T430 ASDF JKL; keys not working

[baertracks]

I recently purchased a used T430 laptop to refurbish for a colleague in Africa. Upon booting I noticed that the ASDF JKL; keys were not working. So...

1) I figured it was a bad keyboard, and I swapped in another keyboard (that was verified working). The problem persists.

2) I read somewhere that this might be BIOS related, so I updated BIOS on the laptop. The problem persists.

3) I read that it might be a problem with the keyboard ribbon touching something metal within the laptop, so I wrapped the ribbon with some non-conductive wrap. The problem persists.

4) I checked the keyboard driver in the "device manager." I had the latest version installed. I uninstalled it and rebooted to reinstall the keyboard driver. The problem persists.

5) What should I try next? Or is this something beyond my limited skills to fix?

Thanks! -FRANK

[Utwig]

Just a guess: could be someone flashed T430 keyboard controller to use T420 classic keyboard?
- try T420 style keyboard if you have one
- head to project git page and try flashing keyboard controller to stock

[TPFanatic]

See if the connector between keyboard and motherboard is damaged or dirty... clean if possible. If the problem persists with two different keyboards I'd say it's a bad motherboard.

[baertracks]

Thanks. I inspected the connector and it looks fine. I've cleaned and blew air on it. As you say, since the problem persists with two keyboards, it looks like this is a motherboard problem. The eBay seller has accepted to let me return the item for reimbursement.
FRANK