Question HP Eitebook 850 G2 - Weird smell at shift key

Fatalzo

Great
May 7, 2021
144
12
95
My friend has recently had a strange problem with his HP Elitebook.
Basically, it boots up fine, but there is a strange burning plastic smell coming from the keyboard.
He says it's most apparent from the Shift key.

What's happening to his laptop?

Here's a little bit of background (not too much, this is my friend and I don't wanna invade his privacy)

His fan stopped working about 6 months ago but he got it replaced. Sometimes on bootup it complains about the battery capacity "being critically low". It stays on for around 15 minutes on a full charge.
 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Does the Shift Key present any odd behavior, not the odor, I mean that the keys depressed at odd times? I think the battery needs to be replaced as well. You might need to replace the keyboard as well, to avoid a fire hazard, of sorts.
 

Fatalzo

Great
May 7, 2021
144
12
95
Does the Shift Key present any odd behavior, not the odor, I mean that the keys depressed at odd times? I think the battery needs to be replaced as well. You might need to replace the keyboard as well, to avoid a fire hazard, of sorts.
I'll have to ask him. I'll edit this answer when he responds.
Edit: The shift key seems to have no strange behavior apart from smelling bad. The laptop also smells this way when it's off, too, for up to 3 hours.

What's interesting is that, I used to have a laptop with overheating issues (though it died from both overheating and water damage) and sometimes when it was running hot the air around the keyboard smelled a little hot and maybe a tiny bit burning but only when it was on and hot. His sounds like it's much less subtle and isn't caused by it running hot since it does it even when it's off.
 
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