the mobile was only in the water for a couple of seconds and i took the battery and the usim out immediately and dried the phone off and put in front of a heater on low. is there any thing i should be doing and is it possible to save the mobile cause i dont want to have to but another one

Gary Coleman, January 2008

Yes.
Fixed a couple of phones with water damage.
Important to power off phone and open it up as they tend not to fix themselves.
Most of the PCB is (or should be) covered with conformal coating which is a very effective water barrier.
All this means is that the bit that is not covered its the bit that fails.
Prime suspects are fine pitch connectors and associated surface mount pads.

Damage is in two forms .
First, water causes conduction and electrolysis between adjacent pins/pads. Pads are short circuited even when unit is dried out (because the residue on the PCB is from the dissolved metal, and is conductive).
Second form, power and moisture have remained long enough to erode PCB tracks and pins. leading to open circuits.

Repair
Last two units did involve a binocular microscope and an expensive soldering iron so I guess it is more involved than most folks would care to bother with.

In any case if the phone components have been frapped due to the short circuits it is time to treat yourself to a decent Nokia.

Frank S., March 2008