The most common malfunction of the remote control is the weak reaction of its buttons to pressing or, in general, the lack thereof, even if brand new batteries are inserted in the device. This happens because in the small gaps between the buttons and the remote control body, moisture and particles of fat constantly get from the surface of the skin of our fingers, which over time form pollution that interferes with the console working normally. Consider how you can repair the remote control of the TV, thoroughly cleaning the contact plane of its buttons and giving them, in fact, a pristine condition.
To repair the remote control, of course, it is necessary to disassemble. To do this, remove the battery cover from it, unscrew the self-tapping screw connecting the parts of the remote control case (if it is present in the structure) and separate them from each other.
At the same time, in order not to scratch the plastic of the product, it is not recommended to pick the latch between the parts of the case with something metallic. It’s better to try to pick it up with a fingernail, and if that doesn’t work, then use a thin plastic pick or a special plastic opener for mobile phone cases.
After disconnecting the parts of the remote control case, the board and the rubber substrate with the tabs of the buttons are removed from it.
On the back of the substrate, a conductive rubber disk having a thickness of about 3-4 mm is built into each button.
In order to repair the remote control for sure, you need to clean the board and both sides of the substrate together with conductive disks.
How to clean the remote control board
It is recommended to clean the board with isopropyl alcohol, which, unlike, for example, medical alcohol, does not contain water at all.
Cleaning is usually carried out with a cotton swab, but it is better to use a toothbrush, since SMD components can be present on the surface of the board, which can be broken by catching with cotton wool. Removing contaminants from the contact surface of the remote control board is very simple: it is first abundantly moistened with alcohol,
and then vigorously brush with a toothbrush, leaving no untouched places.
After treatment with a toothbrush, the surface of the circuit board is additionally wiped with a cloth moistened with alcohol.
The brushed board shines and looks like new.
How to clean the remote control pad
The rubber substrate of the remote control is cleaned in two stages. At the first stage, it is simply thoroughly washed with a soap solution, water and the same toothbrush.
At the second stage, conductive disks of buttons located on the substrate are cleaned. Usually, if the discs are dirty, then their surface looks glossy. The task of cleaning is to remove this gloss coating from them and return them a matte shade.
For this, the surface of each disk is alternately treated with light touches of zero sandpaper. At the same time, for convenience, the substrate is held by hand so that one of its fingers serves as a support for the disk.
If the house has a small vice, then the work can be significantly accelerated by holding a pencil in them and using its end end as a support for the disks.
After cleaning the board and substrate, the console is assembled in the reverse order of disassembly, and its performance is checked.
Health Check
Whether the repaired remote control is working or not, you can check if you assemble a very simple test bench. For its assembly, the TSOP reception sensor is inserted into the holes of the solderless prototype board, 5V power is supplied to its contacts, and an LED is installed between its positive and output contact in the board.
If the remote control button works properly, then when you point it at the TSOP sensor and press it, the LED lights up brightly. In this way, check all the buttons on the remote.
If you are not too lazy and clean the remote control of the TV or any other device according to the recommendations given above, then its buttons will work without "misfires" and from the slightest pressing, and the remote will be brought almost to the factory state.
Detailed video on how to repair the TV remote control