Question 2014 Macbook Air 13" A1446 Prognosis

Azarex

Junior Member
Feb 5, 2022
1
0
6
Good evening,


I spilled water on my Macbook air back in 2016 and when i took it to an Apple store, they showed me pictures of the Logic board which seemed to have corrosion on it. They wanted me to pay to replace the entire logic board (which i think was 200$ back then) which wasn't an option.

The laptop has since sat in a desk for 6 years, it would not power up and seemed completely dead, until a few days ago i opened it up and try to clean off any visible corrosion.

With the naked eye and a magnifying glass i found some copper circles (vias?) on both sides of the logic board that looked blueish consistent with spots of corrosion which i cleaned off with some 91% Isopropyl alcohol.

It seems to have done something given the fact that while the LED light on the Mag-safe charger does not light up, the apple logo on the top of the Mac-book turns on for 2 seconds then turns off again not turning back on.

The Macbook sounds like it tries to turn on, when i push the power button, the fans seem to spin up for a second before going silent again. The screen will also sometimes briefly light up.

Is the Logic board just shorted out? Considering the batteries age and that it hasn't been cycled at all in so long, could it just be the battery?

It's likely not worth the money it costs to get the computer repaired but I'm interested in what the issue could be.

Thanks in advanced.
 

nathanjo

Junior Member
Mar 22, 2022
15
1
11
Spilling water or another liquid onto a one to two thousand dollar plus MacBook Air or MacBook Pro is a horrible feeling, but before you completely panic, you can take a few proactive steps which may help to preserve the Mac or your data. Turn the MacBook Pro / Air Off Immediately, unplug all other cables or cords, dry off all possible water and if its a keyboard spill? flip it over, use the towel and fan trick and give it some time.
 

ericlp

Diamond Member
Dec 24, 2000
6,133
219
106
My advice, sell it as parts (not working) on eBay or wherever you can sell it even here, if you get 200 bucks for it, great, apply that cash to a new M2 mac. Intel sucks... I bought my air 2021, for 799 at costco, so, wait for a good sale, and you could get an M1 for around 5~600 bucks after your cash sale *if you did get 200 for it.

Personally, I'd sell it and wait it out for an M2 mac air and then buy the M1 if the M2 doesn't seem like a good upgrade. Personally, not having a fan in my Air is awesome! I'm thinking they will put a fan on M2 if they double the speed.