Nord Modular button repair
Fixing unresponsive buttons on a Nord Modular.
The Nord Lead G1 is over 20 years old now and recently I started noticing some buttons were not behaving as they should, needing a few presses before doing anything. First it was just one but pretty quickly most of the buttons seemed to suffer from the same problem. So I decided to take a look.
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Before doing anything I wanted to know more about these buttons and I found out via the Nord User Forum they are Marquardt series 6450 switches. These are very good quality components and can be opened up to be serviced.
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Just by slightly pressing the sides of the button cap you can take it off. This reveals a copper contact spring you can remove by gently lifting it out with a small screwdriver.
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This reveals the inside of the button with its gold plated contact points. I just used a tiny amount of contact spray just to be sure, using a kitchen paper towel. The contacts looked clean in all the buttons anyway and I didn’t want to create an unnecessary mess.
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To clean the switch mechanics of this button I decided to use a contact spray that is especially made for these type of switches like this Kontakt60 or DeoxIT. One that de-oxidizes and cleans the contacts but doesn’t lubricate or leaves a sticky mess behind that will gather dust.
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As you can clearly see here, the spring needed a lot more attention. In all those years of use a fairly thick layer of copper oxidation has formed causing the buttons not to work properly.
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I just applied a quick spray directly on the springs and let them soak for a couple of minutes. That took away of most of the oxidation. Giving them a bit of a clean with some paper towel removed the rest. Let them completely dry and put them back in the button.
A quick continuity test with the multimeter revealed that all the buttons were working perfect again. And after re-assembly and a good test it was confirmed that my Nord Modular is good to be used for a lot more years.