Replaced MB and KB - Still, certain keys don't work

Ive got a dv6-6180us that had a small water spill.
Since that time, certain keys on the keyboard no longer work.

I replaced the keyboard, and the exact same keys still didn't work.
I assumed at this point it was the motherboard, so I replaced that too. Still, the keys didn't work.

What else could it be??
Otherwise the systems seems to operate normally and stable. It's just those specific keys that no longer function. I don't know what other part could be causing the problem.

Any thoughts?

 

What keys?

 

Did the keyboard come with new connectors to the motorboard, if you reused the same connection cables that could be your issue....hmmmmmm.

 

I had a similar issue with a dv6-6100 (water spill, keyboard replaced) and I'm pretty sure the connection cable is permanently attached to the keyboard (i.e. you can't keep the same cable when changing the keyboard). I'm at a loss as to what could be causing the problem though -- mine worked fine after just the keyboard replacement.

 

Yes, the cable comes with the keyboard.

The primary Enter key doesn't work, but the one on the number pad does. Several other keys don't work, but I don't recall which ones at the moment.

 

In other words your keyboard shorted out as a result of the spill. If those keys still don't respond one should go and replace it. Using a damaged keyboard will not bring it back to life.

 

..suppose you could have been unlucky enough to actually damage the contact. Or more likely some of the contact points have corroded. So try to for example scrape (very carefully) on the contact with some piece of plastic or a toothpick, or something like that. Usually, you scrape off corrosion when you insert the cable, but some of the ribbon-cables with the folds are a bit more gentle. Same on the cable-side of course. So try that first - still, weird that you would have the same problem after changing the motherboard. That sort of implies the new keyboard has a defect as well.

 

The only way I could see the same exact problem happening with both a new keyboard and a new motherboard is if the old motherboard somehow managed to damage the new keyboard. Meaning, the sequence of events is:

1) Old motherboard, old keyboard: spill damages both of them in such a way that the motherboard will damage any keyboard inserted in it.
2) Old motherboard, new keyboard: the old motherboard damages the new keyboard which now has the same behavior as the old one.
3) New motherboard, new keyboard: the new keyboard is already damaged so inserting a new motherboard doesn't solve the problem.

However, I find it very hard to believe that a motherboard could damage a new keyboard like that.

 

Ever heard of the saying about pouring new wine into old wineskins?

Still applies today.

Increasingly in the future, fixing anything will mean to simply replace it (whole).

Doing multiple iterations of replace, test and start from the beginning gets old (and expensive) real fast.

That is why for the last decade or so, I have settled to 'upgrading' only the O/S, RAM and the storage subsystems. Anything else is deemed throw away (if past warranty, of course). As shown by the course of this thread.