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During the hardware test, one of the pushbuttons is constantly being pushed. How can I fix it?

Applies to the original Chatter kit, not Chatter 2.0.

A
Written by Albert Gajsak

This article covers the original Chatter kit, not Chatter 2.0.

A button that reads as permanently pressed is nearly always a solder bridge on that button's pins — a little solder spanning two pins that should be separate. It is one of the most common things to happen during a build, and it is a few minutes' work to put right.

What to check:

  • Take the casings off so you can see the underside of the board around the button that is misbehaving.

  • Look at that button's pins under good light. A bridge shows up as solder running between two neighbouring pins instead of sitting as a separate cone on each.

  • Reheat the joint and lift the excess away with a desoldering wick or pump, then check the pins are clearly separate again. There is a step-by-step version of this in I messed up a soldering joint and the solder is touching two pins. How do I fix it?

  • If the joints look clean, check the button is sitting flat against the board rather than at an angle, and that nothing in the casing is resting on it.

  • Run the hardware test again with the casings still off.

If it still reports the button as pressed, take sharp, well-lit photos of both sides of your circuit board and send them to us here, or by email to [email protected]. We will look at the joints for you and tell you what we can see.

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