Extent of spill damage unclear

Here is a description of my situation:

Friday afternoon I spilled water on to my MacBook Pro with the water spreading across an area from the left speaker to the 5 key, and from the QWERTY row to the hinge/vent at the back. The Touch Bar in particular took a direct hit.

I was able to invert the computer within about 15 seconds, but before I could turn it off, the computer went crazy shuffling between Touch Bar options, and shut itself off. After removing all visible water from the outside of the computer, I placed it in a sealed container with an industrial dessiccant (drierite - I work in a lab) for 48 hours.

Today I opened the computer, removed the logic board, and inspected it for damage. I was unable to find any obvious signs of corrosion, and there was no remaining moisture on the inside of the computer. Even the underside of the keyboard looked unaffected, with no marks from water.

If the computer had not shut itself off, I would have confidently restarted it by this point, but the fact it turned itself off leaves me concerned that some important component has shorted itself. My hunch is that this component is the Touch Bar microcontroller - this was directly in the spill zone, and seems important enough that it might shut down the whole computer (the power button itself is on the right side of the keyboard, far from the spill). I also didn’t inspect this part directly.

Currently I have an appointment with Apple tomorrow evening. Best case scenario the computer works on start up. I’m worried though, that the Apple geniuses may not be particularly helpful, or may suggest I go for an expensive repair, such as a top case or even a logic board replacement (even though the logic board looks pristine). If something is wrong, I’m hoping that they can at least help me boot the computer remotely and recover data from the board.

If they do propose something expensive and/or that seems excessive, I would like to have an alternative option. I’d like to know the following:

  1. Should I just go ahead and try turning the thing on myself before taking it in? If I do this, what troubleshooting tests should I do?

# Am I on the right track with my hunch that this could be the Touch Bar microcontroller? Does the shut down indicate logic board damage even if I can’t see it? Alternatively, could the short be caused by another component in or near the spill zone, like the left usb-c port, the WiFi antenna, or the left fan (also looked fine when I removed it)?

  1. If it is the Touch Bar assembly that’s causing the problem, I’ve noticed you don’t sell the replacement part for my model. Is there anyway I could get a hold of this?
  2. Is it possible for the computer to short out without incurring any lasting damage, is there a chance it’s completely fine?

Any answers to these questions are greatly appreciated.

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