Hi guys I have a steel series 6gv2 its over 10 years old. Finally one key stopped working, I tried two new switches even used a switch from another key but no go.. Not sure what I'm doing wrong the circuit path looks ok, I didn't use any flux but there's some in the solder core etc.. Any suggestions please!
Congrats on dying to fix it yourself. Whether it’s working or not this is an awesome step forward. Now, first I see your solders are looking a bit cold. When re-soldering something you need to use some flux. There are many forms from the gooey sticky brown stuff to the no mess liquid one. It will help a lot! Also, place your part, heat up the solder joint until it’s liquid (with flux on it) and remove the iron without moving anything else until it hardens again. Don’t hold things with your fingers when cooling or you’ll create micro cracks in the joint.
Now for your troubleshooting, use a multimeter and set in to continuity and compare the results of your broken switch with the results on another switch nearby (on the same column or same row) see if the values are similar. Try with the switch off and pressed. That should tell you where the issue is.
thanks, yeah I tested with a multimeter and it indicates the switch is working, someone else suggested due to the keyboards age the main chip is probably dying.. I'll have another look at it when I have time but purchased a KeychronI'm happy with
In case you're still working on this, or have the board stashed in the corner somewhere, I just went on a similar journey. I think the 4th try was the charm for me. I had a pad tear trying to change out a hotswap switch for my spacebar, and while I could mostly make it work just by resoldering the connection, there would always be issues with it crapping out on me for a few moments at a time; usable for "F11" or whatever, unacceptable for a spacebar. I tried soldering, resoldering, desoldering and then removing the hotswap socket altogether and resoldering with a bit of wire instead of relying on the glob for continuity.
Ultimate, what seems to have worked is bypassing the PCB's diode with one of my own. It is possible I fried or broke the factory diode, but more likely I just had an iffy connection on its pad, whether from damage or a cold joint, and going the long way round bypassed that, with the new diode keeping it working properly.
For this one, there's no reason that solder job couldn't be good enough, but if you have a bad connection deeper in or a cold joint breaking continuity, it might be hard to notice. Maybe a solder-sucker or some copper wick, and then going at it again could fix it, and take a peek at the other side to make sure everything looks good there.
sorry for the late reply, I'll have a look at the diode, I didn't try flux yet either but seemed like there was enough in the solder I used.. another guy suggested that due to age etc the issue is probably more central and its time for a new keyboard. I purchased a Keychron in the meantime, really happy with it
Yeah, in the last three weeks that "fix" I did failed again, but it was a steel plate and I had a spare RP2040 clone lying around around, so yadda yadda yadda, now I have a handwired, fully customizable 1800 keyboard with random red switches and zero LEDs of any kind (even capslock). My beloved Box Navies and 90+ slightly jacked-up hotswap sockets are now waiting for another project.
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