when hardware gets wet

[nicknardelli]

I have a laptop that got soaked in the rain. I (stupidly) tried to turn it on directly after, and it gave no response, even when it was plugged in. I took it apart and let it dry for about a week, and then put it back together. The screen would light up, but nothing else would happen. I took the laptop apart again, and noticed that there is a sort of brown or blue powder on some of the parts of the motherboard. I assumed that the screen was still intact, but I am not sure about the other parts.

I ran my ipod through the washing machine, and the same thing happened. The screen lights up when plugged into a computer, but the logic board has the same strange powder that comes off if you run your finger over it.

I am wondering if I need a new motherboard and logic board, and how to test if the other parts are broken or not.

[Dngrsone]

Here's a tip for when you get an electronic appliance wet-- do not turn it on. Take out any batteries immediately.

As a general rule, electronic components can handle getting wet as long as there is no power applied to them while they are wet. Dry them thoroughly, and they will likely work just as well as they did before the dousing.

What happens when power is applied are two things-- First, water tends to conduct electricity (yes, yes, pure water is an insulator, but good luck finding that in the real world), and that electricity flowing through the water to different parts of the circuit board where it was not supposed to go can and often does do damage.

Second, electricity combined with water (and all those nice contaminants that make the water conductive) in contact with steel, nickel and copper will cause those metals to corrode very quickly; breaking contacts, making short circuits and increasing resistances. In other words electronic havoc.

Now, since you already have some corrosion, I can suggest you clean your components thoroughly with some 70-90% isopropyl alcohol, making sure to dry the unit thoroughly, leaving it to air-dry for at least 24 hours, unless you have a ready source of compressed air to blow all the moisture out (I'd let it air dry for a while even then). You'll want to get all the corrosion products out of there (green and blue-green is copper corrosion, lead corrosion products are generally white (sometimes black) and iron corrosion is red or brown).

Your chances of getting the device to work after this cleaning are about 45%, depending on numerous factors, but it's usually worth taking a stab at, anyway.

[nicknardelli]

Thanks so much, I'm glad to learn that my ipod has even the smallest chance.

The motherboard was the only part that had noticeable corrosion on it, but I didn't want to open the hard drive, so I didn't see if there is any damage there. Is it possible that the hard drive has corroded too? All I know is that there is a shiny wheel inside, but I don't know about copper iron or lead. And when the screen lit up, it looked perfect, but there was nothing showing up, so might it also be broken?

[Dngrsone]

Please, do not open the hard drive. Chances are, it's fine.

Hard drives are supposed to be sealed units, as any dust or particulates will cause the drive head to crash into the disk platter, with catastrophic results.