Trackpad dying?

[john556]

So my trackpad went crazy today. So I decided that it was already broken and may as well take a look. Once under the hood and inside, it quickly became obvious Florida sand was the root cause. I wiped it down with rubbing alcohol and a clean clothe. I kept track of every screw by using my keyboard cover upside down to hold them in the relative positioning so I know I didn't leave anything out, but nonetheless, the trackpad is floppy. It is only noticeable when it is upside down so it isn't too big of a deal, but it just has my OCD going nuts.

Is it just worn out, or did I clean something off that was needed?

As far as the clicking, I turned on tap to click, and the button doesn't seem to click unless additional force is added. I would say approximately twice as much, but then it sticks.

 

[brdeveloper]

So my trackpad went crazy today. So I decided that it was already broken and may as well take a look. Once under the hood and inside, it quickly became obvious Florida sand was the root cause. I wiped it down with rubbing alcohol and a clean clothe. I kept track of every screw by using my keyboard cover upside down to hold them in the relative positioning so I know I didn't leave anything out, but nonetheless, the trackpad is floppy. It is only noticeable when it is upside down so it isn't too big of a deal, but it just has my OCD going nuts.

Is it just worn out, or did I clean something off that was needed?

As far as the clicking, I turned on tap to click, and the button doesn't seem to click unless additional force is added. I would say approximately twice as much, but then it sticks.

Check if you tightened the trackpad adjusting screw too much. Loosing it little can make things work... hopefully.

 

[john556]

The up direction the set screw pushes is the same direction the floppy exist. If I push the trackpad up with the set screw, then the button stays clicked. If I have the set screw all the way down, the button doesn't stick very long, but requires more force.

The floppiness of the trackpad only exist when the trackpad is upside down. The only thing I can guess is that the button has some kind of spring mechanism that is broken. That might explain the click sticking and the down state that only changes when the unit is upside down.

 

[john556]

Okay, so if anyone wondering what it seemed to be about, I think I have a reasonable conclusion.

Today, I received a new trackpad and installed it. While most of the play between the down and up states was eliminated, there was still a small amount. Upon further inspection, I believe that the thin metal brackets used to mount the pad were slightly bent out of spec. It wasn't much. When I placed them on a flat surface, a small area was visibly unleveled between the mounting holes. Further inspection revealed that the button was almost flattened and had no ability to disconnect from the contact point or raise itself from the base.

All in all, I can see why Apple is talking about completely removing the click with tap to click. I would also suggest that everyone transition to tap to click just to reduce the chances of this happening to them also.