Have you ever accidentally dropped your phone in a puddle? Or maybe you were doing the laundry and then “splash,” your phone dives in the washer?
When this happens the first thing people do is to dry the phone then rush to the cell phone repair center – A good way of saving your phone. Except that you will have to shed off some bucks. So if you want to save those bucks in your pocket, read through.
This DIY assumes that the cellular phone you will be repairing is plunged in water not orange juice. Those liquids make repairing harder as they have tiny particles which can damage circuitry.
When it goes into the water
And so you were doing the laundry then splash! The first thing you need to do when your phone gets wet is to remove the battery. Water is a conductor of electricity. The effect of water on a circuit board, other than it could speed-up corrosion, is that it will short out all components.
After removing the battery, you must immediately dry the phone. Use a blow dryer to do this. And it would work better if you could disassemble your phone. Use a universal screw driver set. Nokia cell phones usually need the T-6 screw driver.
Make sure that the cellular phone is completely dry. This includes all components and surfaces.
The Battery
When the battery gets wet and its terminals are shorted, odds are that it will get discharged. Even if the battery was just soaked for a short period of time, it is best to be sure.
You can charge the battery in another cell phone unit that uses the same battery type. But if it won’t charge or you don’t have another phone to charge the battery with, you can use a DC source to charge the battery.
Getting a DC source is hard when you don’t have the equipment. The standard laboratory DC source will work but of course, households don’t usually have that kind of equipment. You can use your cell phone charger as long as you can tap the output into the battery terminals. Make sure that the voltage coming into the battery is not 20% higher or lower than its rating.
Charge the battery using this method for 5 minutes.
The Phone
Usually drying is enough but when the phone was wet and not taken care of immediately, some cleaning may be necessary.
First clean the contact interfaces of any residual matter. Usually the residual matter is whitish. It is easily noticeable. Use a paint thinner and cotton. If after cleaning the contact interfaces the phone still won’t turn on, then a major clean-up is necessary.
Remove all attached peripherals from the main circuit board. That is, the lcd, keypad (not the interface!), etc.
Then soak up the circuit with the thinner and scrub the board with a tooth brush. Sounds unusual? Don’t worry, it works. After that, dry the circuit board with a blower.
Reassemble the phone then viola! It’s working again.
And that’s how to fix and save a wet cell phone from being permanently dead without using up any money. Plus you can get to brag to your friends your new knowledge!
