Repair of contact groups in the TV remote control. Why doesn't the TV remote control work and how to fix it? No response to frequently used buttons

If some buttons on the TV device control panel do not work, or the TV does not respond to the device at all, you can try to fix everything yourself. It is worth noting that many breakdowns are so simple that a person who is not even versed in radio engineering can repair the TV remote control with his own hands.

Why does the TV remote control not work?

The TV device has two remote controls: the first is located on the “TV box” itself, and the second is a remote control (RC). In order to determine where the breakdown is, we apply the exclusion method.

If, when pressing buttons on the TV, all functions are performed correctly, the remote control is to blame. If it's the other way around, then it's a TV box. To fix the buttons on the TV device itself, you need to know electronics and be able to solder. But an ordinary person can fix some remote control malfunctions. There are several signs when the remote control is not working:

• When pressed, nothing happens, that is, the TV does not respond.
• Some functions cannot be performed because the buttons do not work.

These consequences can be caused by many reasons, based on which it is necessary to take appropriate measures. We'll talk about this later.

No TV response

The TV does not respond to your attempts to turn the volume up or down, change the channel or change settings. Such consequences are possible for the reasons described below.

This malfunction can be easily detected with a tester, multimeter, or voltmeter. Checking power supplies. They should have at least 1.3 V. If at least one of them does not have this potential, buy new batteries.

It is very important not to confuse the plus and minus positions when changing batteries. The positive terminal is made in the form of a flat spiral of wire, and the negative terminal is made of an elongated wire.

If you have determined that the problem is not with the batteries, look further.

You dropped the remote control on the floor

This option involves several different cases:

• Some parts inside the device have fallen off or the contact between their connection and the board has been broken.
• The board itself cracked from the fall.

To determine why the TV remote control does not work, you need to disassemble your “friend”. This is done with caution in the following order:

1. Remove the cap and take out the batteries.
2. They look to see if there are any screws under them or on the remote control itself that secure the case. If they are there, unscrew them; if not, snap them off.
3. Carefully insert a knife, screwdriver or old map(plastic).
4. Turn the object slightly so that the halves move apart a little. You should hear a click. This will mean that one of the latches has opened.
5. Pull the device along the line and open other locks until they all click into place.

Red arrows indicate elements that need to be carefully inspected and shaken. If they move relative to the board, they need to be soldered.

If upon inspection it is discovered that the board itself is cracked, it can be repaired if the crack passes only under the parts, as shown in the photo.

It is necessary to solder all the broken tracks with thin wires to the corresponding mating parts so that they do not short-circuit.

If the crack occurs under the black resistive layer applied on the board, you need to buy a new remote control device. It is impossible to repair it.

Failure of some buttons

How to repair a TV remote control with your own hands, if some buttons work flawlessly, but for others to work you need to press twice as hard.

Heavy contamination of PU TV

If the remote control does not function well and the TV channels do not change, the buttons may not work because the remote control is heavily contaminated with dust. In addition, you could spill tea or juice - with accidental movement, the liquid flows inward, closing the contacts, or settles under them in the form of a sticky layer. After this, the button on the control panel does not work, or several functions are not performed at once.

Many people do not know how to repair the TV remote control with their own hands if it is so dirty. They begin to press hard, but at the same time cause even more damage to the device. In this case, in order to repair the TV remote control yourself, you need to disassemble it. If you notice "sticky jam" on the rubber band or dirt on the contacts, follow these steps:

1. Remove stains with a lint-free cloth soaked in any alcohol. You can’t rub with cotton wool - lint will remain.
2. The elastic between the protruding parts (if the sticky layer is on top) can be wiped with an “ear stick” with alcohol.
3. At the same time, clean the case, there will also be a sticky residue there (see also how to clean the TV remote control).

Clean the contacts (resistive layer) on the board and on the rubber band carefully so as not to erase it.

Some argue that if you carry out such repairs on the TV remote control, you can cause faulty damage to it. The fact is that many Chinese parts can deteriorate from exposure to alcohol. If you are afraid of this, use cleaning fluid with water.

After the “wash” procedure, be sure to rinse the board and other parts with clean water and set aside to dry for 24 hours. Don't forget to clean the battery contacts. They are rubbed with “emery”, but carefully.

Erasing contacts

Some buttons do not work because the layer applied to the elastic pads wears off. How to fix the TV remote control in this case? You won’t apply conductive spraying yourself, but you can solve the problem in two other ways:

1. Buy a PU kit. It contains round contacts specifically for repairing the TV remote control with your own hands. Just glue them on Right place.
2. If you don’t have such a kit (it’s not on sale), you can use regular candy or chocolate foil. It needs to be glued to the place of the worn out layer.

After the described methods, collect all the parts into one whole and begin testing.

Checking the remote control

After you have repaired the TV remote control yourself using the above methods, you can check its serviceability using several methods.

Mobile phone check

1. On your phone, turn on the camera.
2. Point your mobile phone at the LED, as if taking a photograph of it.
3. Click on one of the control buttons.
4. If a dot lights up or blinks on the phone’s display, the problem has been fixed.

Checking with a tester or multimeter

1. Connect the probes of the device to the LED at both ends.
2. Set the switch to up to 3 volts.
3. Click on one of the buttons on the control panel.
4. The device should show voltage if the remote control is working properly.

You may not be able to see the voltage pulsating on a digital instrument, but on most analog instruments the needle begins to oscillate in time with the frequency of the signal. With this method you will test the entire board up to the LED. Learn more about how to use a multimeter.

Video tutorials on how to fix the remote control

This video tells you how to clean your little “tame friend” from dirt:

In the second video you will learn how to repair the contact pads:

As you can see, repairing the TV remote control yourself is quite simple. The main thing is to correctly determine the cause and take the right steps to get the device working again.

In contact with

How to repair the remote control remote control do it yourself - this question very often arises among users household appliances. I tried to count how many of them I have at home and it turned out to be 8 pieces. TVs, stereo systems, DVD players, VCRs, receivers for satellite television, air conditioners, chandeliers are now controlled by remote controls. It’s convenient and you get used to it, and when this manual assistant breaks, we become helpless. First thoughts on why the remote control doesn’t work, how to repair the remote control, how to do The remote control is working again, where and how to fix the remote control. But it turns out that you can make a remote control with your own hands. Remote control malfunctions, in most cases, can be easily repaired.

How to repair the remote control

First you need to decide and make sure that the remote control is broken, and not controlled device. How to do? We read and do...

How to check the remote control

Needed mobile phone with a camera function, camera or video camera. This feature is already present in almost all but the most basic phones.

• We enter this mode on the phone,
• take our tested remote control
• point the emitting window at the camera
• press one button.

If the remote control is working, you should see on the phone screen how the LED in the window flashes when you press the button. To check yourself that you did everything correctly, try looking at the working remote control in the same way. We made sure there were no flashes, which means the remote control was broken. There are malfunctions of the remote control, when, on the contrary, there are flashes without pressing the button, this indicates that some button is stuck or there is dirt on its contacts. How to repair a remote control with such a malfunction, read below. And now we remember about the batteries, how long we use them, and check their integrity. The batteries used to power remote controls take a long time and may begin to leak over time. The electrolyte causes the power contacts to rust. How can I fix a remote control with a similar malfunction? Be sure to thoroughly clean the rusty deposits with a knife blade to bare metal and rinse the contacts with alcohol. If you have doubts about the functionality of the batteries, you can temporarily remove them from the operating console to check. If the remote control still does not work, move on to the next stage of repairing the remote control yourself. To do this you need to disassemble it.

How to disassemble the remote control

Open the battery compartment cover and remove the batteries. Carefully inspect the back of the remote control for screws. Often there are screws in the battery compartment. My remote control is assembled entirely with screws, But it is very common to fasten the remote control panels with latches, so you won’t find screws on them. You need to open such a remote control carefully so as not to damage your hands and mounting ears. Using a screwdriver with a wide end that fits well into the groove between the upper and lower parts of the remote control, sequentially release the latches, prying up the lower part of the remote control and moving it around the body without much effort. The disassembled remote control consists of

• Boards on which the microcircuit, quartz, emitting diode, button pads, conductive tracks and spring contacts for batteries are installed.
• Rubber mat with conductive heels
• Front and rear panels and, sometimes, a window made of transparent plastic

Basic malfunctions of remote controls

1. The buttons on the remote control don't work.
2. One or more remote control buttons do not work
3. To control, you need to press hard on the remote control buttons
4. The remote control only switches at close range
5. The remote control sometimes works and sometimes doesn't work.

How to repair the remote control yourself.

The main reason why the buttons on the remote control do not work is that the button contacts are dirty. Dirt can interfere with closing the contacts of the buttons or, on the contrary, close them. And the operating algorithm of the remote control is such that when several buttons are pressed simultaneously, the command from the remote control is blocked and, of course, the remote control does not work. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the contact pads on the board and clean the contact spots on the rubber mat. There are two types of contact patches on buttons. With graphite coating and conductive rubber. The graphite coating gradually wears off and leaves marks on the contact pads of the board, contaminating and shorting them. If you're lucky, you have a remote control with conductive rubber, but even here, over time, problems with dirt and oxides appear. The contact pads on the board can also be made in different ways, either with graphite coating or copper conductors. Often, when you open the remote control, there is oily dirt on the board, this is condensation of oil from the skin of your hands. If you have been using the remote control for a long time, this dirt will already be dry on the buttons and on the top of the case too. When you have to press the buttons forcefully for the remote control to work or they press poorly, this is 100 percent contamination! If you take the remote apart, you'll understand what I'm talking about. My photo shows a clean one, later I will definitely replace the photo where everything will be clearly visible. How to repair a remote control with your own hands with such a problem? If buttons without graphite coating will help good cleaning. This will come in handy:

• a hard brush from an old toothbrush,
• detergent,
• alcohol
• school eraser

We clean the board with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol or vodka, do not use colognes, they leave a film and it will be even worse. We wash the rubber keyboard and case in water using detergent from grease and hard old toothbrush . Dry it well. Using an eraser, we go over the rubber heels on the rubber mat and the contacts on the board. We assemble and check the remote control. It works, great! Website " How to do it yourself "helped you.

How to make for remote controls with graphite coating on the buttons, restoring contacts is described below.

How to repair the remote control with your own hands in case of other malfunctions

If the remote control does not work even after this, then in order to fix the remote control, you will then need some knowledge of electronics and the ability to solder.

If the remote control works occasionally.

We check the soldering of the contact springs for the batteries on the board and the soldering points of the emitting diode. We carefully inspect and solder defective soldering joints.

The remote control stopped working after being dropped.

I want to warn you that sharp blows are dangerous for them; the ceramic quartz on the board is very fragile. To make the remote control, it needs to be replaced.

The remote control only switches at close range

The batteries may need to be replaced or the emitting diode may be worn out. First, we check the batteries by replacing them, and if there is no result, we change the emitting diode.

The buttons on the remote control don't work.

Sometimes cleaning does not help, the rubber loses its electrically conductive properties over time, or the graphite coating on the spots of the rubber mat wears out. How to fix a remote control with such buttons? Using a remote control repair kit, which includes a small tube of silicone glue and conductive rubber contacts in the form of patches.

The old patch is carefully cut off with a blade and a new one from the kit is glued in its place. The kit is enough to repair 3-5 remote controls.

Another option for making the remote control work is to use electrically conductive glue “kontaktol”, which we apply to the grease-free spots of the rubber mat. But these methods of restoring remote controls are expensive and make sense when you need to repair a lot of remote controls or the remote control cannot be found on sale. Microcircuits in remote controls rarely fail. I also advise you to pay attention to mechanical faults.

• broken paths,
• bad soldering,
• closing at the intersections between the printed track and graphite conductors, if any are present, they are applied on top of the former. The latter is very insidious, and can manifest itself at times. You should pay attention if the batteries in the remote control are quickly discharged.

Let me add that such malfunctions are typical not only for remote controls, all devices that have similar buttons suffer from this, but they can also be repaired with your own hands. How to repair the remote control, Now you know. I hope my material will help solve your problems. Working remotes for you! Write reviews and comments.

In the first part of the article, we talked about controlling household television equipment.

Despite all the technological breakthroughs, increases in speed and number of commands, improvements in design and noise immunity, remote control panels are perhaps the most vulnerable component of television and video equipment. It is he who gradually or immediately stops working, perplexing the owners. Next we will look at various typical faults remote controls and methods for eliminating them.

The TV does not respond to any of the remote control buttons

Here the question immediately arises - what to do and who is to blame. Of course, you need to start checking with what is simpler, namely the remote control. First of all, you need to check whether the remote control works at all. This is very easy to do. It is enough to bring the remote control LED to the camera lens, which is found in any phone, and press any button. In this case, flashes of the remote control LED will be visible on the viewfinder screen. The color can be from white to bluish, everything apparently depends on the camera.

If these flashes are present, then we can assume that the remote control is almost working. Pressing all the buttons in turn allows you to test each button individually. Before doing this test, it is advisable to check the batteries. The easiest option is to replace the batteries with new ones or check the existing ones with a multimeter.

Checking batteries with a multimeter

This is best done in measurement mode direct current on the 10A range. At lower limits it is possible to “burn” the 250mA fuse inside the device. Unlike batteries, batteries are not afraid of short circuits, and if you can measure the current within 200..500 mA, then everything is in order. It is better to do the check separately for each battery, this makes it easier to hold it in your hands along with the probes of the device.

If you measure the voltage on batteries, you need to load them, otherwise even bad batteries can show the presence of voltage. When checking and replacing batteries, you should pay attention to the contact plates in the battery compartment. If oxide deposits or rust are detected, the plates should be cleaned using sandpaper or even a not very large file.

To avoid scandals at home, the number of televisions should be at least two. This is the most the best option to check a “suspicious” remote control. It’s probably known that the remote controls are suitable (or not suitable) for both home TVs.

If the batteries have been changed, the camera has been looked at, but there are no light pulses, then the remote control will have to be disassembled.

A small note: if the normal operation of the remote control stopped immediately after it was dropped on the floor, then first of all after disassembly you should pay attention to the ceramic resonator.

Disassembling the remote control

All remote controls are designed and understood in a fairly uniform way. The first thing to do is remove the batteries from the battery compartment. In the same compartment, look carefully to see if there are any mounting screws here; as a rule, this is their place. But often there may be no screws at all. In this case, you can start dividing the remote control into two halves.

To do this, insert some suitable tool into the connecting seam, for example, a screwdriver. Some descriptions of this procedure say that the screwdriver may leave marks in the form of chips and scratches. Therefore, it is safer in this regard to use conventional credit card, which are issued in immeasurable quantities in any “magnet” or “pair”. The main thing is to successfully get to the first latch without breaking it, and then gradually and carefully open the rest.

After the remote control is opened, the lower part can be put aside for now. The entire remote control will remain in the upper part. The remote control with the bottom cover removed is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Remote control with cover removed

Here we see the other side printed circuit board. On the left side is an IR LED, and the yellow square in the lower right corner is nothing more than a ceramic resonator. Here are the contacts of the battery compartment and the only electrolytic capacitor for the entire remote control.

If, when checking with a camera, no signs of life were found, then you should immediately check appearance LED and resonator, inspect their soldering. If they are oxidized or have ring cracks, they should be re-soldered. It’s better not to just pierce with a soldering iron, but to remove these parts from the board, clean and tin the leads, and only then put them in place.

If the printed circuit board is removed from the case, a rubber base with buttons will be found underneath it, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Buttons, when pressed, close contact pads on the printed circuit board.

The board from the parts side is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Remote Control Board

Figure 3 shows the top of the rubber base, where the button pushers are located.

Figure 4. Top part rubber base with remote control button pushers

The mentioned pushers are inserted into the sockets when assembling the remote control top cover(Figure 5), at the same time being a fixing element of the rubber base.

Figure 5.

In the pictures everything is shown quite decently and cleanly, since shortly before this the remote control had undergone minor repairs. As a rule, any remote control panel opened for repair is a rather pitiful and even heartbreaking sight.

What can you see inside the remote control?

The entire space where the rubber base with buttons is located is filled with a transparent sticky and viscous liquid that looks like epoxy resin, only without a hardener. This liquid is spread in a neat thin layer, with small droplets in places. Even if you try, it won’t work out so well and accurately right away.

This sticky liquid is everywhere. On the top and bottom side of the rubber base of the buttons, on the top of the case with slots for buttons. The upper part of the printed circuit board with contact pads is also coated with this glue...

The origin of this glue is a matter of debate and even debate in repair circles. Some say it's grease from the fingers, others say it's fumes from batteries. But why then is the lower part of the board, where there are no parts, not covered with these fumes?

The most likely version seems to be that these sticky connections actually come from the rubber base itself. The rubber seems to sweat, releasing plasticizers, which indicates a violation of the production technology of rubber products. But the question arises: why are there so many such substandard products? After all, in almost every remote control that gets repaired, just such a defect is noticed.

These evaporated plasticizers are most often the cause of remote control failure. Externally, a similar defect manifests itself in the fact that the buttons stop “pressing”, you have to increase the applied force, but after a while this also does not lead to the passage of commands. You can press as hard as you like, for a long time, several times, but the channels do not switch, the volume cannot be adjusted...

Several repair methods

There are quite a lot of recipes, advice and opinions on how to deal with this phenomenon. One source advises immediately wiping this whole mess with alcohol, gasoline or acetone, another says that under no circumstances. Who to believe? I will share my own limited experience in the field of remote control repair; there were few clients, mostly relatives, neighbors and acquaintances, but the simplicity of the device and repair allows us to draw certain conclusions. And if you listen to what they write on the Internet...

Once cleaning such a remote control with alcohol led to its complete failure. If before cleaning only a few buttons (apparently the most frequently used) were not working well, then almost all of them stopped working. Therefore, I had to resort to another repair method, but I remembered that these buttons cannot be washed with alcohol.

A much better result, if the board has such a snotty appearance, can be achieved by washing the board and rubber bands with buttons with not very hot water using modern means for dish washing. It should be noted that here, too, you can overdo it: if you wash the rubber base with very vigorous movements and press harder, the result can be exactly the opposite. The graphite coating on the buttons will wash off, and you can then press them as much as you like, without being at all afraid that pressing a button will change the channel or adjust the volume.

If the graphite coating has not been washed off before, then it should be washed with a soft cloth, using gentle, blotting movements that will never erase the graphite coating. It is best to wash the inner surface of the case and the printed circuit board using a brush used for washing glass jars and bottles. It’s very good if, before washing off the snotty deposit, the parts of the disassembled remote control lie for some time, 20…30 minutes, in a detergent solution.

After washing, you should be patient, wait until the parts dry and only then reassemble the remote control in the reverse order. If such washing gives a positive result, the remote control is working, all that remains is to rejoice at the result. IN otherwise Several other repair methods can be suggested.

What to do if the buttons are worn down to the ground

For these situations, solutions already exist: repair kits for repairing remote control panels are sold. The bag contains a tube of glue and round rubber spots with a graphite coating. Just spread it and stick it where you need it. There are even instructions on how to glue it. A more modern version of the repair kit is self-adhesive patches. Everything is quite simple here. In such cases, wiping the rubber buttons with alcohol or another solvent will not hurt.

But, unfortunately, it is not possible to buy such semi-finished products everywhere and not always, although the price of the question is simply ridiculous: where are we and where is the radio market... In these cases, you have to use various available means. One of the best and most affordable materials is aluminum foil with paper backing from cigarette packs. It is glued quite reliably and simply with any “Moment” type glue or superglue from small tubes.

Another option for repairing the remote control is to coat the buttons with conductive adhesives and varnishes, such as Kontaktol or Ellast. There are also many different opinions about this method, which is better is not yet clear. Apparently, everything is simple: whoever did well praises and vice versa.

Of course, modern prices for remote controls are not high, and it’s easier than inventing something to go out and buy a new one. But it happens that the TV is so old that no modern remote control is suitable. Most likely it’s time to buy a new TV along with the remote control. Or you can still repair the old remote control.

As long as it regularly switches channels, and the user enjoys his existence, life, one might say, is wonderful. But the button is pressed again and again, and the channel still does not switch. Trouble has come - open the gate. Soon there will be more such buttons. We will tell you what to do in this case further.

If the remote control does not perform its functions, this does not mean that it is faulty. The probability of its filling breaking under existing operating conditions is close to zero if its elements comply with the specifications. Therefore, usually a malfunction of the remote control is simply a fact that confirms the common expression: electrical engineering is the science of contacts. And the first thing to check is the battery terminals. Oddly enough, this is often where the reason lies. Control pulses consume a certain amount of current.

But this is often enough to “drop” the voltage on the microcircuits when the contacts are oxidized. As a result, they are unable to generate the correct signal, and switching does not occur on the TV. The phenomenon in question is usually observed when the power supply elements are partially discharged. Therefore, if the remote control does not switch when you press the button, first of all open the cover of the battery compartment. They can either be taken out and put back in again, or, without taking them out, they can be rocked and rotated back and forth around their axis.

The oxide film is destroyed and contact is restored. If after the operation the remote control works normally, then the goal has been achieved. But this case is like a bell warning about the need to quickly replace the batteries. Please note that if there are two or more batteries in the remote control, they discharge differently. For a more equal discharge, it is recommended to periodically swap them. And when replacing, it is best to measure the short circuit current with a tester and leave a more powerful battery, using it together with a new one.

We disassemble the remote control - the check continues

So, the batteries have been tested, checked, and they are definitely working properly. But the remote control still doesn't switch. In this case, check the buttons and LED. In some remote controls it is open. But there are models in which the LED is located behind dark glass. In any case, it will not be possible to control its operation with the naked eye. It emits pulses of light in the infrared range, which the human eye cannot see. But video cameras, perceiving them, perform optical conversion. Therefore, using them you can see the operation of the remote control LED and thereby check it.

In theory, the dark glass with which the LED can be covered should not interfere with recording its flashes. But in their absence, as they say, for the purity of the experiment, it is better to check directly. To do this, as well as to check the buttons, the remote control must be disassembled. The design of the remote controls is varied. Therefore, you must carefully inspect the remote control being repaired before opening it. For manufacturability, the design is usually made entirely with latches.

But some models may have hardware. They are usually hidden for aesthetic reasons and are accessible in the battery compartment. If, after taking them out and inspecting the remote control, you did not find the screw heads, it means that the fastening is made only with latches. In this case, the two parts of the remote control housing must be separated. To do this, the seam is probed with the sharp tip of a knife blade. They insert it and, applying a slight twisting force, try to push both parts apart.

How to restore buttons

If this is done near the latch, both parts are separated. With this sequential action along the seam, the remote control opens. Inside there is a board, which is covered with rubber buttons. We leave the LED for last, since to check it you will have to unsolder at least one of its legs. And before that, let's check the buttons. A LED malfunction can only be predicted if the remote control is completely inoperative. If at least one button works, it means the LED is operational, and the problem is again in the contacts.

The remote controls are structurally simple. There are tracks on the printed circuit board. The contact is created by a conductive layer applied to the surface of the rubber button. When pressed, this layer falls on two adjacent tracks, closing them. As the number of clicks increases, the layer becomes thinner and loses the necessary properties. Plus, dirt appears on the surface of the paths. Especially if the TV is located in the kitchen.

After 5–10 years of proper operation, the failure of the remote control may be due to dirty contacts. For cleaning you will need either special wet wipes to care for office equipment, or a cotton swab and alcohol. We recommend wearing plastic gloves when cleaning the board and buttons. All contacting surfaces are wiped with a moistened swab or wipes. If the remote control has been in use for five years or more, restoration of the buttons is recommended after cleaning it.

Otherwise, you will still need to do this soon. Even when functionality is restored after cleaning. The deterioration of the coating on the buttons cannot be stopped. It is best to immediately apply a new layer when disassembling the remote control for the first time. A little superglue and a piece of foil glued to each button will be a normal replacement for the original. Before the glue has hardened, the foil must be pressed against the surface of the button so that the foil only touches the board when pressed.

Quartz is also damaged

In most cases, the buttons are the reason why the remote control needs to be repaired. But it may also be that after gluing the foil, performance is not restored. This means that the reason may be in the electronic components of the printed circuit board. Damage is usually mechanical due to the fact that the remote control was dropped on the floor. The quartz resonator suffers from this. Irreversible damage may occur inside it.

Usually this can only be determined by monitoring the performance of the remote control using an oscilloscope. But if the remote control was subjected to strong impacts, the quartz inside could fly off. Then, when you shake the remote control, you will hear its movements inside the resonator housing. The only solution is to replace it with a new one. Moreover, replacement again may not help. If the impact was so strong that the resonator was damaged, the board traces could crack. Therefore, we leave this most labor-intensive operation for last and check the LED.

Completion of repairs

Carefully, holding one leg with pliers (so as not to overheat), unsolder it from the board. To check, you need a tester in resistance measurement mode. It is very good if you have a red or other colored LED, so that by its glow you can make sure that the experiment was a success. If the control LED emits light that is visible, then the IR LED will also be visible through a video camera (you can use a smartphone).

If the IR LED is working, the only version left is that there are cracks in the tracks. You won’t be able to see them even with a magnifying glass if a protective coating is applied. Therefore, you will have to use sharp probes that can pierce it. By testing each track in this way, you can find damage. The damaged track found will not short-circuit the probes, which will be visible on the tester's display. You need to remove the protective layer from it and, using a magnifying glass, look for a crack.

At this point on the track, soldering is done with a thin wire. If the remote control still does not work, then you need to arm yourself with an oscilloscope and view the signals that are available in certain places on the board. But this is more likely to be done by specialists. A to the average user It's easier to buy a new remote control.

TV won't turn on remote control or the channels do not switch, the volume cannot be adjusted, but other buttons work fine? Such symptoms Remote control malfunction are familiar to almost everyone. This malfunction of the remote control is the most common and has been going on since the advent of the remote control itself, but manufacturers have not taken any radical measures to eliminate it. With almost 100% certainty, the cause of this malfunction is abrasion or contamination of the conductive layer of the contact buttons. In this case, there are two ways to restore the functionality of the remote control:

- First- don’t bother and buy a new remote control. It is worth noting that if you purchase a cheap (non-original) remote control, you risk encountering the same or another breakdown within the first month. Therefore, if you decide to change the remote control, then, if possible, buy the original remote control and not in the “Sharashkina office”. This will save you nerves and money.

- Second- Repair the remote control yourself. This does not require knowledge of electronics and is accessible to anyone, regardless of gender and age. Apart from the battery, which you will also remove from the remote control, there is no “dangerous” electricity in the remote control. Even if something doesn’t work out, the first method is always in stock, and the money required for this is quite modest. But why pay if for In 15-20 minutes you can do everything yourself, besides, any new remote control will face the same fate and the experience of the first repair will not be in vain.

It is worth noting that, with rare exceptions, repair shops do not carry out such restoration, or the cost will be comparable to the price of a new remote control. If you decide, then do it yourself, everything is simple, and this article will help you.

At the beginning, let us once again dwell on

Diagnosing malfunctions of the remote control of a TV, tuner, air conditioner or any other equipment

If the device does not turn on from the remote control and not a single button works, then first replace the batteries. With weak batteries, it is possible to respond to the buttons once or twice in a row, then does not respond, and after some time (20-30 minutes) it reacts once or twice again. This also indicates worn out batteries that need to be replaced. If this does not help, then there is a fault in the electronics. Next, depending on your qualifications and desires, you decide to repair it yourself. This is not our case and requires knowledge of electronics for repair.

Checking the remote control with a digital camera.

To do this, just point the remote control at the lens of the camera or mobile phone camera and hold the button. At this moment, take a photo of the remote control without flash. If the remote control or button is working properly, then in the photo there will be a bright white spot where the IR LED was. If the glow is visible in the photograph, then the reason is most likely in the receiver located in the TV or other equipment from which your remote control is located. Conclusion about the repair, as in the first paragraph.

If they don’t work, or only a few of the most frequently used buttons work (react to pressing) after 2-10 attempts, then this is our case. Next, we will consider ways to eliminate this problem with the remote control.

Remote control device

All remote controls have a similar device. Main components:

Frame. Consists of two halves, glued or twisted.

Printed circuit board. The board contains a small microcircuit, a few more radio elements, an infrared LED, battery compartment contacts and a contact pad in the form of conductive tracks.

Rubberized pad with buttons.

Batteries.

Disassembling the remote control

At the very beginning, we take out the batteries, then look in the battery recess for the presence of mounting screws. They may be under stickers. Run a screwdriver over the sticker; if it presses through somewhere, it means there is a screw underneath it. Inspect the entire case for screws. If there is, unscrew everything and divide the body into two halves. In addition to the screws, the housing can be secured with latches. If there are no screws, then the entire case is assembled only with latches. It happens that it is additionally glued, but don’t panic, everything can be sorted out.

We take any knife and carefully insert the tip into the slot in the middle of the body and try to push the halves apart until a click appears. A click indicates that one of the latches has opened. Here it is important to find and release the first latch; the rest will be easier. Try to do everything carefully so as not to break the latches, and even if you break one or two, it doesn’t matter, it won’t make the remote control close any worse; in extreme cases, it can easily be glued with a drop of any superglue. You can also separate it with two thin screwdrivers, or combine a knife and a screwdriver.

If you are disassembling the remote control for the first time, it is preferable to use a knife and a screwdriver. First, insert the tip of the screwdriver into the gap between the halves of the case and, slowly moving the screwdriver along the case, look for the first latch. As soon as you find it, you snap it off, but leave the screwdriver stuck near the latch, and then continue to work with the tip of the knife. When you reach the next latch with your knife, you can insert a second screwdriver and continue moving with the tip of the knife, or continue moving with the first screwdriver. In general, do what is most convenient for you.

Next, take out the board and the rubber pad with buttons. The battery compartment has slots into which the spring contacts of the batteries are inserted. Before removing the printed circuit board, remember how they fit in the grooves so that there are no questions during assembly. In most cases, these contact springs are soldered onto the board and cannot be inserted any other way.

Before restoring the conductive layer of the buttons, it is recommended to simply clean them first. Sometimes contamination is visible to the naked eye.

Quite often, the entire space where the rubber base with buttons is located is filled with a transparent sticky and viscous liquid that looks like epoxy resin, only without a hardener. This liquid is spread in a neat thin layer, with small droplets in places. This sticky liquid is everywhere. On the top and bottom side of the rubber base of the buttons, on the top of the case with slots for buttons. The upper part of the printed circuit board with contact pads is also coated with this glue...

The origin of this glue is a matter of debate and even debate in repair circles. Some say it's grease from the fingers, others say it's fumes from batteries. But why then is the lower part of the board, where there are no parts, not covered with these fumes?

The most likely version seems to be that these sticky connections actually come from the rubber base itself. The rubber seems to sweat, releasing plasticizers, which indicates a violation of the production technology of rubber products. But the question arises: why are there so many such substandard products? This is observed in almost every remote control when a similar malfunction occurs.

It is necessary to clean with soap or other detergent, but not with alcohol, acetone, etc., which can lead to complete failure of the remote control.
A good result can be obtained by washing the board and rubber with buttons with not very hot water, preferably using dishwashing detergent or laundry soap.

You should wash it gently with a soft cloth, using blotting movements, so as not to erase the graphite coating. It’s very good if, before washing off the snotty deposit, the parts of the disassembled remote control lie for some time, 20…30 minutes, in a detergent solution. After washing, do not wipe, but wait until the parts dry and only then assemble the remote control. You can use a hair dryer to speed up drying.

Do not assemble the remote control completely, attach the buttons, insert batteries and check operation. If everything works, collect and use. If the fault remains, we proceed to the second stage of recovery. In some cases, you can skip flushing and go straight to restoration. Intuition will help you.

There are different types for those interested.

Method 1. Superglue and foil squares

Using glue, carefully stick pieces of foil onto the contact pads of the “mat”. You can take foil from sweets (clean), chocolates, or better yet, from a pack of cigarettes. Aluminum foil with a paper base from cigarette packs is glued quite reliably and simply with any “Moment” type glue or superglue from small tubes. Piglets can be made either square or round. You can use a hole punch of a suitable diameter. The result should look something like this.

Method 2. Double-sided tape and foil

A strip of 5-7 cm long double-sided tape needs to be glued to the foil, cut off the edges of the foil where there is no tape. Then we “pass” the foil with tape through the hole punch as many times as there are buttons we need to repair, or we use scissors. You can also use a broken telescopic antenna. A link of suitable diameter is taken and circles are cut out on the glass. When the circles are ready, glue them onto the non-working areas of the remote control buttons. You don’t have to bother with circles and cut out squares.

Additionally, you can carefully use a sharp blade to cut off the layer of conductive rubber from the buttons in front of the sticker. Typically this is a layer of approximately 0.5-1.0 mm.

Method 3. Copper wire

Will need copper wire diameter 0.2-0.4. Using a hammer, flatten it on any anvil at intervals of approximately 1 cm. Schematic designation ("--" This is a wire, "O" is the place of flattening) (--O--O--O--) cut off the element (-–O )

we stick the left end of the element into the button, possibly next to the button, bend the flattened part of the element (-–O) over the conductive rubber

If secured well, this option is quite durable.

A simpler option is a metal bracket from a stapler. Bend and shorten it to the size of the contact pad and press it into the rubber in such a position that when the button is pressed, the bracket closes the contacts on the board.

Method 4. Conductive adhesives or varnishes

Another option for repairing the remote control is to coat the buttons with conductive adhesives and varnishes, such as Kontaktol or Ellast. There are also many different opinions about this method, which is better is not yet clear. Apparently, everything is simple: whoever did well praises and vice versa.

Method 5. Repair kit

Ready-made repair kits are sold specifically for repairing remote controls. They are cheap - the main thing is to find them. The bag contains a tube of glue and round rubber spots with a graphite coating. Just spread it and stick it where you need it. There are even instructions on how to glue it.

A more modern version of the repair kit is self-adhesive patches. Everything is quite simple here. In such cases, wiping the rubber buttons with alcohol or another solvent will not hurt.

All options are workable and tested in practice. Choose whichever one you like best. Good luck.