[nogenius]

Hello all! I have an idiotic problem of my own making; I'll be grateful for any help anyone can give me.

Yesterday, I somehow managed to drop my PB (AL 15") into the remains of a Bartlett pear that had been quietly decaying in the bottom of my backpack for the previous week and a half. Ew.

I managed to get most of the pear gunk off of the PB; however, when I plugged the PB in, the adapter plug started making a hissing noise. I quickly unplugged it and discovered that there was still a moderate amount of leftover pear stuck way up inside the AC socket. The tip of the adapter plug smelled acrid and was a little hot, so I haven't plugged it back in--the only smart move I made all day.

This leaves me with the following questions:
a) Can anyone recommend a good way to clean a gunky fruit-based substance out of a tiny socket?
b) Is it likely my adapter will be safe to use again, or has its exposure to gunk damaged it?

Many thanks for any help offered; I have vowed to change my indiscriminate fruit-storage habits.

[vinster]

Originally posted by nogenius:

a) Can anyone recommend a good way to clean a gunky fruit-based substance out of a tiny socket?
b) Is it likely my adapter will be safe to use again, or has its exposure to gunk damaged it?

Many thanks for any help offered; I have vowed to change my indiscriminate fruit-storage habits.

This is what I'd do:

- Turn off powerbook and remove battery.

- Use a strip of printer paper to clean around the outside area of the plug (stick the paper in as far as possible and then make a circular motion to try and pull out as much gunk as possible)

- Use a thin object like a toothpick and thin cloth to clean out the inside (tip) of the power adapter - push the cloth into the plug with the toothpick like so ( -> ) and move it around and try to remove as much gunk as possible.

- Perhaps phone a few electronics retailers and see if there's an electronics cleaning solution available (or even isopropyl alcohol) so you can get rid of any residue (use a cloth and the above methods again to get inside the plug areas).

- Let everything dry for as long as possible (maybe point a fan at the plug).

- When you're sure that the area's dry, put the battery back in and plug in the power adapter but don't turn the unit on and see if you get the charging indicator. Then if everything looks OK, turn on your PowerBook.

[romeosc]

Also use a can of compressed air!

[KidKit]

Originally posted by nogenius:

Yesterday, I somehow managed to drop my PB (AL 15") into the remains of a Bartlett pear that had been quietly decaying in the bottom of my backpack for the previous week and a half. Ew.

This is freaky fruity I remember just a few months ago, there was another chap on this forum who managed to squish a rotten banana into the optical drive coz he had rotten fruit at the bottom of his backpack. Can't remember his nick tho'...

depending on how bad it is, it might be best to let the gunk dry out so that you can just chip out the flaky bits (eeuch ). You should then be able to remove most of the gunk via vinster's suggested method. The hissing sound you heard was probably the pear frying in your socket... which is probably what was making it hot (the short circuiting), but if you are able to clean out both the socket + adaptor, and get the indicator light on the adaptor to come on, you are probably good.

if you have pearsistent (sorry, couldn't help it) gunk deep in the orifices and bowels of you powerbook, you might want to either take it apart to clean or simply just brace yourself and bring it in for a servicing - you might get a little humiliation, but more likely a big fat invoice ...

good luck!

[d.fine]

'I have vowed to change my indiscriminate fruit-storage habits.'

Glad to see you learned something from it, it is not a wasted experience