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Gel on finished PCB?

Hi, I am going to be vague for this first post.Please excuse me.

A number of folks have very recently purchased defective AV receivers from a certain well known manufacturer. Since the manufacturer does not publicly disclose the cause of the symptoms owners are experiencing, much speculation has occurred as to the cause. The speculation I refer to is on a thread in a forum for AV enthusiasts. Since the repair involves a 40 pin ribbon cable and its associated connectors, one poster claims to have inside information as to the cause of the failure of these components. His claim is that there was an acidic gel applied to the PCB and connectors that corrodes the cable and connectors. Not knowing of any gel that could be left on a finished product's PCBs, especially in the area of a connector, I question this claim. So, my question is, does anyone have any explanation as to how or why or what this gel might be? And is it a feasible claim that there was such a gel? To me, the claim is extraordinary and leaves me with more questions than answers.

Thanx in advance. Any help would be much appreciated.

Reply to
Braunbear
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Flux residue?

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Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA
Reply to
Rich Webb

Flux associated with PbF is my guess

Reply to
N_Cook

"Braunbear"

** Unsupported claims made on the net should be automatically treated as bullshit.

Unsupported claims from anonymous persons should automatically be treated as lies.

The onus of proof always lies with the person making any claim - not on others to disprove.

Liars thrive on anonymity, ambiguity and that no-one calls their bluff.

Take this to heart and it will utterly change your life.

.... Phil

Reply to
Phil Allison

Wouldn't the flux have been washed off by the time the board had been assembled in the finished product. Certainly before the conformal coating. no? Have you seen flux residue before in such situations?

Reply to
Braunbear

Thanx everyone for the quick responses. I appreciate the effort. Well, i learned that there is no gel, other than possible flux residue. I opened my unit and discovered no gel or residue, but I do have the symptoms of the defect. I just wish the manufacturer would be more forthcoming and let us know what went wrong as the symptoms are intermittent and the fix did not work for me. My cable and connectors were replaced. Not to mention, this happened to so many units across the entire model lineup that its hard to imagine they were all not washed properly. Thanx again.

Reply to
Braunbear

What I've gleaned is that the switch to Pb-free lead (no pun intended) manufacturers to trying several different solder formulations and then more permutations on top of that to find a workable flux. I'd imagine that some of the attempts worked out less well than others.

I'm keeping my tub of Kester 44. ;-)

--
Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA
Reply to
Rich Webb

Actually, they may have missed that step on the entire product run, which is why they don't want to say anything. Cleaning a PCB cost money, and slows production. The bean counters cut every corner they can, and some they can't. It sounds like it's time for a 'Class Action Lawsuit'.

--
It's easy to think outside the box, when you have a cutting torch.
Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

That's not true.

-- Cheers, WB .............

Reply to
Wild_Bill

Well since the 'well known manufacture' is a secret, how do you expect to get a valid answer? Get serious, what make and model are you talking about?

Reply to
Peter2

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