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Kassandraxo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2018
6
1
Two days ago my daughter spilled a little bit of water on my MBA! I unplugged it and turned it off right away. Let it dry until today. Turned it on and the keyboard worked to let me type in my password but once I was logged in it stopped working and the trackpad doesn’t work either. Plus my fan was running at full blast which isn’t normal. I opened it up and after checking it out it’s clear that the trackpad cable has a fried pin. I cleaned it up with 99.9% alcohol, let it dry and put it back together. Turned it on and now the kayboard is working and the trackpad button works but it doesn’t move the mouse and it quickly gets too hot when I start using it.

I’ve ordered a new cable and it should get here Tuesday. But I’m worried about the heat issue.

So my question is, could a fried pin like that cause my laptop to overheat? It didn’t overheat before I opened it up and cleaned the connection.

I’m hoping because the keyboard is working it’s heating up faster with the fried pin.

Any thoughts?
 

Audit13

macrumors 604
Apr 19, 2017
6,905
1,845
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Have you reset the smc and nvram?

A fried connector on the trackpad cable should not cause that problem.

There are heat sensors near the trackpad that may have been damaged by the liquid.

Disconnect the battery and run it with only the charger. Does it still get hot?
 

Kassandraxo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2018
6
1
I reset both the SMC and PRAM when it first happened. Set up a new user and checked with that account as well. Should I reset again now that I’ve unplugged and replugged cables inside?

I will take out the battery and see what happens. If it doesn’t over heat when the battery is out what would that mean?

I know I didn’t touch anything else other than the cables. I don’t know why it’s overheating now :/
 

Audit13

macrumors 604
Apr 19, 2017
6,905
1,845
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
No need to remove the battery, just disconnect the battery cable from the motherboard.

Where is the laptop getting hot?

Since resetting didn't quiet the fans, it could be a damaged heat sensor.

I've purchased a few MacBook Airs with liquid damage and had them fixed by a local repair shop. After the repair, he tells me whether capacitors, fuses, or resistors had to be replaced. In one case, he had to solder in wires to bypass a short-circuited area. All of the repaired Airs have been working perfectly for over a year.
 

Kassandraxo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2018
6
1
So o disconnected the battery and have the AC cord plugged in but it won’t turn on :/
 

Kassandraxo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2018
6
1
Nothing happened.

I’m wondering if I screwed up another pin on the cable while cleaning it maybe? Maybe a pin that has to do with heat sensors?
 

Audit13

macrumors 604
Apr 19, 2017
6,905
1,845
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
It's unlikely that you damaged a pin.

It's possible that the battery was affected by the spill. I suggest waiting until you replace the trackpad cable and try again.

A lot of signals for through the trackpad, including the keyboard and power button.
 

Kassandraxo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2018
6
1
Here are the heat values. Does this seem weird??
[doublepost=1537653902][/doublepost]Values
[doublepost=1537654534][/doublepost]Ok update. I cleaned the female side of the trackpad cable and the trackpad works now.

But when I use the trackpad the CPU core 2, CPU core 3, CPU PECI, CPU proximity and GPU PECI all start over heating.

So I’m hoping this means it’s the faulty cable causing the over heat?
 

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Kassandraxo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2018
6
1
It’s called Mac fan control. Also, when I plug in the AC power it instantly over heats as well. But if it runs just on battery it’s fine.
 
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Reactions: Audit13

Audit13

macrumors 604
Apr 19, 2017
6,905
1,845
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I'm not sure but it could be that the i/o board has been affected too.

My temps are higher than yours and my Air is quiet. I can hear the fan if I put my ear close to the exhaust.
 

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Last edited:

Peepbo

macrumors newbie
Dec 6, 2021
1
0
I reset both the SMC and PRAM when it first happened. Set up a new user and checked with that account as well. Should I reset again now that I’ve unplugged and replugged cables inside?

I will take out the battery and see what happens. If it doesn’t over heat when the battery is out what would that mean?

I know I didn’t touch anything else other than the cables. I don’t know why it’s overheating now :/
Hi
I have the same problem. I just disconnected the battery and connected again but my macbook air 2015 is acting up and getting too hot around the trackpad!
What did you do mate?
Did replacing the cable work?
 
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