please help, most of the keyboard doesn't work. after reassembly

I had the dreaded loose hinge problem on my beloved z11 (i got a little over 1 year ago from conics.net)

So, I disassembled, got the medium strength loctite and put those screws back in. So, hinge looks fine.

after putting it back together, I see that 90% of the keys don't work (only some on the left and right side are working, like q,s,comma,..). And the touchpad doesn't work either. However, the fingerprint reader works.

So, I tried to reattach the connector 10 times, no luck. I look at the motherboard connector, it looks ok. I look at the keyboard connector, looks fine.

Unfortunately when I detached the connector the first time, I didn't do from the side. I pried it out somehow, and it seemed tighter at that time then it is now to put back on.

At first I thought that a piece of the keyboard connector was broken inside of the motherboard connector, but after looking at this photo:
Imageshack - keyboardconnector.jpg I think nothing is visibly broken.
Maybe when I was disconnecting the first time, some wires have moved or touched each other. I don't know what to do.

First, I can't figure out if it is the motherboard connector that is bad or the keyboard connector that is bad. I suppose replacing the latter would be much easier.

I freaking love my z11, because it has this awesome 1080p resolution, which I haven't seen in any other 13" lightweight.

Please let me know what to do to get this problem fixed.

 

In addition to this, I'm in the middle of travels for work and am in Montreal for the next month. Will also visit Toronto. If anybody knows any solutions in these cities, please share.

 

IIRC, there's a parts company in Canada around those parts... there's a few threads about buying a new motherboard connector (i'm assuming that's the problem as it's the most logical). Unless the price has changed (maybe has) it's ~$35 USD

or... you can plead ignorance and call sony up for warranty (if you're still in warranty) depending when you got your Z. the Z1 lasted from March to september, so you might still be in luck

 

ah, it seems my speaker sound is also gone. What could cause that?

 

I got my z11 from japan through conics, I don't have any warranty I think.

 

just to rule out some other silly things, can you still listen to sound from your Z using earphones?

 

yep, earphones work. What does that mean?

 

that means whatever is making sound... is still making sound (sorry for my lack of technical terms) and that the problem is between whatever makes the sound and your speakers... which i'd assume is your ribbon cable... hopefully it's the pins in the cables that are bent and not a problem with the connector on the mobo.

thing that makes sound = onboard sound card

 

So the lack of sound could also be related to the damaged connector?

Is there a way to figure out if the male connector on the ribbon is damaged or if the female connector on the motherboard is damaged?

It would be much cheaper to get a new ribbon with connector, than mess with anything motherboard related

 

Just FYI, everything on the aluminium baseplate (touchpad, keyboard, speakers three-way switch) is connected through that one ribbon cable. So what you need to do is to recheck the ribbon cable for bendings and the connectors on either side for broken/deformed pins. I am sure you just did not reconnect it properly since some keys and the powerbutton obviously do work.

 

I looked and I don't see any visible damage, and I tried putting the connector back on several times.I don't know how else differently i can position that connector so it makes the proper contacts.

Does anybody have any other tips?

 

Post a close-up pic of the connectors, motherboard and keyboard.

Also, conics' first year warranty is international, after that you need to send it back to japan.

 

I will take a close up pic tomorrow and post. Yes, unfortunately 1 year just passed.

 

I've had the exact same problem with my old Z. Turns out when I pushed the mobo connector back, I accidentally bent it. Apparently that's all it takes to cripple the whole thing. I had to order a replacement connector from Sony for like $45(!). But I guess it's better than having a broken Z.

 

Here are the closeup photos of the connector on ribbon and on motherboard.
I didn't have my super macro lenses with me, so I magnified some in photoshop for you.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8979/img4017l.jpg

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9559/img4018u.jpg

http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/3325/img4020t.jpg

http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/6240/img4023m.jpg

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/363/img4026s.jpg

if the problem is only on the connect on ribbon, which I suppose is the part that is $45, I would order this asap. If on motherboard is broken, it will be a sad story.

 

could anyone please suggest which part number is the connector ?


do you see any damage to the motherboard side of the connect?

 

Part-No. is: A-1769-469-A

The keyboard part of the connector is ripped apart, just as you thought in the first place. The part is stuck in the connector on the motherboard on the side facing to the WLAN card. Pull it out GENTLY, use some fine tweezers or needles. Then take another picture of the motherboard connector so we can see the side under the stuck part. It should look like this then:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/714/keyboardconnector.jpg/

 

pyr0 is right.. your ribbon cable is damaged and the remaining pins from the ribbon cable is stuck in your keyboard mobo connector...

if your in toronto you can inquire here https://www.globalsemi.com/ this is were i bought my ribbon cable for $24 but i waited 3 months since the part is back ordered that time (december 2010)

goodluck..

 

oh wow, ok this sounds like potentially good news.

so whatever is inside there is not supposed to be there.

I will try to pry it out with some tweezers.

I have also ordered the part from SparePartsWarehouse.com. Does anyone have experience with this company? how long would it take them to get this part? I have some friends coming to visit me from the states, I was have asked SparePartsWarehouse to ship to them, so they can bring the ribbon with them. IF anybody knows a retailer that has this part in stock and ready to ship within a week or two, please let me know, I'll order through them.

I think I will wait till I get the replacement part, before I open the laptop and pry out the broken connector (because, in the current state power button & fingerprint reader are working, and I don't wanna lose that functionality for however long it could take to get the replacement part)

thx for the diagnosis.

 

while I'm waiting to receive the part, i'm using an external keyboard.

Does anyone know how can I adjust the brightness of the z11 without the FN key, which doesn't work on the keyboard. The external keyboards doesn't have an FN key.

Is there some work around to adjusting brightness on z11 with software or some the way?

 

While I was waiting for my new keypad to arrive, I had external keypad with Fn buttons, however that didn't work either. My guess it's proprietary.

 

If you click the battery icon in the taskbar, then "Adjust screen brightness" - that might work?

 

olivarrr, I tried that it, it doesn't change the brightness

 

thanks everyone, i was able to fix the keyboard by changing that part.

 

Woohoo!!!!!!