What is the best method for cleaning up leaked electrolyte? This PCB has some corrosion on IC leads and vias.
Is there a corrosion neutralizer that would be effective? Since the potential for corrosion in places that aren't accessible (deep in the vias), a liquid that can neutralize corrosion is called for.
Would something like DeOxit work in such an application?
This is on a Tek scope acquisition board.
Thanks.
some
potential
liquid
litmus test first to see of acidic or alkaline and go for the opposite as cleaner ?
-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
If you can beg or borrow an ultrasonic cleaner, ordinary water with a dash of washing up liquid will do fine,
Any crystals or ceramic resonaters should be removed before ultrasonic cleaning.
If the construction of any components mean they trap water, a second dip without detergent will be needed, and you may have to bake the board to dry everything - the pre-heat phase on a SMD oven should do it.
I scrub with white vinegar and a toothbrush, then rinse with alcohol. If the corrosion is more severe, mechanical methods may be needed, Scotchbrite type cleaning pads work well but you have to be careful not to damage fine traces. In some cases it's best to neutralize and then clean off as much residue as possible and then leave the remaining corrosion alone.
Dishwasher.
John
You must be single.
"N_Cook" wrote in news:hpqhja$apo$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal- september.org:
use vinegar if an alkaline electrolytic,or sodium bicarbonate(baking soda)solution if acidic. then rinse well,prferably with distilled water,then some 90% isopropyl alcohol to dry.
use a cotton swab soaked in one of the solutions to test it,then try the other on a new swab.
vias would probably wick up the solution by capillary action.
-- Jim Yanik jyanik at localnet dot com
The electrolyte is mostly a weak organic acid. Neutralizing it with any manner of mild base will prevent further corrosion. I use household cleaner, such as 409. You can tell that it's working if the liquid foams slightly on contact.
409 will also break up the copper sulfate. However, you'll have to wash off the residue.The trick is not neutralizing the electrolyte. It's cleaning up the mess afterwards. I smear the residue and "suds" around with a paint brush, wash with water and/or alcohol, and then use compressed air to blow as much of the liquid away (so it will dry quicker). Canned air doesn't work well. An air compressor and nozzle work just fine.
No. It will leave an oily residue that will eventually turn into a big mess when the dust lands on the oil. It's also kinda expensive for washing boards.
Obviously, there's no need to supply a Tek model number. Many such pieces of test equipment are very sensitive to leakage caused by board contamination. For such boards, you may need to give it an alcohol bath, possibly several times.
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
David Eather wrote in news:f-OdnQDYA-OYfF3WnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@supernews.com:
I've used my dishwasher and Calgonite to clean 2236 DMM boards,then a drying session in our TEK field office's drying oven at around 140DegF for
3 days.-- Jim Yanik jyanik at localnet dot com
good job. A little vacuum would have been nice to have been able to have introduced for a few minutes during that heating session too. Ideally speaking.
You can always do it while the wife is out, it's not gonna damage anything.
When I was a teenager I occasionally washed engine parts in the dishwasher, not something I'd recommend, but my mom never found out.
Just be sure to do a 60 C bake for about a half hour afterward.
Hmm, you bought a TDS5xx? There is a lot about cleaning these board on the Tektronix user forum on their website.
-- Failure does not prove something is impossible, failure simply indicates you are not using the right tools... nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.) --------------------------------------------------------------
Excellent advice. A household dishwasher (with the normal powder detergent) is an extremely cheap and powerful cleaning device for almost anything. It took me a while to convince my ex-lab to use one for cleaning larger UHV parts rather than an appropriately-sized ultrasonic tank which would have cost the equivalent of 100 dishwashers. There are things that a dishwasher isn't good enough for, but they are few.
robert
It was a different story the one time I put a pan of trichloroethane on the gas ring!
The usual powder will etch aluminum. I keep warning my wife not to put aluminum stuff in the dishwasher, and her response is "how can you tell that something is aluminum?"
John
Two tweaks on this advice:
- It might be best to pick a powder detergent which is chlorine-bleach- free, to avoid any risk that the chlorine might attack PC-board traces. Bob Pease swears by Calgonite, which has no chlorine bleach in it. Some formulations of Cascade do have chlorine and should perhaps be avoided.
- Take the board out after the wash-and-rinse cycles are complete, and give it a final manual rinse-down with distilled or deionized water... then shake and air-dry. Some home tap-water is high enough in minerals to leave a deposit, unless you use an anti-spotting agent... which might leave a surfactant film on the board which could cause unacceptable leakage in a high-Z circuit.
--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!
some
potential
....By it being covered with fine grey powder when you take it out afterwards!
-- John Devereux
has some=20
potential=20
liquid=20
almost
There are just a few to learn, the dark gray (new) to near black of cast=20 iron, The pinkish orange of copper, the sheen of stainless steel = (polished=20 with a specular surface and "brushed"), and if it is not recognizably one= =20 of those it is aluminum. Most people keep track of their stainless steel= =20 due to significant cost. Teflon coatings are normally easy to find and=20 normally occur on aluminum cookware and various utensils.
Aluminum is easy to spot, it's usually a dull matte gray metallic finish. You don't see straight aluminum much anymore, mostly the old, dull, worn pots look like this.
Considering the worn-ness of them already, I don't think I've ever noticed etching of such pots in the dishwasher before.
Tim
-- Deep Friar: a very philosophical monk. Website: http://webpages.charter.net/dawill/tmoranwms
ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.