Hi,

So a friend of mine decides to be a true mate (yeah right) and gives me a dead ipod as a project to fix. The screen appears to be bleeding and for some reason it won't power on. Now I've heard about replacing batteries on these things, so decided to open up it up to see how to do it. When I opened it up I noticed that there was some grey stuff over the Logic Board....kind of looks like moist dust and when I look in the underneath of the back case its on there too. I accidentally wiped the grey stuff of the case, but I'm wondering if thats whats causing my power problem. Am I right in saying that if the screen is bleeding the part of the screen that looks ok should light up? I can't seem to 'wipe' the grey stuff of the Logic Board. Am I looking at a new Logic Board here? or is possible that with a new battery it would come to life? I know I have to replace the screen, but don't really want to spend on a new screen if the Logic Boards dead.

Anyway heres a picture of the grey stuff. Hopefully someone will be able to tell me what it is. You'll notice that I've desoldered the battery, ready for replacement. I've also tried to scratch away the grey stuff, so you might not be able to see it.

The 1st picture shows the grey stuff in the bottom left hand corner:
img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0000008si8.jpg

The 2nd picture shows the grey stuff in at the top a lot clearer than the 1st picture:
img253.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0000010ui5.jpg

Thanks in Advance
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If I had to guess, I'd say the thing got submerged in water at some point. Whether that means it's damaged or not is impossible to tell because you can't evaluate much with a dead screen. The "bleeding" screen means the seal on the LCD has been compromised as well, most likely dropped pretty hard.

Submerged and massively whacked, great iPod. I'd back away from this project ;)

It will cost you around $30 for a new screen just to find out if the logic board needs replaced or not. If it does, that's another $70-$100 part just to wind up with a 4GB max 1G nano. Or you could buy a 3G 8GB nano refurb with warranty for $99 right now.
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thanks for the help. I thought it was too good to true being given an iPod for nothing.
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