Erratic Trackpad and Keyboard Behavior Under Load
So I recently have gotten my hands on a laptop in need of a new battery. Battery swap was easy enough, and works fine (thanks iFixit). Another problem has risen though; the trackpad becomes erratic under heavy loads on the CPU. Here are some troubleshooting tips I’ve tried:
# Resetting SMC - No effect, same inconsistent behavior.
# External mouse - More consistent control, interrupted by erratic movement and random keyboard inputs (most commonly Cmd+F3 (show desktop) and .
# Removed battery and ran laptop directly off charger - same behavior, inconsistent movement seemingly under heavy load.
# Cleaned trackpad cable connectors - same behavior, no change.
# Installed new battery and ran off of that - same erratic behavior under load.
# Plugged in with new battery installed - same behavior.
# Stress testing via terminal using [yes>/dev/null/] to see if behavior became erratic again - Behavior returned and has persisted even after stress test was ended.
I suspect it may be the trackpad cable or the trackpad itself. I’m leaning more towards the trackpad cable as if it were just the trackpad the keyboard would be unaffected, right?
I feel confident with my diagnosis, save for the fact that the connections and ribbon cable look pristine. Anyone have any insight to this? I realize I may just be shouting into the void with such old hardware and a relatively obscure problem, but I figured I’d give it a shot.
Is this a good question?