Fixing Unresponsive TV Remote Buttons

RE: Fixing Unresponsive TV Remote Buttons Post By Harold (Guest Post) (12/24/2007) I had my remote apart and discovered the greasy substance doctorbill mentioned. My repair guy told me that grease comes from our hands. It goes through the rubber buttons by osmosis. That's why you notice it mostly under the buttons you use the most. The remote I took apart is one we've used for years. You can clean it, if you're careful, with an ammonia/detergent solution (mild). What I don't know yet is whether I should treat the cleaned surface with anything. RE: Fixing Unresponsive TV Remote Buttons Post By Ben (Guest Post) (12/18/2007) There are repair kits available for your problem. Please follow link -- http://www.remotecontrolsinc.com/keypad_repair_kit.aspx RE: Fixing Unresponsive TV Remote Buttons Post By Carol in PA (Guest Post) (09/21/2007) We bought a new universal remote at Big Lots for $6.00. RE: Fixing Unresponsive TV Remote Buttons Post by DoctorBill (9) | (09/21/2007) Profile | Contact Something else...when I took the remote apart, the PC board and the bottom of the rubber pad had some sticky yellow oily stuff over half of it. I cleaned that off with Kleenex and Kitchen Detergent. You would be surprised at what can get inside these push button devices! People spill soft drinks, oils from food, coffee, tea, etc and don't realize that it happened...and it does not show from the outside! DoctorBill RE: Fixing Unresponsive TV Remote Buttons Post By DoctorBill (Guest Post) (09/21/2007) The Remote is for DishNetwork's Unit (Satellite) and they cost around $40 for new ones - This is the second one I've bought! No freebies or rebates....$40 plus shipping. They pry apart. Some have small screws holding them together. A "rubber" button pad sits on top of a very simple looking PC Board with a place to hold batteries on the other side. The buttons are molded into the rubber pad and conduct electricity. When the button is pushed, it touches two or four PC connectors underneath and makes a circuit. I want to know how to make the conductive rubber button bottom side more conductive w/o overdoing it. Thought maybe graphite from a soft pencil, but that powder moves around. They should make these things work on CAPACITANCE CHANGES and not on actual physical contact - then they wouldn't wear out,, but then that is not the way to make money - making things that don't wear out is! Yes! - I have cheap WalMart or K-Mart remotes that work on many units, but they always have a HIDEOUS NUMBER of buttons and are way too complex - and they wear out just the SAME WAY! If someone knows how to REFURBISH the "rubber Buttons" on the ORIGINAL remote, all would be well in my world....lol. DoctorBill RE: Fixing Unresponsive TV Remote Buttons Post by sandy63 (326) | (09/20/2007) Profile | Blog! | Contact I never even thought about taking the remote apart. Mine does the same thing. Also my cordless phone does the same thing. The one by my chair just will not let me dial the number 4 and 6. Maybe taking it apart is an idea I could ponder. RE: Fixing Unresponsive TV Remote Buttons Post By Remote Control (Guest Post) (09/20/2007) When my TV remote had the non-functioning buttons, I found a FREE one through an electronic retail store. Watch the Sunday circular adds, many times one of the stores will have a multi-function remote that is FREE after rebates (yes, you pay sales tax and sometimes a stamp for the rebate offer). BTW great job fixing the one you have...not sure if you tried a pencil eraser, but they tend to be the best way to clean contacts. RE: Fixing Unresponsive TV Remote Buttons Post By me (Guest Post) (09/20/2007) Why bother fixing it? You can buy a new universal remote for 10.