I don't usually comment on videos but this really helped out. I spilled a sugary drink on the volume buttons and they stopped working. Opened the remote and cleared the sticky board with alcohol. Works great now, thanks a lot!
Thanks. I was just researching a replacement because of my down volume button. Your solution fixed my 13 year old remote so I didn't have to buy a new one for a system that I'll probably replace soon anyway. Thanks for sharing.
When the TV remote doesn't work, you might as well try to fix it - you have nothing to lose! If you succeed, you have saved yourself some cash for a new remote, you have saved the world resources - less landfill, and you'll feel pretty chuffed about your achievement! So thanks for the video! I'll now see if I can find my original Toshiba remotes...
Discovering that the dial has special sized notches for the inside and outside of the circular directional button is worth the whole video, thanks for that important discovery and pointing it out!
Today I got a nice small TV. The remote didnt look so bad but only half of the buttons worked. I opened it with plectrums and was shocked. Lemonade on the pcb contacts (like 2-3x as much as on yours), lemonade on the rubber mat and fat and filth everywhere, disgusting. I bathed the most parts in water/dish detergent and cleaned them with alcohol afterwards. Buttons work like new. The remote is still open because the upper part must dry =D Nice video, thanks.
Thanks so much. I have a similar Sony remote, and could not be certain of how to open it. You showed exactly what I needed to know. (My problem was the ON/OFF contact, which I had to scavenge from another remote and glue in place but I couldn't have done that if I couldn't have opened the remote.
Thank you for this video! The selection button was sticking on the top + left arrows after years of use (and I think my dad's greasy hands lol), but I was able to clear out the gunk and it works now :D
For lining up the disc, it might be easier to lay the top of the case face-down, line the disc up with the slots (without the rubber mat), then lay the buttons into the top, and then lock the bottom onto the whole thing.
Thank you for showing this,by showing the mistakes that can be made reassembling you have helped everyone understand the reassembly much better than if you had "editided them out" My problem isn't dirt!just one button isn't working ,and just seen link with foil fix ....
Txs for your good discribtion including errors could be made Mine rc now working good again I think that the "cola" is leakage from former old batteries
I have opened some remotes too mostly it is residue from natural oils and moisture from your hands that gets in from buttons and interferes with the buttons.even some makeup get in (face to fingers to buttons). I cleaned mine with iso-propyl alcohol and wiping gently with paper towels (wear disposable gloves for the really gunky ones )
That's a hard way to disassemble the remote, & I repair lots of remotes for my customers. If you look at 6:44 in the video, you can see on the top cover the indentation where the top cover is held in place. I use a flat bladed tool to start releasing the cover here, it's so much easier, and there are no plastic bits that fall out afterward. It does mark the remote, I just use a nail file to clean up afterwards.
Next time: It's not uncommon for the plastic buttons to have tabs for a single orientation. You might find it much, much easier to place the top cover upside down, align those buttons into the top cover, place the keypad on top of that, and then assemble the bottom to the top. In addition, there's a small plastic tool called a "spudger" that is magnificent for prying these kinds of devices apart that snap together. Get a couple of them. Much easier and causes less cosmetic damage and lower risk of damaging or breaking the fragile snap tabs using steel jewelers screwdrivers.
I doubt what you found was a beverage spilled onto the remote (a soft drink or beer). If there had been such an event you would have found evidence of it it between the top half of the housing and the top part of the keypad and elsewhere inside the remote. I've seen silicone keypads "outgas" (i.e. sweat) silicone oil because they weren't sufficiently baked to remove those oils after they were molded (by evaporation). It's a well-known manufacturing defect. Yours has the classic appearance of it. It takes several years for enough of the oils to outgas from the silicone in the confined and enclosed space between the keypad and circuit board it lays on top of to interfere with the electrical connection when you press the buttons, as the oils are non-conductive. That's how the silicone keypad suppliers get away with it; the problem doesn't emerge until well after consumer warranties have expired. Isopropyl alcohol will readily clean it off using a soft tissue or paper towel moistened with it. It doesn't require hard rubbing or scrubbing. You don't want to abrade the thin carbon coating off of the silicone pad or the circuit board and you don't want to leave any lint behind either. You can read more about the outgassing of oils from silicone keypads here: www.michaelshell.org/gadgetsandfixes/keypadsiliconeoil.html Having cleaned a few using isopropyl alcohol (aka rubbing alcohol) I disagree with his recommendation to scrub them using a toothbrushes and detergent as it's unnecessarily harsh. If the oil has accumulated on the plastic housing, it should be cleaned off of there too, but I've only found it on the carbon pad side of the silicone keypad and on the circuit board surface under it. You're not the only one to blame it on someone spilling beverages on the remote; it's the first thing most people think of when they see it. I first encountered silicone oils outgassing from silicone keypads working with OEM vehicle electronics which can often have much longer warranty periods than consumer electronics.
Hi If you want to avoid damaging the remote, simply use a nose pliers tool. Put the tips in both holes and twist it clockwise 90 degrees. Then open the tool, and voila the remote will open. :) You do not need much force! Kind Regards
