Laptop Keyboard Ribbon Connector

[Rosco]

Ok so today i was working on a hp dv6t 6100. As i was taking off the keyboard i pulled it up to quick and broke the flap that holds the ribbon cable.

my question is what a good material to make a replacement. I have heard for creative ideas on here for repairing laptop. I need some help. Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[BryanLee]

If you are talking about the piece that wedges the cable into the slot, I have used some strips of plastic that i trimmed to fit. It seems to work pretty well if you can find some plastic that is thick enough to fit snug. I got mine from the packaging of something that my wife bought.

 

[Rob_NNCC]

Searchy searchy!

 

[sys-eng]

From a thread I started about similar problem a few months ago where I was replacing a laptop keyboard:

I removed the thick clear plastic tab from the end of the ribbon cable for the old keyboard. I folded the plastic double and inserted it firmly over the new ribbon cable in the motherboard connector then taped both in place. Works great now and does not move at all even before being taped down.

 

[Rosco]

check out this site. they say the pull them from old laptop.

http://www.zkarlo.com/laptop-casing...kard&family=Pavilion&part=Keyboard_Cable_Clip

 

[NYJimbo]

Is that a "rocker", you know the type that rocks up and down ? Are you sure its broken ? From a photo on ebay that motherboard looks like it uses those. I have replaced those types by shoving them back in on an angle. If you could take a photo of the "broken" piece and the connector on the mobo I could tell. A few months ago a tech brought in a netbook where he "broke" three of the connectors because he thought they were LIFs. He kept the "broken" parts and I was able to reinsert them.

See attached photo.

 

[Rosco]

Is that a "rocker", you know the type that rocks up and down ? Are you sure its broken ? From a photo on ebay that motherboard looks like it uses those. I have replaced those types by shoving them back in on an angle. If you could take a photo of the "broken" piece and the connector on the mobo I could tell. A few months ago a tech brought in a netbook where he "broke" three of the connectors because he thought they were LIFs. He kept the "broken" parts and I was able to reinsert them.

See attached photo.

thanks Jimbo here is a picture of the broken piece

 

[NYJimbo]

I can't be sure about the right side, but I don't think thats broken.

What I do with these is place them back in the connector flat, just infront of the gold pins, then angle it up slightly about a 30 degree angle and slide it back in. The gold pins should remain on top or outside of the black edge, so the entire black edge with all the little holes is fitted in between the top gold teeth and the bottom gold contacts. See the photo I included before for orientation. When you push it in it will give a tiny click when its seated. If you think its in then rock it up and down gently and it should feel normal. If not remove and try again.

The plastic piece must be layed down with the raised tab on top. See the photo for what I mean, so that there ends up being a tiny space available for your finger nail or tool when you flip it up again. If you do it upside down it will not go back in properly.

Its very tricky because they are small but your connector is bigger than the ones I was dealing with.

The critical thing here is to have it angled up slightly as you push it in and keep the top pins/teeth above the black plastic as you push it in. Work slowly and gently.

Try it and see.

 

[JustInspired]

check out this site. they say the pull them from old laptop.

http://www.zkarlo.com/laptop-casing...kard&family=Pavilion&part=Keyboard_Cable_Clip

*gasp* the prices! How do they sleep at night?

 

[Rosco]

Jimbo

i heard it click back in. moves up and down nicely. But i still have to apply pressure for the keyboard to work any ideas




attached is a picture with the cable in.

 

[NYJimbo]

It looks kind of beat up so its possible its not locking down. Apply pressure at different points accross the top of that black bar and see if it clicks down to secure it. If it doesnt you might have to look at other options to force it down like glues or pressure between the keyboard and connector.

Otherwise it LOOKS likes its in place, just that it might be beat up or have some foreign substance in the cable or connector keeping it from locking down firmly.

 

[Rosco]

It looks kind of beat up so its possible its not locking down. Apply pressure at different points accross the top of that black bar and see if it clicks down to secure it. If it doesnt you might have to look at other options to force it down like glues or pressure between the keyboard and connector.

Otherwise it LOOKS likes its in place, just that it might be beat up or have some foreign substance in the cable or connector keeping it from locking down firmly.

what sort of glue do you suggest?

 

[NYJimbo]

what sort of glue to you suggest?

This is hard to determine. If you press down and feel NO resistance but just cant get it to stay down, then sometimes a TINY spot of crazy glue on the ends of the black connecter where it meets the white plastic holder will keep it secure. But if you are feeling resistance on pressing it down then either something is in the connector on the mobo, the cable is damaged or dirty or the black plastic flipper part is warped. In that case it can be anything from hot glue to putting a rubber bumper between the connector and the keyboard so the keyboard actually is pushing down on the connector. If you do hot glue remember to hold it down firmly while the glue cools. But I dont want you to use hot glue if that is not what you really need.

I really cant make a good call on this because I cant tell what you see and feel on pushing it down or how the keyboard sits right above the connector assembly.

I wish I could offer more but at this point its pretty much feeling it out. Usually when these are just popped out and popped back in thats the end of the problem, but if there is damage or if you play with it gets banged up or warped or whatever then it needs more attention.

ps- be sure to remove the cable and CAREFULLY examine both sides of the cable and the area where the cable seats for any dirt or deformation. Even a tiny grain of sand can stop this from locking down.

pps- I am not sure but I think that cable has "ears", tiny perpendicular extensions of the cable on both sides right where it goes into the connector. If thats true then make sure it is properly seated and nothing contaminating the space where those ears are to rest.

 

[Rosco]

This is hard to determine. If you press down and feel NO resistance but just cant get it to stay down, then sometimes a TINY spot of crazy glue on the ends of the black connecter where it meets the white plastic holder will keep it secure. But if you are feeling resistance on pressing it down then either something is in the connector on the mobo, the cable is damaged or dirty or the black plastic flipper part is warped. In that case it can be anything from hot glue to putting a rubber bumper between the connector and the keyboard so the keyboard actually is pushing down on the connector. If you do hot glue remember to hold it down firmly while the glue cools. But I dont want you to use hot glue if that is not what you really need.

I really cant make a good call on this because I cant tell what you see and feel on pushing it down or how the keyboard sits right above the connector assembly.

I wish I could offer more but at this point its pretty much feeling it out. Usually when these are just popped out and popped back in thats the end of the problem, but if there is damage or if you play with it gets banged up or warped or whatever then it needs more attention.

i saw i video on youtube about trimming the end of the ribbon cable? is there are truth to this working?

 

[NYJimbo]

i saw i video on youtube about trimming the end of the ribbon cable? is there are truth to this working?

I wouldnt do that unless you really think it would help. If the cable looks fine then there is no point in trimming it.

 

[ijunkie]

I wouldnt do that unless you really think it would help. If the cable looks fine then there is no point in trimming it.

I had a dell inspiron 1545 today that the power board ribbon connector came off. It was angled 90 degrees right from the one shown on the hp, but identical otherwise. It would not go in at an angle no matter how many times I tried. Holding it with a pair of tweezers straight up and down and pushing it on with a small screwdriver did the trick. The pins will slide through the holes.
I had to use a good magnifying glass and a flashlight to get a good look and discovered the pins were too high to put it in at an angle. I was cursing it! In the case of the keyboard connector, I have used hot melt glue on a broken one of my own and it worked for years and still does whenever I pull it out of the closet every year or so, an old hp ze4145 and it worked, just don't over do it. I put a small bead on each end and two towards the middle.
If you do this be sure to hold the connector down firmly until you are absolutely sure it is set, over do the hold down part! You don't want to get it all inside as it can be a pain to get it all out if you need remove it again. You can use more than what my picture shows, just try to keep it out of those pins just in case. Good luck

 

[Rosco]

thanks everybody but since i cant not get it to work and all the pieces are together i am doing the safe thing and bringing it to my board level guy. I need to do whats right for the customer. At least i will break even! Thanks all. I have added some rep point to Big Jimbo for the great advice. I would have never guessed it was just popped out!