On Apr 9, 2:39 pm, wrote:
This morning, a universal TV remote that is several years old stopped
working.

Had a remote that was several years old start acting flaky. Still
sorta flaky after changing the batteries. Cleaning the button contacts
with alcohol and qtips didn't help either. Started looking at the
components and solder joints with a magnifying lens - looked like one
lead of the crystal had been cut fairly short and not soldered too
well, reworking that solder joint did the job.

That was a dedicated remote, not a universal. The question is, do you
want to put that kind of effort into a semi-disposable universal
remote, or do you just want to go out and buy another one?

Jerry