The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    XPS 1640 backlit keyboard replacement

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by Johnmcl7, Jul 21, 2010.

  1. Johnmcl7

    Johnmcl7 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    52
    Messages:
    194
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Rather annoyingly my younger brother managed to break the space bar on my XPS 1640 so I've ordered up another, fitted the keyboard which works fine but no backlight any more. I took the machine apart again and found the connector was still in properly so I hunted online to see if this was a known issue, on this forum there's a few references to it on the Dell 14Z but not the XPS 16. I rather stupidly tried putting the connector in upside down as that was the problem on the other machines and must have shorted my machine as there was an immediate smell of burning (I pulled the plug immediately) with smoke coming off one of the board the backlight connector is attached to.

    By this point I thought the machine was done for but remarkably it's still booting, the keyboard works and so does the touchpad but still no backlighting. The problem is I don't know which way the connector is supposed to be held in and I'm now somewhat loathe to experiment until at least I know how the connector is meant to be going in. I have it so that the gold connector is face down and the sort of spare tab is across the top of the ribbon cable. When I opened the machine, the black clip which should hold the backlight connector in just came away entirely which may be why it's not going now.

    I realise I may just have to suck it up and do without backlighting particularly as the system may now be literally up in smoke but it would be good to get a definite answer. I do still have the original keyboard but due to the machine having the worst design I've seen for a Dell, it's not the two minute job it should to get the keyboard in and out.

    Thanks,
    John
     
    Johnmcl7, Jul 21, 2010
    #1
  2. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

    Reputations:
    2,962
    Messages:
    8,231
    Likes Received:
    63
    Trophy Points:
    216
    Have you looked at the service manual for the 1640? At least to me, it looks like there's only one way the ribbon connector could fit the socket (at least without twisting it some weird way)...

    Is yours actually built differently from what's described in the manual?
     
    Commander Wolf, Jul 21, 2010
    #2
  3. Johnmcl7

    Johnmcl7 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    52
    Messages:
    194
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Yes, spent a long time with the service manual but apparently it's not always correct for other backlit keyboard models.

    John
     
    Johnmcl7, Jul 28, 2010
    #3