Mac gets its click back

My Problem

The cursor had been responding to not only my touches but also to hand movements when there was no contact with the pad.

The click function seemed to be erratic, sometimes several taps were required.

I imagined fur balls and roving colonies gumming the magic works below the pad.

My Fix

Th repair took not quite an hour from the time the package arrived to when the cats were allowed back on the dining room table where the work was performed.

There was much less debris under the old pad and in the case than I had expected.

I found one of the battery hold down tabs shattered as tough it had been crushed on assembly.the plastic fell away as I loosened and removed its screw. I used one of the metal tabs supplied for pad installation as a "washer" when reinstalling the battery.

The pad now responds with a crisp click, the cursor moves predictably and is no longer channeling the gestures of ghosts.

My Advice

Feed the cats before working in their space.

Keep a clear tape dispenser nearby. I make a sketch of the screw layout and tape the tiny parts to the drawing.

Tape was useful in extracting shards of plastic that fell from the broken battery tab.

A narrow strip of paper inserted in through the chassis helped guide the pad's wire ribbon up over the circuit board.The paper was removed once the ribbon found its path.