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sp759 · Oct 15, 2007, 03:01 PM

I have a 12" iBook G4. It had some coffee spilled on the keyboard today. I'm out of the country for a couple more weeks and nowhere near an apple store.

At first the keyboard worked fine. Then over the next couple of hours it started acting funny; keys wouldn't work, a single key would produce multiple characters, a single keystroke would cause a line of 50 periods, etc...

Outside of that, there don't seem to be any problems, and if I plug in an external USB keyboard, the external one works fine. I'm planning to unplug the built in keyboard and use strictly the external for the next few days to see if the glitches continue without the keyboard.

So my question is: what are the odds that it's just the keyboard and replacing it will fix the problem? Is there any way to determine that without actually plugging in a new keyboard? If the problem stops completely with only an external, is that any kind of indication?

I really appreciate any help anyone can give either way!

Thanks!

Scarpa · Oct 15, 2007, 03:15 PM

It's most likely just the keyboard.

If you're feeling risky you could take the keyboard out, wash it, let it dry COMPLETELY, then try it out. I'd say there's a good chance that will fix it.

ibook_steve · Oct 15, 2007, 04:36 PM

Your biggest mistake was continuing to use the computer after the spill. If you're lucky, then yes, it is just the keyboard. But the liquid could also get to the logic board, causing shorts. You should *always* completely shut down immediately if there is a spill.

Steve

Waragainstsleep · Oct 15, 2007, 04:55 PM

Sounds like the trouble began as it started to dry out. Was there sugar in the coffee? Washing it is the way to go. But leave it somewhere warm (not too warm) for as long as possible to dry. There are some layers in the keyboard, so if you can get warm air going through it, that will help.

@pplejaxkz · Oct 16, 2007, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by ibook_steve

Your biggest mistake was continuing to use the computer after the spill. If you're lucky, then yes, it is just the keyboard. But the liquid could also get to the logic board, causing shorts. You should *always* completely shut down immediately if there is a spill.

Steve

First off I have to say I feel for your accident, as I have had this issue with an old Dell laptop myself. But I 100% agree with what Steve said. As soon as any liquid hits your computer, you should turn it off, unplug it and in some cases I've heard you should take the battery out. Some people say to turn it upside down as well and lay it on a towel, I can't vouch for this.

I spilt a cup of water right onto my keyboard(the first and last time I kept a drink near my computer) and turned it off immediately. But I returned anxiously in about 2hrs and tried using it. I had similar issues you were having with the keys. The "A" key didn't work and the "S" seemed to be constantly inputing (like something was sitting on the key). Everything started to work again for a couple days then I had a total failure.

loveanh · Oct 21, 2007, 01:21 AM

Did the same thing 2 days ago, knocked the coffee over right onto my MB. Luckily mine shut off immediately and I took the keyboard out and cleaned the inside of the MB and allowed it to dry. Put everything back and it powered back on however, the keyboard is very sticky and I was wondering where I can purchase a new keyboard, I also noticed the battery is not working, maybe when I put the keyboard back I didn't do it right.