My PowerShot SX170 was dropped in water

[mkwood99]

I have a PowerShot SX170 IS. It was dropped in water for 4-5 seconds, but it didn't go all the way under and the lens was above water.It was off, and I immediatly took it out, took the battery and sd card out. I put it in a bowl or rice for 28-30 hours. I recently took it out and put the battery (fully charged) back in and turned it on, but it wouldn't work. Is there anything at all I can do to save it? 

[John_]

Yes you can remove all the batteries, I dont know if yours has a time/date battery, and use a vacumn with small attacthment nozzle and or compressed air to blow out any remaining moisture. Open it up as much as you are comfortable doing the more open it is the faster it will dry out. If you are handy you can remove a cover from the camera. Then let it dry out for a couple days.

The fact that it turned on so far is a good sign, hopefully it will work when it drys out completely.

[Davy]

It really does depend what water he dropped it in!

Sea is salty, salt  conducts electricity, my thinking here if it got onto the circuit board or any electrical contact it could cause a leak, a resistive leak - not a water leak.  Maybe a few 100K ohms or less, this would be enough to upset the apple cart and cause digital circuits to 'latch up'.

Salty water can eat away the protective  lacquer on the circuit boards then eat away the fine copper tracks, it would cause severe contamination to them.

Also water can ingress by capillery action.

Apart from what has been suggested to letting it dry out the only option would be to send it in for repair, then there's the question is it worth it.

Davy