What's wrong with my TiVo remote?

[Ichinisan]

I can't find where anyone else online reports this particular problem. I could easily get a replacement (the TiVo belongs to the cable company, my employer). I just want to know what internal component could go bad to cause this behavior.

Recently, I realized it was increasingly difficult to get my TiVo to respond. It took me a few days to pay closer attention to the remote. The menu on this old TiVo Premiere model is already slow and unresponsive, and I also use my phone / iPad / iPod interchangeably to control the TiVo.

Basically, I can press a button several times and the LED on my remote doesn't even come on to signal that it's transmitting anything. I have to press it rapidly or hold a button for 1-2 seconds before it will start transmitting. It seems like there's a capacitor that is supposed to stay charged, but doesn't unless I'm constantly pressing buttons.

Of course, I've tried changing the batteries with brand new ones. No change in behavior.

A bit of history...

I recently found that name-brand (Duracell) batteries had leaked. I cleaned the battery contacts as well as I could and installed new batteries. This drives me mad because I've had ruined battery contacts in many of my expensive electronics and it still happens when I use name-brand batteries.

Only a month or so after I got the TiVo (almost 2 years ago, new in box), there was a sudden and very-noticeable decrease in sensitivity and it became very difficult to make it respond while I'm in bed and using the remote at an angle.

There aren't many components inside when I disassemble it. The capacitor was not bulging or leaking. Would the battery contacts have extremely high resistance due to the previous set of batteries that leaked? Would that explain this behavior?

 

[PottedMeat]

did you sand the ruined battery contacts?

i'd guess the black carbon under the keys is almost gone or the pcb contacts are worn out. the space between the rubber keys and the pcb should be completely dry - i've seen some soaked with grease/sweat/whatever nastiness was on the owner's hands.

 

[Ichinisan]

When I disassembled it, it was pretty clean under the rubber membrane. It's not a button contact sensitivity issue as far as I can tell. I can lightly press the button repeatedly or hold it down. When it starts transmitting, there's no problem at all pressing any button unless I stop pressing anything for 5+ seconds (as if something discharges).

Sanding a coiled spring sounds like it would be really difficult.

 

[who?]

Something such as a bad resistor could be preventing the capacitor from either getting or keeping enough charge.

 

[PottedMeat]

When I disassembled it, it was pretty clean under the rubber membrane. It's not a button contact sensitivity issue as far as I can tell. I can lightly press the button repeatedly or hold it down. When it starts transmitting, there's no problem at all pressing any button unless I stop pressing anything for 5+ seconds (as if something discharges).

Sanding a coiled spring sounds like it would be really difficult.

weird problem. sanding the spring is easy, just use pressure.

i doubt it's the capacitor, but you can try replacing it with one from other equipment you have laying about just to see what would happen.

i'd look for bad or cracked solder joints around the controller chip. maybe you pressing the pcb in a particular way reconnects a broken joint ( the oscillator perhaps ).