Wet keyboard- recoverable?

[jcoffin1981]

About a "splash" of beer spilled on my Poker 3 and I immediately unplugged it.  I took all the keys off and quickly  dried it off.  The  beer appeared to be on the case and didn't penetrate down to the pcb.   I let it sit for a day with all the keys off cleaned the case very well.  I plugged it back in and about 5 or 6 keys are  not working correctly.  They come out as two letters.  "W" may be  "WE" or  "Q" may be "Q@."  I gently blew some  warm air  from a hairdryer to accelerate the drying process and now it's been sitting and it's  been about  24  hours  since the accident.  I  have not plugged it in again. 

I have never  had a  wet keyboard recover and am already looking  at  replacement  Pokers, but don't really wanna spend $140 dollars.  Is there anything I can do such as disassembling the case and cleaning the PCB with isopropyl alcohol or giving it more time to dry, or  at this time is it most likely fu@@@@@? 

I hate the newer color schemes out now and I would probably switch the case and keys of the new  keyboard with the one I have now, but this is going off on a tangent.  I hope I can get the keyboard to survive.  Any ideas?

EDIT- with the board totally disassembled I can see residual stickiness that is adhering to the tracers on  the underside of the pcb.  I'm going to clean it but I'm not hopeful.  This could be why a keypress activates adjacent keys and perhaps cleaning it will fix it-or the damage is already done.

[kekman]

How long did you wait initially before plugging it back in? Ideally, you would want to wait more than 2-3 days.

[FoxWolf1]

If you can get the residue off, you might be able to bring it back. But it's hard to say for sure. If nothing else works, and you have access to water with good purity, you could try washing it (wait at least a month afterwards for it to dry before using), but this is a very dangerous method and not to be used except as a last resort.

In the meantime, support the concept of spillproof keyboards by voting in my massdrop poll about them. If improved protection against liquids becomes a standard feature, you won't have to worry about this issue again!

[CPTBadAss]

you should do the thing you suggested and disassemble the board. Then clean it with isopropyl alcohol. And let it dry thoroughly before reassembling it.

[Delirious]

you should do the thing you suggested and disassemble the board. Then clean it with isopropyl alcohol. And let it dry thoroughly before reassembling it.

Just to elaborate further on what CPTBadAss said, it's best if you use a paint brush and brush the isopropyl alcohol to get in all the nooks and crannies, do as many times as you feel need. Alcohol is available at walgreen and you can pick up a pack of assorted brush at Michael's for like $5.

[jcoffin1981]

To be honest I am not confident that this is going to work.  However, I can see the areas on the board where there is residual material.  You can see where more than 1 switch would be activated by a keypress.  I hope there is no material causing shorts on the switch side of the pcb because that would be impossible to clean with the steel plate. There's a chance that it may work so I guess I will try to try.  With tax it's like $150 to replace it, so it's worth a few dollars and a few minutes of time try.

It was 24 hours later and I did not think it's going to get any dryer.  When I saw it was still not working correctly I unplugged it right away

I have had 2 boards ruined because of a leaky roof and 2 from fluids I was drinking.  It really only takes a very small amount of moisture.

[FoxWolf1]

To be honest I am not confident that this is going to work.  However, I can see the areas on the board where there is residual material.  You can see where more than 1 switch would be activated by a keypress.  I hope there is no material causing shorts on the switch side of the pcb because that would be impossible to clean with the steel plate. There's a chance that it may work so I guess I will try to try.  With tax it's like $150 to replace it, so it's worth a few dollars and a few minutes of time try.

It was 24 hours later and I did not think it's going to get any dryer.  When I saw it was still not working correctly I unplugged it right away

I have had 2 boards ruined because of a leaky roof and 2 from fluids I was drinking.  It really only takes a very small amount of moisture.

Keyboards take much longer to dry than you'd think. A keyboard can easily both look and feel dry without being dry enough to function properly. My experience with a couple of different keyboards is that the time needed for full functionality to be restored is measured in weeks, not days, and certainly not hours. I wasn't exaggerating when I said a month earlier. Residue, of course, brings with it a whole new set of problems, and no amount of waiting will help that. Worst case scenario would be you've already fried something important, in which case it's too late.

[jcoffin1981]

I understand.  Perhaps I have underestimated drying time.  I thoroughly cleaned all the residue on the case side of the PCB and the problem is no better.   I believe there is residue on the switch side, but short of desoldering every switch I don't know how to clean that side of the PCB.  Maybe I can flush it with alcohol?   I'm already buying a replacement so I have nothing to lose, but I am open for ideas.  Thanks.

[TalkingTree]

I think the board is recoverable since you pulled the cable quickly. That way you avoided any short in the circuit.
Although you probably need to remove the plate  to expose the front side of the PCB. You need to clean it carefully both sides, even with water, just make sure you dry properly before powering it up.

[jcoffin1981]

There is no gibberish when I type, it is only adjacent keys which activate together.  I suppose this is good.  I've had keyboards that got wet that appear to be typing ancient hieroglyphics.  The liquid came in through the top so the majority of the liquid probably worked it's way onto the top of the pcb through the small holes in the outer case.  The underside of the PCB is now clean as a button but this had no effect.

Do I need to de-solder every switch to get that metal plate away? There is a very small space between the plate and the PCB and I don't see any other way to get to it.  If that's what I have to do, then okay.  It's a few hours of labor, plus I'd like to get get very good at soldering as I've only done it a few times. (Although if it can be avoided I would prefer so).  I have already ordered a replacement- the newer model has black keys and backlighting.

[TalkingTree]

Yes, you need to desolder everything and remove the plate. You can peek between PCB and plate, but front view is surely better.

[jcoffin1981]

Okay cool.  Thanks.  It will suck if all this labor is ultimately fruitless....  I can't imagine doing it in less than 4 hours.  Probably longer.   Are the 61 or so switches the only thing securing the plate?

[TalkingTree]

Okay cool.  Thanks.  It will suck if all this labor is ultimately fruitless....  I can't imagine doing it in less than 4 hours.  Probably longer.   Are the 61 or so switches the only thing securing the plate?

Correct, but doublecheck with stabilizers, if they are PCB mounted, they won't just come off with the plate. Be gentle when you remove it.

[Devost8r]

My advice on this would be to take the board out of the case, and clean it up with Alcohol (Which you've already done)  And then if you live in an area where you get some sun. Place the board in your car, on the dashboard, under the windshield. Do so in direct sunlight. Keep an eye on it to ensure it's not melting, then after a good length of time, (about a half hour or so depending on how hot it is) Take it out, and give it a try.

I've done this with GPU's, Cel phones, Laptops, all kinds of different devices, and it has worked many times. It will basically finish up the drying process, and help reset solder points.

[phoible]

When I got my keyboard wet, I took off the keys/case and baked it in the oven on low for 1/2 an hour. Worked fine when I put it back together.

[tp4tissue]

um...

beer is like sugary water.... so the only real problem is if it gets INTO the switches, where it'll dry and get sticky.  As long as it didn't get INTO the switch it shouldn't do any damage.

Even if it gets onto the pcb, shouldn't do a whole lot once it's dry.

Even if it causes shorts, as long as it's not wetting the -controller-  it shouldn't fry anything.


Overall,  just keep it warm for a few days, and use it at the end of the week.   as long as the switches are still smooth, you can just forget about the rest.

if this is an unplated poker, just wipe with some cotton swabs and everything should be fine.