any iphone with Damp damage should NEVER be turned on before a dryout. Solution 1. Leave in sleep mode,dont press any buttons, place in a zipbag full of rice leave in warm place for at least 24 hrs. Works fine, then OK. Solution 2. If there is a visual of ANY kind but not normal, attempt turn off. Remove ALL covers, blow dry on hot using dryer, leave to stand in sunlight or similar for 48hrs, assemble and retry. Solution 3 Strip completely,if 1GEN-remember to separate communication board from logic board, ALL pcb's should be immersed in ISO-PROPONOL alcohol for at least 3 hrs,this loosens the inevitable buildup of oxide, remove pcb's one at a time and scrub thoroughly with rough microbrush, tough toothbrush may be sufficient, rinse once again in alcohol and allow to dry in hot temperature or maybe blowdry in hot setting. before assembling, a thorough rub of connectors may be necessary using methylated spirit. NOTE; Battery may need replacong or re-vitalizing.

Sounds like you have connection problems. Rub all copper connectors with Methylated Spirit on a NON lint cloth to clear obstructions.

Technically they are compatible but, can be a pain using some applications unless you are up to date with software. The proper 3GS also has fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating.

Something else that is often overlooked is a completely drained battery. Usually they will not charge. This can be rectified quite easily. How we do this is as follows.... Before connecting battery or after you disconnect, check if there is power in it(even a small bit) if there is it should accept a charge. However, if the power in it is 0.5 volts or less, it may, because of the diode accepting input current, reject the charge. This happens purely because the low power ratio can not determine in the diode which is negative and which is positive. Having the drained battery disconnected or at least the Positive(Red) wire, Using a PP3 9V battery and two wires Connect positive to Positive and negative to Negative for 5 seconds. Doing this blasts a small quick charge into the battery and also determines the correct polarity. Re-conect the battery, you may be surprized! this boost can revive many a dead battery. @anthony If you are sure your battery is 100%, connections 100%, Display 100%, the next step back is...

@Julias I repair the iphone 1st gen and that model ONLY. I have used but tested dock connectors, also the assembly which is less messy. but i am not sure if i can supply my email here or not. @palokiller It is Not a battery to the side, it is the home button connector and actuator.

I believe its aluminium and not metal. Alum will not attract magnetism. Bit of a squeeze there!

I am not 100% sure looking at your photo but..... It looks like your outer glass is broken and not your digitizer. If i am right, these can be purchased very cheap on ebay.

Try a hard reset, hold power and home buttons together for 20 seconds. then try plugging into itunes again. Update: are you connecting with a dock? if so remove dock and just use usb cable only. But are you just using the usb cable? or hare you using a dock?

If the logicboard has been replaced, it sounds more like the wi-fi antenna plug has not been properly seated. For the wi-fi to operate properly, the cable must be 100% screened off.

I had a similar situation with a 2nd Gen. phone. How i overcame the problem was to downgrade the firmware to 3.1.2 using redsn0w. itunes immediately picked it up and upgraded.