some time ago I dropped my FP3 in water but removed it very quick.
I directly removed the battery and let it dry for some hours. I opened it up but couldn’t see any water or damage, so I turned it on and everything just worked fine.
Around two weeks later, I started to have problems charging the phone.
When I was plugging in the cable, the charging light went on, but the phone didn’t charge. Now it is charging again, but depending on which way round I plug in the USB-C plug it is charging either slowly or rapidly… Many times I can’t type, while the phone is charging, because every letter I press gets printed twice
Also the USB notification doesn’t dissappear many times, after a USB cable got disconnected.
And the flashlight is not stable bright but kind of quickly blinking during normal use. When I plug in a USB cable with a charger, the blinking stops. When I unplug the charger from the mains but keep it connected to the phone, the blinking continues with a much lower frequency.
I am thinking now, if I should try to replace the bottom module too. Can all the decribed effects (also the typing and notification thing) come from a problem with that module, or might the power management chip on the mainbord got damaged? Any other ideas?
If you remove the screen you will see a white or red indicator that gives an idea of how damp the insides got.
Still by dismantling you have an option to clean the contacts between the modules.
You could have multiple problems
A screen contact problem, I doubt it damp after all this time
A USB port problem. Damp could easily have encourage not just the accumualtion of micro debris that will cover the contacts but oxidation of the contacts can occur due to dampness.
It all sounds reasonable. So you have since the issues dismantled the phone a second time, or did you not dismantle it the first time and only remove the battery.?
Damp can get into the modules and what type of water was it. Most waters have contaminates that once the water has evapotorated not only leave behind a residue but that residue is hydroscopic. This is one reason to clean or wash the contacts and parts with strong alcohol as it will draw away any mositure with it’s contaminants.
I did not dismantle it the first time, because everything seemed fine. After I started to have the problems I completly dismantled it twice without any effect (positive or negative).
The water was from a river. Maybe I will open it again and try to clean the contacts with isopropanol.
Hi @tial
I had the same problem with milk .
It took me some time to get rid of every liquid and dirt.
I dismantle it at least three times a month to clean it properly. I had a particular attention on the bottom module (dried …).
Good luck
Did you even have the same issues with the blinking flashlight and the other stuff?
Or just charging problems? I still can’t really believe, that the behaviour I decribed could really just be dirt on some connectors and not some broken circuit. Please confirm.
Hi,
I did not have the same flash problem.
Only charging difficulties : so i took care about the bottom module. Perhaps, the camera module need to be dried again (condensation, …).
There can be oxydation on contact.
I do not have other idea.
Wish you good luck !
Well, maybe my choice of words was not the best, sorry for that.
Anyway, what I meant was, that the problems really seam very strange to me, and I was hoping somebody might have any other idea or can point me in another direction, beceause until now I was not able to find anybody experiencing this behavior after water damage.
Why do I think so? For example the decribed changes depending on either a plugged USB or even a connected charger don’t really fit when I think of corroded or oxidated contacts. How can the corrosion be gone when the cable is plugged in, and then be there again, after it was plugged out?
But since it seems, that cleaning is the only idea so far, I will take your advice and try my luck again. Maybe I overlooked something the last times. And in case of no success I might try to exchange the bottom module and see.
Anyway, I will keep you posted. Thank you very much for your help!!
Thats true, but only applies to the bottom module, or even just the USB port. If I understood your first answer right, you were doubting yourself, that all the problems can come from there.
@anon9989719 , @Roms : I still can’t belive it, but it seems you were completely right!!
What happened: Since I got frustrated, I ordered the bottom module for replacement. Having this as a backup plan I was not afraid to open up the modules and have a closer look inside. But I coudn’t find anything. Everthing seemed completly ok.
But today afternoon I had the chance to use a strong illuminated magnifier and had a look at the inside of the bottom module again. And then I saw it: in the back of the USB-C port, where the contacts are soldered to the board, there was very little corrosion, that propably shorted two pins. My first attemts to clean it up failed, so I soaked the whole module in alcohol and then tried to rub the place with a toothpick. That kind of worked. The place is not clean, but the pins are not connected anymore.
Long story short: So far, about 3 hours after cleaning, everything still works fine. No charging problem, no blinking flash, no wrong notification, nothing…
Thank you again for your help and for insisting on cleaning carefully!!
Having the chance to use this huge magnifier was really good luck. Otherwise I would have never seen the corroded place…
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