Repair Non-working Tv Remote Key

Intro: Repair Non-working Tv Remote Key

this is instructable will show you how to repair a non-working tv remote key.

in this case the vol+ button to this tv remote does not work no matter how hard i press on it.

there are a few reasons why a key may not work:

1- the copper track to a key may have corroded for one reason or another. to repair this would require a little soldering. i will not cover this part though.

2- gunk accumulated under the key/s.

3- when the key is pressed, there is not good contact between the key and the circuit board.

STEP 1: Clean Gunk

open the remote control and clean gunk from under the keys and on the circuit board. the way i do it is by using water and soap. yes! that's how i have always done this with tv remotes. some say to be careful and use proper cleaning solution but i just put a dab of dish washing soap on the circuit board, rub it around with my fingers, and put the board under a running faucet to remove soap. i believe the board has a thin coat of what it looks to be acrylic not allowing the water to touch the components... still i grab the circuit board with my hand like if i'm going to open a packet of ketchup and shake the water off. i also, smack the circuit board on a towel. i guess you can blow on it to get the water from all the nooks and crannies and wype with a towel. but i just shake, smack against a towel and wipe. then put back the remote together and it should work if it does not lets take the next step...

STEP 2: Use Dime to Rub on Carbon Tracks

in this step i use a dime to rub on the carbon tracks right under the key that is not working like it shows in the pic. of course, being careful not to do it to hard. just put enough pressure to take a very thin layer of the top.  sometimes this works and sometimes it does not.

if this does not work... the problem is under the key itself which i will show what i do to fix in next step.

STEP 3: Use Tin Foil

if all else fails use tin foil glued under the key like it shows in the picture.

Comments

[TimC59]

The tin foil is a great idea, but it's a pretty big hassle to cut out little circles and glue them. There's a nice cheap repair kit on Amazon that has adhesive aluminum foil circles ready made. All you have to do is "peel and stick":

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A05HFMU

[branke]

I used a leather hole puncher to obtain nice round pieces :)

[branke]

I did glued the aluminum kitchen foil with success. I used a leather hole puncher

to obtain nice round pieces from it :) Just saved my cordless phones from the rubbish bin! Thanks..

[salvahdezv]

quemar con una pistola de soldar los carbones y segun eso vuelve a funcionar

[itiered]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Followed some other instructions that helped get 1 key working, but the dime scraping fixed another, and the tin foil worked on ones I had long ago given up on!!! Thank you for this....I'm going to try this on the bucket of remotes I've gathered up in my spring cleaning and see if I can get one or two to work on some other TVs in the house....this one I just fixed was the last one that would run my cable box from Scientific America!!!

[bayyagg]

Hey!

The problem usually some of the buttons are not working........

This 100% guaranteed to clean the carbon contact for that remote!

Use ur soldering iron, heat it up, and get that hot iron tip into those carbon contacts ( don't worry nowadays remote are made of silicone and they don't melt with high temp. ). you will notice the glossiness of the carbon become matte black!