ThinkPad Wired USB Keyboard with TrackPoint, 0B47190: Disassembly and Cleaning

A friend has this Thinkpad/Lenovo keyboard for a long time, but the right mouse button was becoming erratic. We decided to disassemble and clean it and try to fix the right mouse button. on the back of the keyboard, CEM-2015-05-29 Rev W02 Fru PIN 03X8715

ThinkPad Wired USB Keyboard with TrackPoint, 0B47190. Front of keyboard. Photo 1 by Don Tai

Prying the Clamshell Apart
Turning the keyboard over there are rubber pads on each corner and one in the middle. These do not have screws underneath, so disregard them. This is a plastic clamshell. I used a credit card to pry open the clamshell from the USB port, and then used a flat head screwdriver to pry the two halves part. The front bezel comes apart easily.

ThinkPad Wired USB Keyboard with TrackPoint, 0B47190. Front of keyboard, bezel pried off. Photo 2 by Don Tai

The keyboard is stuck to the back plastic plate with double sided sticky tape. Be careful because there are two cable ribbons at the back of the keyboard, so don’t rip them out. The double sided tape are on the extreme left and right of the keyboard. Take a look at the picture below.

ThinkPad Wired USB Keyboard with TrackPoint, 0B47190. The keybpoard is stuck to the plastic back with double sided sticky tape, located on the left and right sides. Photo 5 by Don Tai

ThinkPad Wired USB Keyboard with TrackPoint, 0B47190. Back plate, with the keyboard IC. Photo 6 by Don Tai

I pried the keyboard off the plastic back plate using a flat head screwdriver, starting from the rear. The two ribbons can be seen on the IC board, locations CN2 and CN3. These two ribbons have a special connector. You need to pry up the white arm, then the ribbon will come out. Be very gentle with thes white arm, as they can easily break, resulting in a bad connection or it not functioning. Reassembly requires you to insert the ribbon, and then push the white bar down.

ThinkPad Wired USB Keyboard with TrackPoint, 0B47190. The two ribbon cable are located at CN2 and CN3. To remove the calbe pull up the white bar first. Photo 7 by Don Tai

Cleaning the Mouse Button
The mouse buttons are integral with the keyboard and cannot be separated. To remove the right mouse button, with the keyboard in front of you, slightly pull the mouse button towards you, use a thin flat head screwdriver and pry up the front of the mouse button. The mouse button is delicate and is easily broken. It has two delicate clips at the rear that grip the plastic base. The front of the button has some thicker bevelled clips. After you remove the button there is a round green piece of silicone that works like a spring. Clean this area of gunk and hair.

There are no exposed electrical contacts in this keyboard. There are two plastic pieces of film, slightly separated. Press the button and the round silicone piece presses the two pieces of plastic film together, making contact. Electrical contact cleaner sprayed into the area will not clean the contact.

ThinkPad Wired USB Keyboard with TrackPoint, 0B47190. right mouse button. Photo 3 by Don Tai

ThinkPad Wired USB Keyboard with TrackPoint, 0B47190. right mouse button. Photo 4 by Don Tai

I used a toothbrush and a vacuum cleaner to get rid of the gunk within the keyboard.

Reinstalling the right mouse button key is tricky, and this is where I broke the button tab. With the keyboard in front of you, hook the key on the back first, then lay the key down and gently press the key down at the front.

ThinkPad Wired USB Keyboard with TrackPoint, 0B47190. Broken right mouse button rear tab. Photo 8 by Don Tai

Snap the front bezel back to the rear panel and you are done. Be gentle. The plastic of this keyboard is very thin and easily damaged.