Calypso,

These 'contacts' are no ordinary contacts, so be careful with using fluids.

The switches are made of silicon-rubber strips containing little caps with carbon in top (inside).
By pressing a key, the cap comes down and touches two (usually not connected) spots on the printed circuit board.
The carbon shorts the spots.

I wonder why the keys stopped working.... did they die and come alive at the very same moment?
If they did, there might be a faulty connection on the PCBoard.
The best way to clean:
Remove the strip that covers the two keys, check for dirt on the PCboard or ín the caps. Carefully clean both the carbon surfaces and PCB-contact spots.



[This message has been edited by Roel (edited 10-28-2004).]