Chosen Solution
Cocktail spilled onto the keyboard and almost immediately the computer screen went black. Quickly unplugged and turned over to dump as much of the water out as possible, then left keyboard side down on a towel with the back and battery were removed. Left it to dry over night, and continued with the cleanup this morning… (I have some experience with taking MacBooks apart, so the tools were at the ready!) However, when powered up, the fan begins to run, the cpu gets hot, and the startup chime rings (sooo the speakers work). BUT the screen is black. Any suggestions on what I can try next?
Try to plug a mini-dvi adapter to an external screen or a tv to get at least some basic insight if the image is still there when you boot. If image is there is a starting point and rules out major damage. However it is likely something got shorted along image/backlight power or data lines..give a close look at the connector and surrounding components and see if anything looks burnt or blackened..you’ll need a good light source and possibly magnification. In any case it seems to me a logic board component level repair will be needed to get your Mac back into shape.
First of all if you haven’t already open the machine and inspect the logic board and see if there is any corrosion and/or blown parts. Get a cloth and rubbing alcohol and clean up all water damage/corrosion on the logic board and if any components are blown you or somebody else will either need to replace them or get a new logic board if you are unable to. Now boot up the machine and see if the display is working. You should also shine a torch on the display and see if you can see anything. If you can the issue is to do with the LCD backlight.
