Apple Extended Keyboard II having issues

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

Hey everyone,

So I received an AEK II some years ago, and it was working fine...

A couple years ago, a sudden issue arose with it; when I would push the W-key, it would type 'wx' for some reason. And now, I notice that the W-key doesn't even work anymore!

I did, at one time, use this keyboard with the Griffin ADB-to-USB adapter, and plugged it in/unplugged it while the computer was on.

Does anyone know why it could have suddenly developed this issue? Is it a mechanical error as a result of a broken component? Or maybe a shift of an accumulation of dirt?

-Thanks

 

[tdiaz]

Key switches do go bad. Pop the cap off, put some alcohol in the center, and play "Olympic Decathlon"..

Might come back to life .. otherwise .. they're not hard to desolder.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

Key switches do go bad. Pop the cap off, put some alcohol in the center, and play "Olympic Decathlon"..

Might come back to life .. otherwise .. they're not hard to desolder.

Alright, I'll see if this helps. However, I bet it's an issue with the board itself/some wiring.

 

[tdiaz]

There really isn't any wiring to fail, that said, the one point that can fail is right where the switch is soldered into the PCB. That kind of failure is usually caused by blunt force, something comes down hard on a particular key cap or two. But with the W being surrounded by other keys, and you didn't describe any kind of physical damage or incidents ..

I've found several space bar switches suffering from this due to the way the PCB is installed in the case, and handling during storage or transit.