I have an older model Kenwood receiver (VR-207) and older model Kenwood disc changer (CD-204). The remote that came with the receiver is supposed to be able to control many components including non-Kenwood ones. The reomte worked for a while and then one day quit workin. I stuck it on the shelf and forgot about it, always meaning to replace the batteries but never got to it. So now I've decided it would be nice to have the remote again. I replaced the batteries, whacked the thing a couple times to no avail. I can't get it to do anything, the red light behind the power button won't even light up, it may be burned out. The manual for the remote has a troubleshooting section and itt mentions resetting the microprocessor, however it doesn't explain how to do this. Anyone have any ideas, or has anyone run into this. I've searched high and low online and on this site and cannot seem to come up with anything. Thanks for any input.

OK, so I got antsy and took the thing apart. If I wet a q-tip and touch it to the contacts for the power button I can get it to light up. Does this mean that the button isn't completing a circuit when it is pushed or something like that? I know there is a conductive paint on the backside of these buttons but it looks fine. Maybe this remote is just a POS?

I had many similar problems with my Kenwood remotes. Something seemed to always key spilled on them and provided invisible films to make the buttons not make contact. Washing the buttons with soap and water seems to work well. The circuit board also needs good cleaning, but with isopropyl alcohol or similar. Polishing contacts with pencil erasers also works in many cases. As a last resort, they do make bottles of refinishing material to recoat the button contacts.

Fred