iPod Classic - push button issues

[j-man]

Hi. I have a couple of iPod Classic I got from eBay: in the end it wasn't a great deal, both displays were broken and probably one of the HD is damaged as well. There are also problems with the motherboards: on the first one the Home switch doesn't work and on the other one the faulty switch is the Right/Next. Of course the most annoying issue is the first, as you can imagine.
I checked the first board and I found out that Home button is connected to two resistors on the flip side, R232 (less than 10 ohm) and R261 (100 ohm). The other side of R261 is connected to the other switches' common point. But after that, I was unable to get any further: without a service manual - or a schematic -  it's very hard, if not impossible.
On the second board it was even harder: the Next button is connected to the flip side as well, but I couldn't find the spot... I guess it's hidden under an IC. Damn.
Any help or suggestion is highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Lorenzo_1]

I had to repair my 2004 iPod Classic/Photo when the clickwheel, battery and earphone jack all played up after about 12 years of extensive use - unit went into continuous reboot mode and also showed battery charging faults at times when started up.  I think clickwheel problems are not uncommon. iPod Classic parts are readily available online from reputable suppliers and not unduly expensive - including motherboards (a bit pricey). Not difficult to repair/rebuild at board level.   I don't think they'd be easy to work on at component level unless you're very well equipped. The hard disk on mine presented as faulty when the other bugs appeared, but the rebuild brought it back to life after I'd done a restore and it's been working well since.

[j-man]

Yes, I know I don't have many chances to find the fault. But the other option is to throw the motherboard away, so why not to try? A friend of mine gave me two broken boards, I can use them as donors  My equipment isn't professional, but I've got almost everything I need except for that... https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B003LJOO7C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I found many Apple service manuals online, but I never saw the iPod SM, neither a schematic or a block diagram. That would be a major help.

[Rasz]

you could start by telling us the actual version/generation/model numbers
also whole working units with bead battery are $10-20 for older gen, so is it worth at all repairing?

[j-man]

you could start by telling us the actual version/generation/model numbers

Well, on Apple site it's identified as Classic. Silver or Black, 80 Gb, production date 2007-2008. Could be 6th or 7th gen? I don't know.

also whole working units with bead battery are $10-20 for older gen, so is it worth at all repairing?

In case you find one of those for 10-20 $ (or Euros) please let me know. I never had such luck.

[Rasz]

also whole working units with bead battery are $10-20 for older gen, so is it worth at all repairing?

In case you find one of those for 10-20 $ (or Euros) please let me know. I never had such luck.

1 minute search in finished auctions: https://allegro.pl/ipod-classic-white-30gb-bialy-5th-gen-wwa-i7554587612.html
100% ok, weak battery, $14
$25-30 are 100% working ones with good battery

[j-man]

I forgot to mention that I live in Italy... You're in the US, right? Shipping costs from there would be too high.
I got my iPods from Germany, 55 euros each in 2013. Not a good deal at all... but I guess in English you call it hindsight

[Rasz]

You didnt even click my link, did you? Im couple of hours travel by car away from you, not even a border between us.

[j-man]

Ok, I didn't pay attention, sorry. I saw it and I'll think about it, although I'd rather find a way to fix the ones I already got. I thought that with FIVE different motherboards I would've been able to get at least one working... but I didn't managed to, so far.

BTW: this forum is about fixing electronic devices, right? IMHO exchanging boards is not the "proper" way to do it, although with these small devices it seems more practical than finding the fault. But I believe that it's the understanding of the nature of the faults that drives us to the solution. If there's no time to do it, you just leave it and move to something else: but "repairing" should be the main reason we're all here, discussing and sharing knowledge and informations. But I'm an amateur, I don't have to deal with time and costs... a pro tech would probably see in a different way.

[Rasz]

Sure its about repairing. But you live in germany, average hourly wage is what, 18 Euro/hour? with ~9 Euro minimum. Sometimes things just dont make economical sense.