Assessing water damage

Hey all,
I know this is a notebook hardware forum, but I need some help with some iPhone hardware troubleshooting.

I need some trouble assessing water damage on an iPhone and fixing the problem. I was told it had sat in a toilet for a minute. It was placed into rice to dry out, but never opened. Here is the current damage assessment:

1. Water indicator is clearly red
2. iPhone turns on when connected to an AC charger, but not when connected to a computer's USB port.
3. When it turns on, it shows that it is plugged in and charged to 100%. However, removing the charger causes the phone to die instantly.

I am thinking the problem could be one of two things: either the battery is completely toast, or a fuse/IC has been destroyed by the water on the motherboard, or perhaps a combination of the two. I plan on replacing the battery and cleaning the motherboard with >90% isopropyl alcohol. What do you guys think?

 

I think you're on the right track. As of now, it's impossible to determine if the problem is with the battery or logic board. Replacing the battery and cleaning the logic board will help narrow this down. First clean any debris off of the logic board using a soft small paint brush or a toothbrush. I would use a q-tip with a 90% alcohol solution as it will dry faster. Clean any corrosion/buildup off of the logic board with that. You can then use a hair dryer on the cold setting to completely dry things out.

That should help. Just keep in mind that the logic board might have to be replaced. Cleaning it like this won't guarantee that it starts working. It's a good start though.

 

Agreed with kornchild; you're certainly starting off with this in a good way, and that's basically what I'd do if my phone suffered similar damage.

However, I'd suggest using something like a coffee filter to clean off the board instead of just a q-tip, as a q-tip could leave lint behind if it gets caught on an IC or the like.

 

So I put the new battery in. I didn't see any visible corrosion. Here are the new symptoms:
1. Phone runs off battery
2. Phone does not charge from USB on the computer, but it does charge from wall socket
3. Phone gets ridiculously hot.

Any ideas gents? Dock connector? Or maybe corrosion?

EDIT
I found the corrosion. However in my idiocy, I decided to submerge the LCD with dock connector attached to rid the corrosion. Now, I have all those lovely water spots in the LCD, which apparently got there via dock connector sucking up the alcohol. Is there anyway to get rid of those? It charges fine now via USB. Home button is borked and so is the camera (causes the iPhone to heat up immensely, with it removed there is no heating up)

 

The water spots in the display are permanent, you can't get rid of them without completely dismantling the display and cleaning off the pixels (not gonna happen) if that would even work. Once an LCD panel is damaged, it's damaged.

 

I guess that's how we learn from our mistakes. Lucky for me a new panel costs around 20$

 

IF they are from the alcohol, not water, and is actually fluid behind the screen, it should go away. I had that happen on an old blackberry when someone got too enthusiastic with the ZAGG spray. However, if it's not actual liquid, but just dirt or whatever, then you will have to replace the panel.