Coffee spill: no Trackpoint/TouchPad clicking

[Tim M]

So, I had a small mishap with a cup of coffee today, some of which spilled on the lower left part of the computer. Most drained onto the keyboard and out the drain hole on the bottom, but a bit got on the TouchPad and around the buttons. I can move the cursor with the TrackPoint and TouchPad, but clicking the corresponding buttons (or clicking by tapping the TouchPad or TrackPoint) do not work. All clicking works with a USB mouse and everything else on the keyboard works.

After rebooting the computer, the buttons and tapping briefly worked, but then stopped working. So, do I need a new keyboard and palmrest or is something on the motherboard fried? I removed the keyboard to check and no liquid got inside, though something might have wound up under the palmrest.

Thanks,

Tim

EDIT: So, I disabled the TouchPad through the "Advanced" configuration for the mouse in Control Panel and now can use the Trackpoint and its buttons as per normal. So, the TouchPad is definitely fried. Heh...the only part with no drain hole! I'm running a mobo diagnostic to ensure that the CardBus slots work, as they connect to the mobo very near where the coffee dripped.

[Tim M]

Thanks to TPFer Brad, I now have a new Ultranav. Thanks to Lenovo warranty service, I now have a new keyboard. It turns out the problem was a short between the Ultranav circuit board and the metal mounting bracket; there was an obvious burn where the coffee created a new ground path.

The T42 is working perfectly now and actually looks a bit shinier than it did before this mishap.

[Tim M]

And on further checking, it turns out the new keyboard is NMB (Chinese) while the old was Chicony.