Sugestions for loose buttons

Yo all,

My STOP and PLAY/STOP buttons are getting pretty loose, although still functioning. Any suggestions for correcting this problem?

Regards,
Jayson

yes, replace the buttons...

http://www.mpcstuff.com

Thanks,

I meant to mention, I'm guessing it is the outter rim of the plastic that is worn and causing the problem.

Regards,
Jayson

i doubt it, it is probably the underside of the button that keep them in place that is getting worn..

Thanks debauch.. time to get me some new buttons.

Regards,

Jayson

I can't tell you how many times I've fixed these

Over time the plastic arms get weak/stretched.

In many cases you can simply heat the sides.... (if still mounted on the PCB, you could use a lighter - I've done that)
Don't heat them too much. You're not trying to melt it.
Then pull them up lightly and hold until cooled.
be careful, you don't want to snap them.
This will raise the button and it will seat tightly against the top panel.
This works very very very well.

Replacing single or few buttons sometimes looks like crap cause they will look better than all the others.....
Something to keep in mind.

Now, after doing this so many times, usually when I do this I'll take the time to pull them all off the PCB and do ALL of them.

I've never had to buy a replacement button.

I can't believe they are so freaking expensive. Not really 'expensive', but kinda. For a tiny plastic button.

Thanks alot for the info SMC!

That's precisely the information I wanted to know, the hows and whys. I'll try it in a few days and see what happends...

Regards,
Jayson

No prob.

U can do it without heat also, but the buttons won't stay 'tight' for long.

The reason for the heat is that the plastic is stressed and so u want to help recondition it a bit and temporarily SLIGHTLY soften it for the repair.. Heating it will help re-arrange some molecules or whatever the crapp the science is to it and it will retain its new position much better than if it hadn't been heated.

U'll see when u open it, it'll be easier to understand.

They clip into the circuitboard and there's a lip around the bottom edge of the button so that it rests snug against the top panel and stays tight.

All u gotta do is lift it back up to its original height, or higher, to snug it back up

Good luck

Be gentle

Appreciate the consideration... will let you know how it turns out.

Regards,

Jayson