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The April 2014 update of Apple's 13" MacBook Air features refreshed dual-core i5 and i7 processors, plus slightly increased battery performance.

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Water damage - what to replace (logic board / IO-board)?

Hello,

my sister spilled water/tea over her Macbook Air Early 2014 a while ago. It powered off immediately (electrical short?) and didn't turn on again. We let it dry for about 1 week and since then we see this behavior:

The MBA boots up as usual, but *only* after unplugging and re-plugging the battery connector inside the case, then connecting the (external) charger and then pressing the power button. After pressing the power button, the CPU fan spins and stops for 3 times (~1sec), and then it finally boots. When booted, the CPU fan runs on full speed most of the time and the laptop is *very* slow. Someone told me it might be that the laptop "thinks" it's too hot and puts itself into overtemp-safety-mode and that the logic board needs to be replaced. Other than that, all components (audio, screen, keyboard) seem to work fine.

I disassembled the MBA and some parts of the logic board look corroded and dirty from the liquid. I was about to order a new logic board and then saw that there is also a little I/O board next to the CPU fan.

  • Do you think replacing the logic board fixes all issues?
  • Do I need to replace the I/O board as well; or maybe only the I/O board?
  • Can I perform any tests to see what exactly needs to be replaced?
  • Are there different models of logic boards for the early 2014 that are not compatible? (I heard that some have a fan that is fixed to the CPU heatsink, and some have a removeable fan?)
  • Can I only use early 2014 logic boards / I/O boards or also older/newer ones?

Thank you very much for any help!

Best,

Martin

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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Without testing it you wont know what to replace

Once it dried out the corrosion on the inside began and is now causing problems . If you had taken the laptop apart immediately after the water was introduced you could have cleaned the logic board and then you could have saved the laptop but it is probably corroded beyond help now . This is my pet answer for wet laptop you can try this it may help . If you have access to a sonic bath put the logic board it there to clean it ,if not then try the following

Clean every connection with a soft toothbrush. As well clean the logic board use a 99% isopropyl alcohol for all cleaning. Now is the time to start drying out the laptop. Set the screen in a desiccant or silica gel leave it in for several days moving it from time to time to get the max effect from the desiccant. Use a blow dryer on a low heat setting to dry the rest of the laptop. Only use a hair dryer once you have cleaned the laptop completely with the alcohol. Do not attempt to dry the laptop if it’s still wet with water with the blow dryer as this only spreads the water. Replace the battery with a new one considers the old ones done. Clean again with isopropyl alcohol let dry and when you think everything is clean and dry reassemble the phone (make sure to clean the contacts on the screen after removing from the desiccant). Once you've reassembled the laptop it’s time to power it on. Hold your breath and hope for the best

For great diagnostic help check out Louis Rossmann on youtube

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Thanks jimfixer for your exhaustive answer!

I might try cleaning it properly but I thought something was detroyed by the short circuit, don't you think?

Any ideas how to test for broken parts? I also have a multimeter if that helps...

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I would actually clean the board get as much corrosion off as possible you may be surprised at what might still work as far as testing the board you would need a schematic diagram with voltages and resistance levels but apple say no one can have those so cant help you unless you can find ones that the Chinese or Russians have made

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Martin

could you please provide the best solution? I am in the similar situation-whether should I buy logic board

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I followed Jimfixer's advice and cleaned the laptop's logic board with a toothbrush and isopropyl alcohol. After doing that, it worked again. Good luck!

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Martin will be eternally grateful.
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