On Jan 28, 2010, at 3:50 PM, Dale Hoffman wrote: > I've got a "bar of soap" scroll button mouse that is beginning to get a bit > "scratchy". > > The ball doesn't rotate as smoothly as it should and cursor action is > beginning to suffer. > > I don't see a way to disassemble this thing and attempts to disrupt any > sediment by blowing air down around the orifice hasn't worked. > > Has anyone used any of the aerosol electronic contact cleaning products to > clean deep down in this device? > Or maybe suggest another solution?
Apple recommends turning the Mighty Mouse upside down and rolling the ball firmly and briskly up and down, left and right, and round and round on a shirt or other cloth. I've found that microfiber cloths work OK too. However, if that doesn't work despite repeated attempts, I've found that a microfiber cloth very slightly moistened with 90 percent isopropyl alcohol, using the same brisk motions, will clean things to the point a MM will work properly again. One caution: While the alcohol helps a lot, be aware that it attracts atmospheric moisture and that you're actually introducing some of that moisture into the contacts of the track ball which are copper. What happens when copper and water meet? Right, corrosion, which will do all kinds of nasty things to a MM. So I almost never use isopropyl alcohol any more. Instead I do the upside down rolling bit frequently on a dry microfiber cloth. Beyond that normal maintenance, I have disassembled four MM which were so gunked up they no longer worked properly. MM can be disassembled, in almost exactly the same way any of the "soapbar" Apple mice can be disassembled. The trick is to use a single-edge razor blade or a strong thin pocket knife to separate the bezel from the top. If you hold a MM or other soapbar mouse and look at it from the side, you'll see a thin bezel around the bottom of the top, with a seam showing where the bezel and top meet. There are about 8 points around the bezel and top where little dots of SuperGlue or a plastic "welding" liquid like Ambroid Pro-Weld (found in hobby shops) are used to "weld" the two pieces together. To get to the guts of the Mighty Mouse, simply work the razor blade or thin knife blade into that seam and slowly cut through all the weld spots. You'll hear and feel the welds break loose one by one. Take it easy, be very careful about not cutting yourself or damaging the MM, and soon you'll be able to lift off the top. Carefully observe how the ribbon connectors are routed, then disconnect them from the little board. Remove the screws holding the trackball assembly to the top. Then disassemble the trackball assembly. Make careful note of how the tiny little bits are arranged as you take it apart and clean out the gunk. You might even find some corrosion of the contacts, which you can remove mechanically or by using the copper cleaning techniques at this site: <http://www.spatula.net/line/>. Let everything dry, then reassemble. I've done this at least 6 times to various MM, wired and wireless, and they're all still working great with nothing more than periodic rolling upside down on a cloth to keep everything inside making appropriate contact. Good luck! -- Jim Scott -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
