Amiga 4000 Keyboard & Mouse Issues

[edd_jedi]

Today I was using my A4000D with original Commodore keyboard, and suddenly the number 9 kept repeating without physically touching the key (and it wasn't stuck down.) I tried pressing caps lock to see if the keyboard was responding, and the green light was not turning on and off consistently with key presses. No other keys were working.

I turned off the Amiga, unplugged the keyboard and plugged it in again, and booted up again. It worked for a while, but then the same thing happened, and now I can't get it to work again.

I also noticed a few days ago that my mouse was occasionally being a bit sporadic, the right mouse button wouldn't always work and occasionally the pointer would drift slightly without me moving the mouse.

I don't have a second keyboard or mouse to test, but I'm guessing this is no coincidence and it's more likely to be a hardware fault with the Amiga rather than the peripherals. Is there a likely suspect for these problems?

As a bit of backgroud my A4000 was recapped and had a few RAM slot traces repaired in 2014, the battery had leaked slightly at some point but was removed in 2012. Also the RTC has recently stopped working, so I think the old girl needs some attention again

[Jpor]

Originally Posted by edd_jedi

Today I was using my A4000D with original Commodore keyboard, and suddenly the number 9 kept repeating without physically touching the key (and it wasn't stuck down.) I tried pressing caps lock to see if the keyboard was responding, and the green light was not turning on and off consistently with key presses. No other keys were working.

I turned off the Amiga, unplugged the keyboard and plugged it in again, and booted up again. It worked for a while, but then the same thing happened, and now I can't get it to work again.

I also noticed a few days ago that my mouse was occasionally being a bit sporadic, the right mouse button wouldn't always work and occasionally the pointer would drift slightly without me moving the mouse.

I don't have a second keyboard or mouse to test, but I'm guessing this is no coincidence and it's more likely to be a hardware fault with the Amiga rather than the peripherals. Is there a likely suspect for these problems?

As a bit of backgroud my A4000 was recapped and had a few RAM slot traces repaired in 2014, the battery had leaked slightly at some point but was removed in 2012. Also the RTC has recently stopped working, so I think the old girl needs some attention again

Who recapped and replaced the RAM slots by chance?

Sounds like maybe more corrosion starting to spread somewhere else. Or a faulty component and/or possibly a dry solder joint on the board for the mouse and keyboard and will only show up after heating up perhaps?

Either way you are best opening up the case and doing an inspection to see if anything stands out. Especially if you see any green substance around any traces or component legs.

[edd_jedi]

Yes possibly, I was wondering if there are perhaps specific chips that control the keyboard and mouse that I can take a look at. The board was repaired by a reputable member here, I won't name them as there's nothing wrong with the work they did, this is a new fault. But I agree it could perhaps be further/slower damage caused by the decade-old battery leak and repair.

[Jpor]

Originally Posted by edd_jedi

Yes possibly, I was wondering if there are perhaps specific chips that control the keyboard and mouse that I can take a look at. The board was repaired by a reputable member here, I won't name them as there's nothing wrong with the work they did, this is a new fault. But I agree it could perhaps be further/slower damage caused by the decade-old battery leak and repair.

Probably RP from the sounds of it

Worth getting the lid off for a better look. Possibly another problem as you say.
But if you are seeing more green stuff then in my opinion the last person who recapped it and repaired it. Didn’t do a thorough job sorting out any further issues.

[edd_jedi]

Update, I decided to open up my keyboard to see if that may be the issue. I noticed that both the front and rear PCBs had some brown residue on them, I have no idea what it was, probably a 20 year old drink spillage. I also noticed a few bits of corrosion on some traces pictured below. I cleaned it up as best I could, and it now seems to be working again! It usually started playing up with the above symptoms after just a few minutes of being switched on, but I've now had my Amiga on for 3 hours and the keyboard is still working correctly.

So maybe there isn't a fault with the Amiga after all, my mouse is also pretty old so I will try opening that up and look for issues with it.

[r.cade]

I've had Amiga keyboards do that. They are separate computers entirely with their own CPU, etc. Recap it... There are only a couple small ones on there and when they go bad the keyboard will be erratic- Usually, blinking caps lock and non-responsive. Same with the mouse, although it is more passive, it still has a couple caps that go bad over time.

[edd_jedi]

Originally Posted by r.cade

I've had Amiga keyboards do that. They are separate computers entirely with their own CPU, etc. Recap it... There are only a couple small ones on there and when they go bad the keyboard will be erratic- Usually, blinking caps lock and non-responsive. Same with the mouse, although it is more passive, it still has a couple caps that go bad over time.

Thanks, now you mention it the corrision on the underside is where the caps are, so perhaps they have started leaking? Will have to replace them.