Keys getting sticky on my Latitude 110L

I have had this laptop for just about 18 months now and over the past month or 2, the keys on the keyboard have become increasingly more difficult to press and feel as though they are sticky or gooey underneath them. Nothing has been spilled on the keyboard. The touchpad buttons (left & right) are sticky also. Does anyone have any advice for what I could do?

 

Sounds to me like the membrane underneath certain keys is either wearing out prematurely or its slipped its moorings (so to speak) and isn't giving the keys a full return. Do the sticky keys sound like the okay keys when you press them? Is there a noticable delay between when you hit the key and when the computer picks up the keystroke?

1) If you can find the part, replacing the keyboard isn't usually a terrible ordeal, but you need to be comfortable with taking apart very small components and not losing them, as well as following technical diagrams (dell's site has a very good set of service docs you can follow)

2) You can also get a service center to do it for you, but they will probably add 100-200 dollars on top of parts to install it.

3) In the latter case, or if you can't fix it anyhow and can't live with the way the keys are wearing down, maybe replacing it would be a better option- sell the 110 on ebay or craigslist, lots of enthusiasts are willing to buy 'broken' to fix themselves.

Also, stupid suggestion as always- get a can of air duster and shoot a jet under the affected keys- sometimes skin bits and office junk accumulate at certain points under the keypad, especially if there is a divot or countersunk hole for a screw etc. That can give the false impression there's some problem with the keys themselves when in fact it's just a bunch of crud gumming up the key's pressdown piece (technical term).

 

Thanks for the reply. Would you be able to direct me to a link for directions on how to take apart the keyboard?

 

If your comfortable with removing the keyboard (an easy job even for a novice) you could try giving it a good 'swish' around in a basin of warm soapy water, and then possibly let it steep overnight. Dry it off near a radiator or somewhere warm, refit, and see if it made any difference. If not, get another keyboard off ebay - you'll know how to fit it by then!

 

Thanks. Any links to manuals or websites with directions to take the keyboard out?

 

Upon closer inspection, it looks like someone (no one will admit to it of course ) spilled something on it and there was sticky crud under the keys. I took your advice and removed the keyboard, swished it around in warm soapy water, let it dry for a couple of days near the furnace and now the keyboard doesn't work properly at all. Some keys don't do anything, and others do weird things like typing the date, other keys, repeating when pressed once, etc. Any ideas? I thought maybe the keyboard wasn't fully dried, but it is. I also checked the connector to the main board and that seems seated properly.

 

just buy a new keyboard from dell.

they're not expensive at all and hey, new keyboard !

 

Do they have keyboards listed on their website? I can't find one for the Latitude 110L.

 

just email/chat/call them. they'll be able to hook you up.

you can PM Southerngirl for dell spare parts phone #, i think she has it

 

So did I damage the keyboard by getting it wet? All the keys worked as they should have before cleaning it, they were just sticky.