Chosen Solution
So I was a bit of a lemon and accidentally spilled beer on my new M1 Max MacBook Pro. It turned itself on as I opened it in the morning and it had 3/4 stripes on the right hand of my display, the far right one flickering. I decided to prop it tent shaped in my airing cupboard to hopefully dry it out, now I have no display at all. I have managed to get the bottom case off to see the damage and its completely bone dry, does anyone know where the water damage indicators are situated cos I see no red dots on it. Am I screwed or would it be worth taking a chance at the Apple Store?
Ouch! If you had spilled distilled water then you wouldn’t have faced any damage! The water is not the guilty party here its what’s IN the water, in tap or spring water its the minerals which are dissolved within which reacts with the exposed electrical circuitry. With Sea water, Beer or other drink we have even more complex interactions as the salts, acids and sugars are even more aggressive! At this point you’ll need to find an independent Mac repair shop willing to work on your system. Even still time is your enemy here! The longer the beer is allowed to fester the more damage (wet or dry!)
If the logic board looks bone dry, it may not be an issue with the board. Or there could be liquid on the other side of the board (I assume you didn’t take it out of the case). I would definitely say keep it powered off, unplugging the battery would be even better since damage occurs when the liquid comes in contact with POWERED components. And power runs through the board even when it is in a shut down state. Mostly I just wanted to add that on these newer model of MacBooks, Apple no longer uses liquid damage indicators which turn red. They use UV LCI stickers. Which are black and change color under UV light (although you can generally see if they are triggered even with the naked eye. I can’t find a good picture where I can see these, but there are a few on each edge of the board, and some along the top edge. Give what you’ve said I would be most concerned with liquid in the actual display assembly. You would absolutely be able to tell though if beer had made contact with the board because it leaves residue when it dries.
