwise. This both does not work, and after a substantial spill of any magnitude, even if the liquid was water, residue is left behind.
There are additionally many very tight places inside your notebook where liquids will linger for a very long time, and cause corrosion or worse.
Immediately unplug your notebook and contact Apple for in shop diagnostics and parts replacement.
In the case of very minor spills people will “dry out” their notebook and feel success that their notebook is working ok, however invariably in nearly all instances after 4-14 days an error / fault pops up and is usually followed by more.
In case of a spill, damage estimates are impossible,.....anything can be fixed, without question.......the question is cost.
contact Apple for in shop diagnostics and cost estimation ....possible parts replacement.
You ask- if I get the macbook opened, and try to clean with demineralized water, dry again all, could my battery recover?
No, dont do that.

Troubleshooting malfunctioning keys after coffee spill

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