the_claire•1mo agoMost Upvoted

Just spent 3 hours trying to fix a single stabilizer rattle

I was putting together a new 65% board last night, using some nice Durock V2 stabs I'd lubed up. Everything was going smooth until I pressed the spacebar and heard this awful metallic buzz, like a tiny angry bee was trapped inside. I took the whole thing apart, checked the wire seating, re-lubed, even tried the band-aid mod. Put it back together... still buzzing. My partner walked by after hour two and just said, 'Is it still that one key?' I finally figured it out around 3 AM. The spacebar itself had a tiny, almost invisible hairline crack on the inside stem wall that was causing a weird resonance. I swapped it for a different one and the rattle was gone instantly. Has anyone else had a keycap be the actual problem and not the stabilizer?

3 comments

3 Comments

avery8051mo ago

Yeah, classic. @ryanburns is right, you always end up chasing the wrong thing. I spent a whole weekend once only to find a grain of rice stuck under a keycap.

ryanburns1mo ago

Totally get that. Feels like half the time you chase a problem, the real cause ends up being something simple you never thought to check.

wright.drew24d ago

My 2012 Honda Civic had a check engine light that drove me insane for two months. @avery805, sometimes though, the simple fix is just a coincidence and you missed the real problem hiding somewhere else. Ngl, I fixed that light by replacing the gas cap, then it came back two weeks later because the actual issue was a failing oxygen sensor.