How to Fix a Keyboard (Circuit Board Trace Repair, Multimeter Tutorial, Conductive Paint)

Turns out my keyboard isn't waterproof, but I wasn't ready to contribute another piece of plastic into our planet's ever growing landfills! With a few minutes of work, I was able to repair my keyboard and save myself some money! Is your keyboard broken, too, or are you looking to repair another one of your circuit boards? Check out this episode of Super Make Something Basics to learn how!

Comments or questions? Connect with me on Twitter @SuperMakeSmthng

I used to following items in this video:

(Note: All Amazon links are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

[bareconductive]

That's a great video and way to use the paint :) Good one!

[gilbertcheng]

To anyone trying to fix a section of worn circuit that would easily be fixed with conductive paint, but find it too expensive or difficult to acquire, take an old usb device and take a short section of wire (since the wires are thin), and take only a few strands, maybe about 4-5. Run the wire and shape it to the affected section of the circuit (not really necessary) and make sure it is in contact with the working parts circumventing the affected part of the circuit. Tape it down with a thin piece of tape (cellotape, scotch tape, electrical tape, any of these should do, as long as it isn't conductive). You could use conductive tape, but it is as easy to find as conductive paint :P . Run a fingernail on the tape by each side of wire so that the wire is secured in place and also traces the defective part of the circuit.

Hope this helped you.

For lack of conductive tape or conductive ink/paint, I first tried a spudge of aluminium foil. That kept shifting because the affected section for me was between spacebar and right Alt and the comma key. I then tried a thin section of aluminium foil fixed with tape, which would also lose contact because it would shift. I tried pencil lead, which worked momentarily, but the affected section was too long and it would die again in under an hour. I guess pencil lead would work for small sections, maybe for under a couple of mm of missing circuit. I then tried wire, which would also shift. Finally, I realized all of these were shifting because they were bulky and even a large cross section of tape could not secure them in place. So, my solution of using a few strands of wire has worked well - the wire is in place, and it has been several months with no problems whatsoever. I used thin, long sections of cellotape to follow the shape of the wire with a different section of tape after each bend of the circuit.

[yogeshbaravkar]

I used thin copper wire and sticky tape to fix my C1 connection and it worked well, it was a bit difficult to trace the disconnection without multimeter but finally made it, thank you

[captnsnafu]

Interresting how I came on this tuto as my "O" stopped working as well on my k400.
I'll try that method, thanks for sharing !

[ReCasti]

I identified the broken circuit by just looking at a black spot on it because I don't have a multimeter.

To repair I used a small piece of aluminum paper (from the kitchen) and durex tape. It is working perfectly.

Thanks for the video.

[moatazeldahshan]

Thank you so much for this amazing tutorial! I was having the same issue with my Microsoft keyboard, and your step-by-step guide really helped me get it back in working order. Your clear explanations made the process a breeze, and I'm incredibly appreciative of your expertise. Keep up the fantastic work, and please continue sharing your knowledge with us!

[OrinSorinson]

I've done this on a few keyboards and for those of you who don't have conductive paint, or can't find any, you can make some conductive ink.
The easiest way for me was with some shellac ink and graphite pencil ( the woodles ones are better ). Use a pencil sharpener to gently scrape some fine graphite dust. You can grind it to a finer dust if you want ( could increase conductivity ) and then mix it with the shellac ink. It's a pretty useful trick.
You can experiment with other binding agents. Maybe nail varnish? Acrylic pain? Have fun.

[johnvaranese]

Tight, info packed, professional presentation with a hint of personality. A must save primer on the topic- Thank you!

[wasifpatel]

I was about to order a new keyboard, your video saved my wallet. Thanks buddy ❤

[josedealva]

will use this logic to repair my roland keyboard, those dead keys need to resucitate. your explanation was thorough, simple yet quite well structured
thanks

[rezs]

wow, thank you for this vid, teaching basic uses of multimeter and all those info, just fixed my keyboard, saved my penny, and a new knowledge, thanks again.
As for me, conductive paint is a bit hard to acquire so what i did is to cut thin pieces of aluminum foil and a transparent tape, line them up in the tape just like the circuit, and done.

[janewilliams]

i have a vintage amiga 4000 keyboard and 2 tracks gone, i was debating wire strand or conductive pen, thanks to your video i have no need to guess now.... wire here we come :)

[yvesadam]

As I don't have conductive paint at hand and have to fix my keyboard immediately, I merely used a strand of copper wire and tape. Just scrath the trace a little to make it conductive and interconnect the 2 sides of the interrupted trace, and that was it. Just make sure you don't cross other traces (in case of contact, multiple keys were 'hit' simutaneously).

[Matuchin]

Thank you so much for this video. I managed to fix a gaming keyboard for only $13, I was about to throw it out until I stumble upon this video. I got the Circuit Scrible pen and it worked like a charm. It's also easier to apply. thank you so much once again. Keep up the good work

[bigredc]

I thought this might work, so I searched to see if there was a product to do the fix, and found your video, so thank you for confirming my idea was sound.
Thanks

[sirboi]

I can't believe this kind of content is free, thank you for the work!

[unicorngizzard]

Alex? Thank you so much!

I bought a multimeter from harbor freight for $5usd and the same paint from amazon for $8usd

Your idea worked! the only thing I did different was masking around the trace I wanted to fix with electric tape.

Please keep making videos! I am Subscribed!!!

I'm going to buy you a coffee

[philipcooper]

Well thank you ! That is one of the best instructional videos I've seen and an example to you all as to how to go on. Some of this type of production are utterly useless.

[niknicholson]

Excellent! Clear, concise, intelligent tech info without ego or irritating techno music. Thanks.

[Willie]

Thanks a lot, I've been trying to find out how to do this type of diagnosis for a while now. Bought myself a multimeter but have been afraid to use it much because I don't yet know all the functions well lol so this helped tons.