Blank screen after spillage INTO Computer

[stewie390]

Hello,

Need some advice diagnosing the issue here, I've had a bit of an accident involving liquid being spilled into my PC. The PC was powered off but the PSU switch was on, I immediately turned it off and unplugged the power cable and did not turn the PC on at all after the spillage until I'd cleared it up.

The PSU was the first component that I noticed had gone, it was sparking on attempting to switch it on using the paperclip test. I took apart each component and found the liquid had gotten into pretty much everywhere; The CPU Socket, Memory DIMMS, PCI-e slots and covering components also (GPU, RAM and into pretty much every nook and cranny it could've), only untouched hardware were the SDD & HDD.

I've managed to sort the PSU using a solvent spray for removing moisture, and sprayed each piece of affected hardware also, once I was certain all moisture had been removed I rebuilt the computer and to my surprise it turns on, but there is no display. I'm almost certain that it isn't a GPU problem as I've tried 3 different GPU's (at least 1 known to be 100% working, I believe the other two are fine also) and a USB to VGA adapter and none of them can output any display. I've tried the multiple PCI-e slots available on the board too and still nothing.

All Motherboard lights come on and everything seems to run fine except the fact I don't receive any display, what could be the issue here? I've tried removing all RAM and individually trying each stick and all do the aforementioned "Switch on, but no display". I'll be honest the motherboard is still pretty messy, with a few marks on it from where the liquid had set but been removed. So does it sound like a motherboard fault? or a CPU? And does it appear to be repairable, if so what would you recommend I do next?


The hardware involved;

Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Guerrilla X58 LGA1366
Processor: i7 930
RAM: 16GB DDR3 PC-10600
GPU(s): x2 GTX460's / Radeon 5400 Series (all tested individually, only one GTX was installed during the spill)
PSU: Coolermaster SilentPro 700W / Corsair MX 750W (new PSU bought after spill)


Wouldn't have been as big an issue if it wasn't so difficult to get a hold of LGA1366 motherboards for a decent price/the price they used to be, can't for the life of me find the Gigabyte G1.Guerilla board or an ASUS sabertooth X58 for the prices they were a year ago when I built this PC.

 

[athlonman00]

I just last week spilled coffee into my computer, and had the same symptoms when I got everything dried out and put it all back together. I wasn't getting video at all, so I removed the video card and used the motherboard's onboard one, just to see if it would boot, and it did like nothing was wrong. I replaced the motherboard and everything was fine. Still using every original component, including the power supply, without issues, except like I say, the motherboard. If you want to confirm what components are working and what aren't, you could always ask a friend with a similar system you could use to test components. That's what I did to determine what was wrong. But it sounds to me like the motherboard is gone

 

[stewie390]

I just last week spilled coffee into my computer, and had the same symptoms when I got everything dried out and put it all back together. I wasn't getting video at all, so I removed the video card and used the motherboard's onboard one, just to see if it would boot, and it did like nothing was wrong. I replaced the motherboard and everything was fine. Still using every original component, including the power supply, without issues, except like I say, the motherboard. If you want to confirm what components are working and what aren't, you could always ask a friend with a similar system you could use to test components. That's what I did to determine what was wrong. But it sounds to me like the motherboard is gone

Thanks for the reply.

My next resort would have been to use on-board, but the problem with that is that the Motherboard in question does not have on-board graphics, it requires a dedicated GPU (hence why I tried using a USB to VGA adapter to rule out the use of the PCI-e lanes).

None of my friends run on LGA1366 so I can't test the processor at all, all still run Core 2 Quads unfortunately.

I'm probably going to have to replace the Motherboard, but I'll be going the next socket up (LGA2011) since I can get those boards for much cheaper and processors for around the same price as LGA1366, but I'd still like to try fixing this one or atleast knowing what isn't faulty so I can maybe sell them on.

 

[athlonman00]

I hear you there. In my personal opinion it's better to cut your losses and avoid future headache. You just can't know what's going to work and what won't, or for how long for that matter. I'm starting to get random power delivery issues, as the connectors are showing some erosion on the power supply now (Probably due to the sugar or something in the coffee I had spilled). While I'm OK with operating under the assumption that I may not be for long, once one of the carried-over pieces of hardware decide to go, I'm not OK selling that same hardware to someone only for it not to work later on down the road.

It's a tough pill to swallow really, I can understand that, but the unfortunate fact of the matter is, electronics and liquid don't get along, and their interaction can be quite a bit unpredictable. But, it sounds like you're willing to do what I was, which is to buy some upgrades I still believe it could be a faulty motherboard more than anything else, but again, you just never know.

 

[stewie390]

Yeah Athlonman I'd have to agree.

I personally believe that the CPU is ok and that it is a motherboard fault. Have already moved on and I am expecting delivery today of a nice new GIGABYTE LGA2011 GA-X79-UP4 motherboard and an i7 4820K.

Nothing to lose so going to try washing the motherboard, not decided on a liquid solution yet though, might get rubbing alcohol or even try something mad I've seen on YT involving just water and washing up liquid haha, worst that can happen is the motherboard stops working, but it's already doing that so.. 😛

 

[athlonman00]

At least 70% isopropyl alcohol, but the higher the percentage the better. It evaporates quickly and leaves no residue. Literally clean out your sink thoroughly and fill it with the stuff and soak each component for about 30 seconds or so, let dry for about an hour (Maybe more depending on the component, my motherboard I had to let dry for like 3 hours because of all the crevasses it can sit in). It's a cheap way to maybe rescue them