Homebrew Hardware Question: I was charging my n3DS and accidentally spilled water on it.

[astrangeone]

Woke up at 2 am, got a drink of water. Spilled it, and I think I spilled it on the floor. I wiped it up, and went back to bed. Woke up, made breakfast and just now (12:30) picked up my 3DS only to notice water near the 3D slider and on the inside of the console near the buttons. Immediately disassembled it, even removing the cover plates and batteries, and wiped everything down with 91% rubbing alcohol. The bits and pieces are sitting on top of my desk now, drying...

Any chance of saving this system? It's my favourite form factor.

I will be waiting a month before I turn it back on. Wish me luck!

What a terrible way to start the Lunar New Year.

 

[bananapi761]

If it was charging and/or in sleep mode before you spilled it then it very well might be dead. If not, and you're sure it's completely dry, there is still a good chance of it working, as long as no corrosion has occurred. A month seems quite long to wait, you could always try the rice bag trick.

 

[AmandaRose]

The rice thing is a myth and does nothing to help at all. It's basically a placebo. The phone naturally dries exactly the same as it would if not in the rice. Just Google rice and electronics. What does work is silica gel. That is why most electronics come with a little packet of silica in the box.

 

[astrangeone]

I have a giant thing of silica gel from another project. But I have a dehydrator and am running it on the lowest heat to help dry it out. (It's a fan with a heater in it). 35 degrees C.

I hope it was done charging for the evening, but yikes.

 

[Ryccardo]

Define water (which is an excellent insulator, if it wasn't for the other chemicals present in most forms of what people call water)

Disassembling it, giving it a good wash in clean water (to remove any contamination), and letting it dry (which may take quite a bit if it got under a BGA chip) is a smart idea...
...of course, maybe you'll then notice it didn't even get on the boards

What a terrible way to start the Lunar New Year

Hey, doesn't the moon have a reputation for attracting water?

 

[shinonome]

If it was just clean water there is a chance that everything be okay. Hope You are lucky!

 

[astrangeone]

Definitely clean drinking water. Not salt water/similar. It's stuck in my dehydrator now, probably waiting a couple of days before I turn the beasty on. Luckily it's not a connected to an NNID system.

 

[chandlercomicman]

I had the same problem with my old 3ds. Except it wasn't water, it was dog pee. I got a new one after that anyway. It was getting pretty old.

 

[daoko]

Sounds like it should be fine but good luck!

 

[bitjacker]

the rice bag trick does work, as i rescued an iphone from a lake with it. it had been underwater for over a year, so it was sopped good. the rice started sprouting. It took a couple of batches(1 lb each) of rice and 2 weeks.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Run a fan over the disassembled parts for 24 hours. That should be good enough to get it dry.

If it wasn't turned on it will in all likelihood be fine, because damage only happens quickly when electricity is running through the spilled liquid (rapid corrosion, and possible shorts)
If it was turned on, corrosion starts within seconds, so if it was left like that overnight that could be bad. If you can't see any corrosion (often they look like bluish/yellowish spots) on any of the metal it's probably fine. Anyway minor corrosion isnt a big deal and can be cleaned off. The biggest problem is corroded ribbon cables and connectors, that can prevent them from making good contact. But also easy enough to clean off if it isn't major.

Displacing the water with rubbing alcohol is a good idea (assuming your rubbing alcohol doesn't have oil or other contaminants) since it will evaporate much faster. You could actually just pour a bunch of rubbing alcohol (preferably 99%+ isopropanol) onto all the parts, except the screens and battery of course, which would do a better job at displacing water trapped underneath chips etc. but what you did is probably fine.

@bitjacker It would have probably started working again once it dried in open air as well.