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Pro Keyboard on the fritz (water spilled on it)

coolbreeze

coolbreeze

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 20, 2003
1,813
1,562
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Guess I've done it now. I spilled a tiny bit of water on the lower left corner of my Apple Pro keyboard. Since the spill, the keyboard constantly types a single character (as if you held down a key with your finger and didn't ever let go). The problem is none of the keys are stuck in the depressed position...so I am thinking that the water affected the circuitry underneath the keys (shorted out?). I cannot even log on using the Pro keyboard, because it constantly scrolls the password box with a letter....

If this is the case, how long should it take to dry? It was maybe an ounce of water (at the most) and there isn't any standing water in the keyboard. I am having to use this stupid Microsoft Natural Pro keyboard (which sounds like a cheap piece of junk when I type on it) and want my Pro back! Is my Apple keyboard ruined?

I tried to take the keyboard apart but the hex screws are smaller than any tool I own. Anyone know what size they are?


Thanks.
 
If you figure the keyboard is a loss try this (at your own risk).
I have used the following a number of times, and it has worked.

97-99% Isopropyl alcohol, use it to clean and try the spot that is damp.
It can be hard to find. Some drug stores keep it behind the counter, though why I don’t know. Anything less than 97% has more water and impurities (like benzine)in it.
Give it a day to dry and see what happens.

If you are still running into problems, dry alternating between washing the whole board in DI (de-ionized) water and nearly pure isopropyl or (the better course) taking the keyboard apart and using DI water and alcohol to clean the keyboard.

I once walked into a room where the computer equipment that I was supposed to install was submerged in water. With lots of work, DI-water, 99% isopropyl alcohol, Q-tips and a hairdryer (oh- and luck, lots of luck) we were able to go live on time. Luckily, the monitors were in plastic bags- I don’t think that we could of salvaged submerged monitors.

Ultimatly it may just be easyer and less expensive to get a new keyboard.
 
Leave it to sit for a few days... Don't take it apart. I spilled a whole can of Sprite in mine at one point. For a couple days it ceased to function, but after a few days it worked like new.
 
I spilt water on mine the day after I bought it, exactly the same problem..... I just put a towel on top of a radiator and put the keyboard on that, it was working fine again with 24 hours...

However, because they get really dirty on the underneath, with just about everything... I regularly wash mine, with water in my bath, completely submerged, slightly shaking it so that it cleans it all up inside, then I do the towel on the radiator thing and it dries within a couple days...... Been doing it for 2 years and have never had a problem with my keyboard + it always looks clean now!!

Wicked!!
 
All,

Thanks for the replies. I just stuck it in the dryer (it was just turned off and still warm) and it seems to be working again...sort of. Some keys work, some don't...but it doesn't scroll a single character anymore.

Again, does anyone know the size of the hex screw on the underside of the Pro keyboard? I'll head to Home Depot as soon as I get a response. I guess I could just carry the keyboard with me, but knowing the size would be better.
 
Dont take it apart!!

Dont take it apart whatever you do. At the front of the keyboard the are a series of tabs, (you can see the throught the plastic) well the tabs are made from a VERY cheep, thin, and VERY VERY fragile plastic, I guaranted that you will break most if not all of them when you take the plastic top cover off.

You see almost everyone at my office smokes, and for some reason ashes love to find their way into the keyboard. I was in a distructive mood one day and decided to take mine apart. In the process I broke all the tabs. That keyboard is now held togather by ducktape. A few weeks later I talked my self into thinking that I could take another one apart, this time without breaking the tabs. this time all but one broke. Now my lay-girl's keyboard is wobbly and does not fit togather properly, and she hates me for it.

Do yourself a favor and just buy another one and this time get one of those clear key covers for it. Too bad they change the feel of the keys.:rolleyes:
 
Like others have said, if it was only water just let it dry out for a while...

If anyone wants a good guide for taking apart an Apple Pro Keyboard (or if you want to know why your keyboard stopped working after you spilled coke on it), check out the following link.

link

Good luck.
 
Thanks for the link. I figured out how to disassemble the keyboard last night (warning, there are literally 50 tiny screws to deal with!!).

I cleaned all layers of the thin membrane with water and a paper towel, dried them, put the keyboard back together, and it still doesn't work. Most keys work, but there are about 4 that don't (the m, 7, 4, and p).

So I can't even type in a webpage, becuase the 'm' doesn't work.

Oh well. Guess I can sell it on eBay for parts and buy another one. By the way, I have Applecare...can I just tell them it stopped working and get a replacement? But I bet the keyboard isn't covered, now is it?

There goes another $65 bucks. Gotta love it.
 
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