Computer + Water = FAIL... Advice?

[r0tax]

I had spilled water on top of the case of my system.
The system died/shut off before I realized the fact.
I then immediately unplugged the PSU from the wall.
I removed the vcard, hdd, memory.
I dried up what was left on the motherboard, hdd, vcard, etc.
I let it sit over night w/ a box fan blowing on everything.
Today I blew everything out w/ air. It needed to be 'dusted' anyway.

Without memory, vcard, or hdd installed, I plugged in power to the PSU.
The motherboard has a standby power LED and it does light up normally, in Green mode, no flashing or anything odd.
When I push the power button nothing happens, no fans spin, no noises from the PSU, no beeps, nothing.
I have also tried bypassing the power button, and shorting out the power pins with a screwdriver, nothing.
I have unplugged/replugged the ATX power to the mobo [multiple times].
I have unplugged/replugged the 4 pin CPU power to the mobo [multiple times].
I have reset the CMOS via jumper.
I have NOT removed the HS/fan, CPU yet at this point. But see little use if I'm getting nothing (fans/beeps/etc) at this point..

Mobo: Asus P5Q Pro
CPU: E8400
PSU: OCZ 450

Anyone have suggestions?

Can I test the PSU by forcing it to power on by jumping some wires on the ATX connector, to bypass the motherboard.

I'm at the point where I'm sure I'll need parts, but want to figure out which parts. Thus, would like to test components.
However, the standby power LED is sorta throwing me off, making me 'assume' that the PSU and mobo may be OK? But why is nothing happening when attempting a power up?

Thanks for any suggestions/help! :thumbsup:

 

[Big Lar]

Well, I would have pulled the cpu first before powering up the board but is a mute issue at this point. I do think you should pull the cpu tho, check for scorching etc. Also without a video card installed I am pretty sure there is no boot.

If this were me, I would strip the board of all components,(cpu/memory/vid/NB sink, etc), pull the battery and blow canned compressed air under all the places on the board that could hold a water droplet, ie mosfets northbridge, pci slots, you get the picture. Then I would let it sit overnight with some air moving over the board, then put all items back together and try the enitre setup, however, I would do the same procedure to the vid card/ram etc. Just IMHO.

Larry

 

[r0tax]

I followed this guide for testing the PSU:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f210/test-your-power-supply-with-a-multi-meter-151526.html

Another way is to use a jumper wire to short PS_On to GND. If no change in PS_On then probable fault is CPU.

Upon shorting PS_On to GND, the system powered up, and I was able to do further testing. It seems power button and/or pins on motherboard are toast? There was water on this set of connectors.. So a short here was likely?

However all voltages are good on the ATX+4 connector as well as the 4 pin CPU connector.

I also performed a continuity test on the PSU and have slight concern on some of the hot connections.

(if a colored wire reading less than 50 suspect a problem).

I had a reading of ~30+ ohms on many of the 3.3v and a few others. 12v was 100+ ohms.

I have not performed a continuity test on the mobo yet, as removing the heat sink will take a bit of work.

I'm unsure weather the PS_On short to GND is a normal "ON" state, but I still do not get any video output, nor does the keyboard (PS2) even light up.

So far its seeming like at bare minimum I'll need motherboard.
I want to continuity test another PSU to see if those 30 ohm readings are something to worry about, in which case a PSU will also be required.

 

[r0tax]

Tested another working PSU that has been in use for 10+ years, and the hot connections are showing ~20 ohms, 12v ~80 ohms.
So I'm thinking PSU is OK.

Looks like I need to focus on motherboard/cpu at this point.
Will be trying another motherboard/cpu/mem with the same powersupply and see what happens.
Also have another vcard to try/test with.

 

[r0tax]

Installed another mobo, cpu, mem, vcard.
POST and boots into Windows!
Seems PSU and HDD are OK.

Orig vcard (8800GT) does not produce a video signal. =\
X1800XT 256MB gunna be tough to get by with. lol

I did also remove the HS/fan and CPU.
There was definitely water under the CPU [in the pins].
Your right, I should have checked that first..

Will let it dry some and give it one more shot and see what happens.