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The larger of Apple's MacBook Air laptops featuring dual microphones and 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity.

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Post Liquid Spill Behavior

Hello all. Any help on this would be appreciated. My father spilled milk onto his 2013 MacBook Air (A1466), at which point, it powered off and would not power back on. He brought it to me to look at to see if it could be resurrected. I've been an IT pro for 20 years so I'm no stranger to hardware.

Here's what I've done:

I disassembled the machine, removed the logic board and cleaned up any signs of the spill. There was a fair amount of dried milk on the inside of the case, and on parts of the logic board. I cleaned everything up with alcohol and a non-static cloth and reassembled.

Huzzah - It now powers on....but.

Here's what I'm seeing:

  • It will power on via the power button (Battery or with MagSafe connected)
  • The light on the MagSafe adapter does not come on.
  • Once powered on, it will run on AC power, but the batteries do not charge.
  • The mouse and keyboard are not functional.
  • Once booted, when the MagSafe adapter is plugged in, the Power button does not work, but if MagSafe is disconnected, laptop on battery power, power button works fine.
  • USB mouse and keyboard work.
  • Wireless/Bluetooth work.
  • USB and Headphone jack (on I/O Board) work.
  • Able to browse the internetz and connected an Apple bluetooth keyboard without issue.
  • When I plug in the MagSafe, while the laptop is powered on, the LCD turns off.
  • If I connect a second monitor via Thunderbolt/HDMI adapter, both the LCD and monitor work until I plug in the MagSafe adapter, at which point the LCD turns off, and the connected monitor becomes the primary.

Logic Board? I/O Board?

If there are any Mac hardware gurus out there that can point me in the right direction. I'd appreciate it. The machine was out of warranty when the incident occurred, so if I can get it going again with some iFixit parts etc. I'll be a happy camper.

Thanks.

Answer this question I have this problem too

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I think you'll need to go back and clean things again. This time use distilled water with a little bleach to cut through the milk solids which are water soluble. The bleach to make sure you kill off any bacteria (bad milk smell). I would use a glass baking pan to hold the board and use a soft tooth brush for any stained areas.

Once you get the board cleaned blot it dry and then dip the board into a fresh pan of 85% or better isopropyl alcohol. This will act as a dryer for the water, even still sit the board n a warm window sill for a good day or two.

You'll likely need to replace the keyboard and the trackpad as well.

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