I was able to 'fix' my MBP without replacing any parts after several large drops of juice seeped through the top edge of the trackpad and into the laptop. After the spill, the cursor would randomly move, swipe and click in OSX as if someone was using it. Out of warranty, I ended up disabling the trackpad through Terminal and used an external mouse to make my MBP usable again. Here's how I ended up solving this on the cheap -
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I was able to 'fix' my MBP without buying a replacement part or taking it to the Genius Bar. After spilling several large drops of juice along the top of the trackpad, the cursor would randomly move, swipe and click in OSX as if someone was using it. Out of warranty, I ended up disabling the trackpad through Terminal and used an external mouse to make my MBP usable again. Here's how I ended up solving this on the cheap -
First, I followed Simran's guide to remove the trackpad from the chassis. I cleaned the bottom of the trackpad with rubbing alcohol pads till every bit of sticky residue was removed. That didn't fix the issue, though. What you really need to clean is this -
[image|174271]
- the data cable (see above) and the ZIF connector where it meets the trackpad. Any liquid slipping through the top portion of the trackpad could land directly on the exposed portion of the cable and make its way down to the ZIF connector. That's likely where the short was happening. I scrubbed both areas with a cotton swab and cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol several times. Be careful not to damage the cable.
After reassembly, the trackpad felt as good as new. I saved myself the hundreds it would've cost at the Genius Bar and the $100 or so the trackpad and cable would cost to replace. Not too shabby.
For anyone else who has also been in this boat, I just successfully cleaned trackpad issues caused by a sugar-rich drink spilling into the cracks. First, I followed Simran's guide to remove the trackpad from the chasis. I then thoroughly scrubbed it with rubbing alcohol pads. I had considered running it under some hot tap water first, but was weary of having it seep into hard-to-evaporate areas and render the darn thing broken.
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I was able to 'fix' my MBP without replacing any parts after several large drops of juice seeped through the top edge of the trackpad and into the laptop. After the spill, the cursor would randomly move, swipe and click in OSX as if someone was using it. Out of warranty, I ended up disabling the trackpad through Terminal and used an external mouse to make my MBP usable again. Here's how I ended up solving this on the cheap -
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When that didn't fix the mouse jumping issue, I decided to focus more on the data cable and ZIF connector. The data cable in particular has its leads exposed on the underside (the side facing the top border of the trackpad), along with some chips and other goodies that could be shorting from the spilled juice. I soaked them in rubbing alcohol, and followed that with a semi-hard scrub down with a q-tip. It dried quickly and within 10 minutes I was back up and running. The trackpad 'clicking' also feels as good as new, and I saved myself the hundreds it would've cost at the Genius Bar and the $100 or so the trackpad and cable would cost to replace.
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First, I followed Simran's guide to remove the trackpad from the chassis. I cleaned the bottom of the trackpad with rubbing alcohol pads till every bit of sticky residue was removed. That didn't fix the issue, though. What you really need to clean is this -
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[image|174271]
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- the data cable (see above) and the ZIF connector where it meets the trackpad. Any liquid slipping through the top portion of the trackpad could land directly on the exposed portion of the cable and make its way down to the ZIF connector. That's likely where the short was happening. I scrubbed both areas with a cotton swab and cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol several times. Be careful not to damage the cable.
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After reassembly, the trackpad felt as good as new. I saved myself the hundreds it would've cost at the Genius Bar and the $100 or so the trackpad and cable would cost to replace. Not too shabby.
For anyone else who has also been in this boat, I just successfully cleaned trackpad issues caused by a sugar-rich drink spilling into the cracks. First, I followed Simran's guide to remove the trackpad from the chasis. I then thoroughly scrubbed it with rubbing alcohol pads. I had considered running it under some hot tap water first, but was weary of having it seep into hard-to-evaporate areas and render the darn thing broken.
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When that didn't fix the mouse jumping issue, I decided to focus more on cleaning/soaking the data cable and ZIF connector in rubbing alcohol, and followed that with a semi-hard scrub down with a q-tip. It dried quickly and within 10 minutes I was back up and running. The trackpad 'clicking' also feels as good as new, and I saved myself the hundreds it would've cost at the Genius Bar and the $100 or so the trackpad and cable would cost to replace.
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When that didn't fix the mouse jumping issue, I decided to focus more on the data cable and ZIF connector. The data cable in particular has its leads exposed on the underside (the side facing the top border of the trackpad), along with some chips and other goodies that could be shorting from the spilled juice. I soaked them in rubbing alcohol, and followed that with a semi-hard scrub down with a q-tip. It dried quickly and within 10 minutes I was back up and running. The trackpad 'clicking' also feels as good as new, and I saved myself the hundreds it would've cost at the Genius Bar and the $100 or so the trackpad and cable would cost to replace.
For anyone else who has also been in this boat, I just successfully cleaned trackpad issues caused by a sugar-rich drink spilling into the cracks. First, I followed Simran's guide to remove the trackpad from the chasis. I then thoroughly scrubbed it with rubbing alcohol pads. I had considered running it under some hot tap water first, but was weary of having it seep into hard-to-evaporate areas and render the darn thing broken.
When that didn't fix the mouse jumping issue, I decided to focus more on cleaning/soaking the data cable and ZIF connector in rubbing alcohol, and followed that with a semi-hard scrub down with a q-tip. It dried quickly and within 10 minutes I was back up and running. The trackpad 'clicking' also feels as good as new, and I saved myself the hundreds it would've cost at the Genius Bar and the $100 or so the trackpad and cable would cost to replace.