View original (French)

Laptop issue with coffee on the keyboard.

KatellJ Posted messages 3 Status Member -  
KatellJ Posted messages 3 Status Member -
Hello everyone,
I spilled coffee on my laptop keyboard and performed first aid (soaking up as much as possible, opening the back to soak it inside, letting it dry, etc...)
I managed to restart the PC, but when it got to 18% battery, I wanted to plug it in to charge while keeping the PC on, and it shut down completely and refuses to turn back on.
I reopened the back, removed the battery, put it back in, and managed to restart, but as soon as I plug in the power, the same issue occurs: the PC shuts down completely and won't turn back on.
So, I removed the battery again and put it back in, I plugged in the power this time without turning on the PC, and the charging light came on.
It seems that when the PC is on, powering it up leads to a shutdown, where do you think this might be coming from?
The PC is still under warranty for another month, but I'm hesitant to send it for repair, even though there seems to be no sign of liquid when opened.
Thank you in advance for your responses!

4 answers

  1.
    jeannets Posted messages 28396 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   Ambassadeur 6 603
     
    Hello,

    I suppose the coffee has spilled inside, flowing onto the motherboard, probably around the charger port or the battery connections... And the coffee has dried, becoming an electrical conductor like a resistor that connects strategic circuits... dried coffee becomes a variant of carbon...

    Anyway... The solution is to open the PC to reach and clean (even scrape) the famous conductive deposit; it will probably require using a fairly stiff toothbrush...

    To do this, you need to remove the battery, clean with distilled water applied to the toothbrush, with some cleaning product (like ammonia Ajax), wipe, then dry completely, and wait at least two hours after drying before replacing the battery and powering it on...

    We must also fear that some keys on the keyboard may not work anymore.
    0
    1. KatellJ Posted messages 3 Status Member
       
      Thank you for your response!
      The keyboard keys are still all working.
      What surprises me is that the PC turns off when I plug in the power supply, but when the PC is off and I plug in the power, it charges fine.
      And when I disconnect and reconnect the battery, I can turn it back on again.
      I don't feel at all up to disassembling it; I'm afraid it will be worse afterwards...
      0
  2. flo88 Posted messages 28485 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   Ambassadeur 5 168
     
    You need to let it dry for a few days, unplugged and with the battery removed (you shouldn't have restarted it so quickly...

    --
    Signature
    Euskadi Ta Askatasuna
    0
  3. jeannets Posted messages 28396 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   Ambassadeur 6 603
     
    Well yes, we don't know your abilities... If you don't feel up to this task, you shouldn't dive into it; it was just to give you an overview of the description...

    It's true that waiting a bit can help it resolve itself... It also depends on the quantity... did you spill the whole coffee pot or just the bottom of a cup..?

    What we should worry about is that this coffee may have caused the death of a component in the circuitry, and even over time, it won't come back to life...

    The charger’s pulse should act on the "Power/Off" button to turn off the PC

    If it persists, you'll need to find a good friend to do this job..
    0
  4. KatellJ Posted messages 3 Status Member
     
    I have already tinkered quite a bit with PCs, but as time goes on, it’s getting more complicated to take apart and reassemble without making mistakes ;)
    It’s way too meticulous for me!
    I spilled about a third of my mug...
    I still contacted HP to see if it can go through since it’s still under warranty; of course, I didn't mention this "incident" to them. Now I can only hope that it won’t be visible when they do the repair (I soaked up as much as I could, and I managed to take apart a few components to clean them; there weren't too many traces, but I didn't take out the motherboard, where there could be more, so it’s fifty-fifty!).
    Thank you very much for these tips!
    0