Buttons no longer work after camera was submersed in beer

[angercolumn]

camera was left overnight in a small puddle of spilt beer. screen sligtly degraded round the edges but other than that still turns on and takes photos.
model is cybershot DSC T100.
only real problem is that all the buttons on the back(lcd side) are unresponsive. cant navigate menus, change settings, nothing. Not sure if the beer is clogging the connections for the buttons or what the other cause is. Is it worthwhile to try and fix or should i just buy a new one? I'd rather give it a go trying to fix it first!

Thanks in advance.

Ronan

 

[Guest]

Beer is inherently sticky and sugary when it dries out and presumably that's what has glued up your buttons. Personally I would usually try to dismantle the affected part and clean carefully with cotton wool baby buds and a water based cleaner -- but this may not be practical.

Without dismantling I would start by removing any batteries, Then try to clean the affected buttons using a wate based cleaner spray very sparingly and leave to dry for a couple of days in a warm place.

A petrochemical/alcohol spray will dry quicker but may not be so effective on the sugary stuff -- use Isopropanol if that's available (because it probably won't affect the plastics).

 

[angercolumn]

I would happily attempt to clean the camera myself, but (I guess obviously) google doesnt return any useful results for dismantling one of these cameras. what sort of tools could i be expected to need or would it simply be a very small star screwdriver and a lot of patience?

TIA

Ronan

 

[Guest]

You're probably referring to a Torx screwdriver -- these can be hard to find in small sizes (electronics manufacturers prefer to keep your fingers out of your stuff).

The other problem is that modern assembly also uses edge clips moulded into the case -- and these break if you don't know where they are.

When disassembling laptops I prefer to start with two similar broken ones, knowing I'll scar or break the case of the first just working out how to open it.

Ideal if you can find a similar model camera that's non-working because you can also swap parts.

Alternatively you may be able to find a repair manual on-line.