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Apple's line of laptops for professional and power users. To date, the MacBook Pro line includes 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17-inch variants, with major revisions defined by Pre-unibody(Original), unibody, Retina display, Touch Bar, and SOC (system-on-a-chip) designs.

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Tomato juice on motherboard

Afternoon,

About this time yesterday I had the unfortunate disaster of having someone spill tomato juice on the table my MacBook was on (the MacBook was being used at the time) the tomatoe juice managed to work it's way through the black grid like part and onto the mother board!

I have un screwed the case panel, looking at it with all the insides facing me (with where the screen hinges at the top) and you can clearly see where it got, it is now showing signs of corrosion!

As it was on at the time of incident, I went to put it back on the table and it was not on anymore? Stupidly tried turning it on, made start up sound but that was all! Tried this a few times but nothing! Then I pressed the volume keys and it made the noise it usually does, giving the impression that maybe the screen is affected! However the white power light was not on and no screen!

What's the likely hood it's broken and what sort of cost are new motherboards? It was tomatoe juice, not exactly like it will evaporate! Signs of corrosion are definitely there!

Please advise :-)

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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Can you supply us the last four digits of your serial number so we can correctly identify your model. Having that we might be able to offer better guidance.

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Thank you for the advice! I will endeavour to get it to someone ASAP!

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If the answer was helpful please remember to mark it accepted.

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Thank you for all the advice! Really appreciate it!

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Best thing here if your up to it is open the system up again and following the IFIXIT guides disconnect your battery (depending on your model) as soon as you can so you slow down the damage. Follow the guides as needed to disassemble as needed.

Tomato Juice is very acidic so you need to neutralize it. Get a bottle of distilled water (do not use Tap!) with cotton swabs wipe down the areas that got hit with the juice, you can try using a small brush to scrub lightly any areas that need a little more effort, just be careful you don't pull anything off! You may need to soak some areas with the distilled water as the juice could seep under some components. Once you have cleaned & neutralize the spilled juice you'll need to get the remaining water off. Using compressed air (Can'ed Air) blow out the water as best as you can making sure you don't push it deeper inside. Then re-wipe the areas with 85% or better Isopropyl alcohol. This will remove any oils and act as a dryer to remove any remaining water. Still you want to wait a good day or two with the sun warming the system to dry out anything that is left.

If you find this is to big a task get your system to someone who can deal with the spillage as soon as possible as the clock is ticking here!

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Yea - you're screwed. Fixing this sort of damage is an advanced DIY project. Maybe the spiller will pop for a new machine. You might get a few bucks parting out what's not damaged/corroded from this one.

This is the volunteer DIY help forum. You can research logic board prices here and elsewhere. You can shop ebay and locally for repair prices... you can even take your story to Apple (they'll they'll tell you repair costs). Then you make a decision.

Follow the tags at right and you can see what sort of ride you're in for if you opt to DIY.

Good Luck,

If this Answer is helpful please remember to return and mark it Accepted.

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I say you take it to the apple store to have it checked out and see why the screen isnt working and discuss the pricing for the fix if possible

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Dan will be eternally grateful.
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