[huron]

I don't know if this is the place to ask, but my wife just spilled a glass of wine that went through the side vents of our Toshiba 28w93b. It started making a strange buzzing sound and I immediately switched off at the mains.

Question is, what next? Even if we leave it a few days, do you think it'd be safe to use without doing anything to it first? Unlike water, wine dries sticky, but I don't know how bad it could be. And being about 5 years old an engineer would cost more than it's worth. Not being an electrician opening up the back doesn't appeal at all with all the warnings about shock hazards. Tempted to just wait and switch it back on and hope for the best, but could that be a fire hazard?

Anyone else had similar things happen with water, kids drinks, coffee etc? Is it basically time for a new TV?

Alex

[JayCee]

Originally Posted by huron

Tempted to just wait and switch it back on and hope for the best

That's all you can do...just be ready to switch off quickly if you smell burning.
It's unlikely to go on fire...the buzzing noise you heard was probably a protection circuit kicking in due to a short circuit.
If no go you have no option other than to call in an experienced engineer to see how bad the damage is.
Your home contents insurance may cover the cost of repair/replacement.

[cheapskate58]

If the liquid has drained through and dried out the any residue will be very thin so it's very unlikely to cause any problem at all. Just turn on and the warmth should evaporate anything that remains quite quickly

[Xabi17]

Have a fire extinguisher nearby just in case

[Geoffw]

Hi ya. The wine might act as a corrosive agent if you do not clean it off the circuit board and may cause problems later on. Unless you are happy to do it, get someone with the knowledge to do it.
I had a similar problem with white wine that took out the audio. I cleaned this all off and resoldered/repaired the corroded tracks.