Chosen Solution
I have a MacBook Air with liquid spilled through the keyboard. The system seems to run fine as long as it’s plugged in. The system is unresponsive on battery power alone and the battery reports “Needs Replacement” and shows a constant 15% charge. A hardware test shows a failure of “4BAT/1/40000000 0x898f3790” Will a new battery fix this problem? Or does it need a new logic board?
What kind of liquid was spilled? Unplug and power off the machine, the longer it is running, the higher chance of a short circuit and more damage. Use this guide to disassemble your machine. Using 90%+ isopropyl alcohol, you are going to wipe down all of the major components and connectors. Immerse the logic board in the alcohol for about 3 hours. Then, take all of the parts and set them in front of a fan to dry. Leave them for 24 hours, or longer if the need more time to dry. Then, once you are sure that they are all thoroughly dry, reassemble the laptop. Try to turn it on with the battery only, then with the power cord only (disconnect the battery). Once you reach this point we can troubleshoot further. Best of luck!
