As owners of laptops (and not only) know, like this small computer susceptible to various external influences. After all, the compactness of the laptop, its small sizes Along with convenience, they are also a risk factor. For example, if on desktop computer If liquid gets on the keyboard, you can get by with replacing only the keyboard, but on a laptop you will have to change, along with the keyboard, all kinds of components and parts motherboard and not only.
In this article I want to describe a little the process of disassembling and cleaning a laptop keyboard after filling it with sweet liquid. The keyboard from Samsung laptop R510, which was drenched in sweet coffee, but the laptop did not lose its functionality, but the keyboard buttons began to stick. So, let's start cleaning:
1. As many have already guessed, before starting the cleaning procedure, the keyboard must be removed. To do this, so as not to accidentally break anything, I recommend using special service manuals, which can be found in the instructions section (SG). Guided by the manual, remove the keyboard; to do this, unscrew the two bolts marked with triangles.
and disconnect the keyboard cable from the motherboard.
This completes the removal of the keyboard and you can begin cleaning it.
The first thing that catches your eye is the presence of a protective film on the back of the keyboard, this saved the laptop from leaking liquid onto the motherboard and helped it not burn out (the protective film is not present on all laptop models). In order to clean the keyboard from coffee residues, namely sweet deposits under the buttons and on the contact layer, you must:
2. Remove the buttons. To do this, from the back of the keyboard, use a small flat-head screwdriver and lightly press on the latch fastening.
When the latch comes off, carefully remove the button from the back side, moving it horizontally in the direction opposite to the latch.
The rest of the keyboard buttons are removed in the same way.
When all the buttons are removed
carefully remove the contact pad (in this case, blue) and wash everything with alcohol.
The keyboard is assembled in the reverse order. The buttons are placed as follows. We engage the double-sided rotating mount (we removed it last) and lightly press the button until it clicks.
In order not to get confused in the sequence of buttons when assembling the keyboard, you can write down or photograph the sequence of buttons. You can also use the manual.
After these steps, the stuck keys will disappear.
The most common reason for a laptop keyboard to break down is problems with the conductive paths located inside it. Often people spill on this device tea, coffee, compote. The paths rot and become closed. Is it possible in this case to make a laptop yourself?
Where to begin?
1. Rinse the flooded device with distilled water.
2. Dry with a hairdryer.
3. Leave for several days.
If the steps taken did not help, then you will have to continue the repair. You will need to disassemble the device and try to restore the tracks. Stock up on special conductive glue. It is used by auto repairmen to restore the heated tracks in the rear windows of cars. Proceed to disassemble the keyboard.
Remove the cover, now you need to remove the keys. Each key has two parts. They are called "platform" and "elevator". Sometimes a spring element is added. Something similar to a dental hook or a thin screwdriver, such as a watch, will work well. The “platform” is connected to the “elevator” with latches (3-4 points of contact). With three connections, one is movable, and with four, two are movable.
Next stage
Remove the "lifts". Then everything is not so difficult. You will see fastenings, some of which are movable, and some of which are not. It's easier to work with static ones. In modern keyboards, “elevators” can not only rise/lower, but also move. In this case, it is necessary to extend the maximum movable part; its fastening will go beyond the frame (holding). Raise the “elevator”, and then try to release the part that is motionless from the vice. Then remove the part with the spring elements and the boards with the tracks.
Important point
Repairing an older type laptop keyboard may vary. They are also characterized by an intermediate stage, which consists of removing the edging made of plastic. You will need a soldering iron, a hair dryer may work. It is necessary to melt the plastic that is behind the keyboard. When assembling, you also need to melt the fasteners a little so that they become “hats”. If it doesn’t work, they recommend adding a drop of superglue.
Next we will deal with polyethylene boards with tracks. There are 3 parts in total. Two have tracks, the third does not. The latter plays the role of a gap. The first two are connected into a single whole. Where the fold is, there are connecting tracks.
Again, there are exceptions for older models. Their three parts are not glued together, there are 2 or 3 point gluings. In this case, repairing a laptop keyboard should be done like this:
You can't just yank the boards to disconnect them. The risk of damaging the tracks where they intersect with the adhesive is too high. Take a hairdryer and an ordinary stationery knife.
Carefully separate the layers, starting from the corners of the plastic part. Warm it with glue, and then divide the desired area.
Do not hurry. Of course, a torn track can be restored, but if there are a lot of them, this will be a problem and you will have a reason to find out how much it costs to repair a laptop keyboard or replace it.
Restoring tracks
After separating all the layers, look to see if there is any liquid left that was spilled. Rinse and dry everything. The damaged track is immediately noticeable. But check everything with a tester. The theory is that you need to redraw all the tracks again, but in practice this is difficult, since they are too close. This is not necessary, if you washed everything and then dried it, the corrosion process has stopped. The correct trace has negligible (or zero) grounding. 1-2 Ohms is not critical, the tester should show a short circuit. It is necessary to lay a path on top of the damaged one. Suppose it has rotted right up to the contact pad, then you need to clean the area with a scalpel. After the glue has dried, check everything again. After everything has dried, you can assemble the polyethylene part in a few hours. It must be placed on an aluminum pallet. Apply the part with spring elements. Now carefully connect everything and test your laptop. You can use the familiar Notepad program for this, but there is also KeyboardTest - this is a special program. If everything works, disconnect the keyboard and complete the assembly. Note that there is a peculiarity when installing “platforms”. They must be installed after the “elevators” are installed. Lower them down the center of the spring element, then press the pad down until it clicks.
If you fail, don’t be upset, you can always contact a service center where they can help you repair the keyboard of a Samsung laptop or any other manufacturer.
I had such a need due to the fact that a number of keys in different rows, both alphabetic and numeric, stopped working. Most of all I was afraid that the controller was damaged and I wouldn’t be able to repair the laptop keyboard, but I still hoped that the problem was in the keyboard itself
In this article I will describe my actions, accompanying the text with photographs that I took specifically to make an informative, easy-to-understand article about repairing a laptop keyboard.
Since I know firsthand that the laptop keyboard is the most often damaged part of the laptop. Perhaps there are people among the readers who are ready for self-repair laptop keyboard, that's why I decided to write this article in a style that is understandable to the reader
First, you will need to remove the keyboard; the procedure will vary depending on the laptop model. Most often, the keyboard is screwed onto the front panel; access to the bolts is usually closed by the front cover under the screen, which can be removed without much effort.
The keyboard keys are mounted on elevators, so to speak, which have four attachment points, both to the key and to the keyboard pad.
To remove a key, you need to carefully slide a small screwdriver or a suitable tool under it and make a force, lifting the key upward. In this case, the key will be released from the elevator locks and removed.
Be extremely careful, the mechanism of both the elevator and the key mounts is plastic and breaking it will not be difficult, especially if you have no experience
After you remove all the keys, you will have to remove the film from the keyboard body and divide it into two parts.
The film is usually a book that unfolds and has a transition on one side. It is better to separate the film after pre-warming it, for example with a hairdryer, since the parts are usually glued quite well
To restore damaged tracks, you will need a special glue with high conductivity, ideally containing silver; you can find such glue on the radio market or in specialized stores that sell everything for repairing equipment and electronics. The price is not expensive, it cost me only 100 rubles to buy glue containing silver, Kontaktol
Next, using a multimeter, on the probes of which I soldered needles, we look for damage and breaks, carefully piercing the tracks to make contact with the track. The tracks on the keyboard are covered with microfilm, so you can’t do without piercing them with a probe needle
After you find the damaged parts of the track, all that remains is to clean these places and carefully draw the track with silver Kontaktol and let it dry
Basically everything. We collect in reverse order and we rejoice. The price of a laptop keyboard is on average 2000 rubles, the repair cost me 100 rubles - the price of Kontaktol, there’s even a lot of it left for the future if anything...
In this article we will look at the problems that occur with keyboards, their repair and restoration - the complete and best this moment In RuNet there is a service manual. The focus is on repairing and restoring laptop keyboards, but everything described below can easily be applied to desktop keyboards.
Everyone knows that in any electronic device As a rule, mechanical parts fail. Laptops are no exception - despite the fact that manufacturers around the world are constantly working to improve their reliability (and, consequently, service life), due to the small size of these devices, it is not possible to exclude the influence of various factors leading to the inoperability of certain devices. nodes
One of these risk areas for laptops is the keyboard. The unfortunate keys are subject to unbearable stress every day. Every day, the keyboard is exposed not only to mechanical stress (impacts on the keys during operation), but also dust, crumbs, and dog and cat hair. And under the most unfavorable circumstances, it turns out to be flooded with various kinds of liquids. Naturally, all this makes the life of a laptop keyboard extremely short.
Prevention
Here are the main symptoms indicating that your laptop keyboard is faulty:
- the keyboard has changed its color
- I started typing poorly, some keys don't work
- after pressing the spacebar or any other key, this key does not return back
In a number of these problems, you can only get by with preventative work, but this is best done in a specialized service center. There's everything for that necessary tools, liquids and experience, because inappropriate preventative actions can only worsen the current situation and often make the keyboard beyond repair.
The vast majority of laptops use a membrane keyboard. Conductors and contact pads are applied to the polymer film using vacuum deposition or chemical deposition. To increase mechanical strength, the contact pads can additionally be coated with a graphitized layer. Unfortunately, each manufacturer of laptop computers develops its own original topography for the layout of the film keyboard and replacing it from one model to another is impossible.
The main cause of a malfunction in the keyboard is the ingress of various liquids (Coca-Cola and Champagne are the most caustic), resulting in short-circuiting, oxidation or corroding of the conductive paths printed on the films. Cases of broken cable conductors and its breakage during independent attempts to disassemble the computer are still common. Almost any flooded keyboard can be repaired by restoring the damaged tracks with conductive glue.
How is prevention carried out?
First, you need to remove the keyboard. In principle, this procedure cannot be called too complicated. As a rule, to remove the keyboard, the clamps at the top of the keyboard are bent or pressed with a flat screwdriver, after which the top part is lifted, pulled up and away from itself, coming out of the lower grooves. The most important thing is to disconnect the flexible cable from the connector motherboard, it is very easy to damage a thin cable, but restoring it is quite problematic. As a rule, the keyboard is connected to a flat connector, which consists of a fixed part into which the cable is installed, and a lock-seal plate.
Only after removing the keyboard can you determine the scale of the disaster, and understand whether it can be done simply with preventative measures or whether you will have to carry out repairs, and in the most unfavorable situation, install a new keyboard.
In the case of preventive maintenance, dirt and dust between the keys are first removed. There are special brushes for this, as well as cans of compressed air. Then you can start wiping the keys themselves and giving them their original shine. For this, there are special aerosols and liquids that remove dirt and add shine to plastic without damaging it.
Often crumbs, sugar granules, and food can be found under sticky flasks. It is better to try to remove them with a brush while simultaneously sucking them out with a vacuum cleaner.
Repair
Here are a number of typical cases when ordinary preventative maintenance will no longer help and more complex repairs are required.
1. Keys “stick” or are difficult to press
In the case when individual keys “stick” or are poorly pressed, unfortunately, simple prevention is not enough. Such defects occur when moisture gets into the mechanism, which over time mixes with dust and “cements” the moving part of the keyboard. To get rid of dirt, poorly functioning keys are dismantled.
After this, the mechanism is washed in a warm solution of a special cleaning agent. In some cases, it turns out that the silicone “blap” has worn through to holes; it is replaced with another one.
2. Spilled liquid on the laptop keyboard
Perhaps the biggest nuisance that can happen is liquid spilled on a laptop. If this happens, then under no circumstances place the computer on the battery to dry, as this will not help. First, unplug network adapter and remove the battery, i.e. completely disconnect the device. And then, as quickly as possible, deliver the laptop to a specialized service center. If you are lucky and the liquid does not have time to corrode everything inside, you will get away with second-level preventive work (more serious). Otherwise, you risk having to replace or restore the keyboard, and sometimes even work on repairing the laptop motherboard.
To carry out the second level of prevention, it is necessary to dismantle the keyboard, rinse and dry thoroughly. Next, the film base is carefully removed from the keyboard; as a rule, it consists of several layers of film, onto which very thin current-carrying tracks are applied. It is important to note that when separating one film from another, you cannot tear it, since this will almost certainly tear the sputtered signal tracks. Each film must be washed in cold water and dried thoroughly. This procedure requires not only a lot of time, but also a lot of experience, because... The tracks are very thin and can easily be washed away during the process of working with films. Only after final drying can one assess how badly damaged the current-carrying paths are. If the tracks darkened and gaps appeared in them , then you can try to restore them with a special conductive varnish.
Unfortunately, after carrying out these steps, the keyboard is not always in working condition; this is due both to the composition of the liquids that were poured onto the keyboard and to how quickly the laptop arrived at the service center. If the second level of preventative work does not help, there is only one thing left - replacing the keyboard with a new one.
3. Broken or lost keys
Another problem that laptop owners face is broken or lost keys. In some cases, you can use a “donor” to fix this breakdown. Unfortunately, using “donor” keys is not always possible. This is also due to the fact that keys are broken in different ways, for example, if the mount itself is broken, then nothing can be done except change the keyboard for a new one. It’s the same with the fact that all laptops are different and finding a “donor” with an absolutely identical keyboard is extremely problematic. But meanwhile, such a possibility always remains.
If the “donor” could not be found, or its use is not possible, then there is only one thing left - replacing the keyboard with a new one.
Keyboard recovery
The vast majority of keyboards are made using film technology. Two films on which contact pads and connecting conductors are applied by vacuum deposition. Between them, an insulating gasket is made from the same thin film with holes in the places where the contact pads are located. Under the keys there are rubber washers, which, when you press the button, compress the film sandwich and create electrical contact between certain contact pads. The conductive paths on the films are made of aluminum. When moisture gets in, aluminum oxidizes very quickly and the track breaks. In this case, both individual keys and entire groups of buttons stop working.
If the keyboard is flooded, you must first turn off the computer, disconnect the power and remove the battery. Then we wash the keyboard with cool water (not alcohol!), dry it, put it back and check. When washing, thin films of a flexible printed circuit board should not be rubbed - the conductive traces can easily be completely erased! Drying the keyboard should last at least a day. If, nevertheless, the keyboard partially or completely does not work, you will have to disassemble it and re-draw the rotten tracks. To work, we need conductive paint, glue or varnish. You don’t have to look for this liquid in specialized stores; its analogue for repairing rear window heating filaments can be bought at an auto parts store.
Most modern keyboards can be disassembled starting with the keys. The first step is to make a photocopy or photograph of the keyboard. Herself the key most often consists of two parts: the elevator and the platform keys, but on some keyboards you can add a spring-loaded element here. For removing keys, a dental hook or a tool of a similar shape from engineering kits is best suited. In principle, you can get by with a thin watch screwdriver. The key pad is connected with latches to the elevator; there are three to four connection points in total; it is worth noting that in the case of three there is one, and in the case of four there are two movable connections. The elevator itself is an X-shaped structure, which on the bottom side is attached to the key of the metal base of the keyboard, and on the other side - in the grooves of the platform. We are primarily interested in the fixed connection; it is necessary to insert a hook between these fixed connections into the gap between the platform and the elevator.
On which side are the fixed fasteners located? ? You can already find out by removing at least one key, but most often this is the lower part of the key. It is better to start by lifting one key from one side and then from the opposite side in order to find out which half of the elevator is fixed on the keyboard backing and which is latched into the key grooves. Typically, the keys are removed by prying them off from the top.
In the photographs you can see the elevator in a raised and lowered state. When elevated, the attachment points to the platform are clearly visible (the upper ones are movable, the lower ones are fixed).
We send plastic parts and rubber washers to soak in a bowl of warm water, to which a little washing powder or dishwashing detergent has been added.
Next you need to remove all the elevators. Since everything here is already visible, no difficulties should arise, there are also movable and fixed mounts (in the photo the top one is movable, the bottom ones are fixed), it’s easier and faster to remove, as a rule, from the fixed ones, but there are exceptions. On more or less modern keyboards, elevators have more degrees of freedom; they can not only fold (raise and fall), but also move relative to each other when folded . In this case, it is easier to extend the movable part of the elevator to the maximum (its fastening will go beyond the holding frame) and lift the elevator as a whole, and then release the stationary part from the “vice”.
Having removed all the elevators, it will be possible to remove from the aluminum substrate part of the keyboard with spring-loaded elements, and the polyethylene board with the tracks drawn on them. On fairly old keyboards, the disassembly method may be slightly different; an intermediate stage of removing the plastic edging will be added. In this case, you will need a hair dryer or a soldering iron with adjustable temperature. You need to melt the plastic on the back of the keyboard. When assembling, if possible, then melt the fasteners again to form caps; if not, then drop a quarter of a drop of super-torque or its analogues in the places of fastenings. Such keyboards most often do not have a layer with spring-loaded elements; these elements are made in the form of separate rubber caps.
You cannot use a soldering iron to repair damaged tracks. The film on which they are applied melts at the touch of a heated soldering iron, and to solder aluminum you will have to use a special flux. Therefore, to repair the keyboard, let’s put the soldering iron away and pay a visit to the nearest auto shop. There you will need to purchase an electrically conductive glue brand "Kontaktol" (Kontaktol-Auto, Kontaktol-Radio). This glue is used for quick repair of car rear window heating threads and quick tracing of tracks on small printed circuit boards. Other adhesives can be used, but they have greater resistance.
Now let's move on to the main part of the keyboard - flexible boards with drawn tracks. There are three polyethylene parts (sometimes 4), two with tracks and one empty to provide clearance. Two parts with tracks are most often connected to each other along one of the edges and form, as it were, one part, this part is simply folded in half (at the fold there are connecting tracks), but there are exceptions, for example, in the photographs there are three separate parts, just there contact pad for connection. As a rule, on old keyboards these three parts are not glued together (there are two or three spot gluing points), but on more or less recent ones this can be a problem. You can’t just disconnect it, just by pulling you can tear off the tracks where they intersect with the glue. Therefore, we arm ourselves with a hairdryer and a scalpel (or a utility knife), and slowly, starting from the corner of the keyboard (when I say keyboard, I mean the polyethylene part) we begin to separate the layers. The glue is most often blue. Don’t forget to warm up the glue well with a hairdryer before dividing any area. Don’t rush - even if you break a track somewhere, it can be restored later, but if a lot of tracks are torn off, restoring them will be a big problem. However, they often occur modern keyboards with non-glued layers.
So, the layers are corroded. If you can see the remains of a liquid that was spilled, it is better to rinse this part of the keyboard again and dry it again. If there is obvious corrosion and adhered organic matter, wipe the layers with wet wipes for wiping LCD monitor screens. They are impregnated with a solution of isopropyl alcohol (but not alcohol itself - a very high concentration can corrode the coating) and are good at cleaning all kinds of organic contaminants.
Most often, damaged tracks can be seen with the naked eye, but you should still check them with a tester. Theoretically, all damaged areas need to be redrawn, but this is not always possible (the tracks are too close), and this is not always necessary, on a well-washed and dried keyboard, the corrosion process practically stops . All tracks should have a resistance close to 0 Ohm, most often several Ohms if the points being measured are far apart - not critical, but in theory, the tester should show short circuit . A damaged track may not ring at all or have quite a lot of resistance, in which case it is necessary to lay a track over the rotted one. If the track has rotted right up to the contact pad, then you will have to carefully clean the area directly next to the pad with a scalpel.
Practice has shown that all conductive adhesives differ in the specific linear resistance of the material. The glue introduces a resistance of 0.3 to 0.8 ohms per cm. The less, the better.
We find the damaged conductor. Usually, the metal on the current-carrying path in this place turns black or dissolves completely. Using a pencil eraser, you need to restore the metallic shine to the edges of the damaged area.
If such a damaged area is small, then you can immediately put a small drop of glue on the tip of a match or toothpick to restore the current-carrying path. But it’s better to do everything carefully. Along the damaged track on both sides I stick regular electrical tape. You can also use stationery tape, but it usually sticks strongly to the film and is subsequently more difficult to remove.
The glue is applied in a thin layer on the damaged area, so that the glue covers the undamaged areas of the contact track by 3-5 mm . After pre-drying for a few minutes, a second layer of glue is applied.
The actual drawing process can be seen in the photographs. After the glue dries, be sure to check the resistance. The adjacent paths are restored one by one: first we repair one path, then, after the glue on it has completely dried, we repair the adjacent path.
After finishing drawing and drying of the new tracks (for different adhesives from 15 minutes to 1.5-2 hours), it is worth assembling the polyethylene part, placing it on an aluminum pallet and placing the part with spring-loaded elements on top. In this form, carefully connect it, start the laptop and check whether all the keys work. To check, you can use a regular notepad or special program Keyboard test.
If all the keys work normally, you can turn off the laptop, disconnect the keyboard and finish assembling it. Perhaps there is one nuance left with the installation of the keys, or more precisely with the key pads. After installing the elevators, platforms are installed; as a rule, the platform must be lowered onto the spring element in the center, and then press the platform strictly vertically down until it clicks.
Note: If after repair, when you turn on the laptop, it beeps and a key gets stuck, while pressing any other button removes the sticking, and all other keys work without problems, then There was some resistance left between some tracks - apparently they hadn't cleaned it well. If when you press one key a different symbol is displayed, then you have a short circuit. Study how the tracks of the key you pressed and the one whose symbol was displayed are connected.
Kontaktol glue in St. Petersburg was found in the following stores:
- Mikronika. Novocherkassky, 51. 444-04-88
- Radio components. Tramway Ave, 12. 377-17-25
- Samodelkin tool. Tipanova, 5. 371-83-17; Slava, 52. 453-03-44.
- Electronics Base. Bolshoy Prospekt, P.S., 100, letter A. 337-25-52
Partially used materials fromwww.azbooki.ru
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