1. Home
  2. Electronics Repair
  3. Old switch cleaning

Old switch cleaning

I was going through a old sansui 20 year + old receiver for a customer the other day and ran across the usual dirty switches. some i could take apart and clean and burnish the surfaces. Thought i had it whipped when it started to crap out a channel again. Turned out to be the selector/tape monitor multi layer wafer switches. I trying the usual suspects and could not get the crud off. Tried acetone, alcohol, PC board degreaser, caig, and my old favorite GC red concentate (think its long NLA). This crud would just not come off. I could get a Q tip partially down into the open wafer switches. I decided to do something a little radical. I dipped the Q tips in concentate, then dipped the Q tips into some ajax scouring sink cleaner (not much mind you). With a little scrubbing, the 20 year oxidation scrubbed off! I then washed it off with spray degreaser. Let it dry then sprayed Caig pro gold on them. It seemed to do the trick. I was a little hesitant to use the ajax, but it did not seem to do any major damage.

Bob

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----

formatting link
The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups

----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Reply to
Bob Urz
Loading thread data ...

I have had amazing results using "nick-sanders" or "prep-pens" to clean oxidation / tarnish off contacts. They are retractable pen-like devices which have a stiff fiberglass brush. They can be found at auto parts stores. Used with Caig De-Oxit, you wouldn't believe how new and shiny it makes these old contacts - vcr mode switches etc. On wafer switches like yours it's still difficult to get in there at 90 degrees for a proper cleaning action, though. Taking the switch apart is sometimes an option.

I did a 9090DB the other day - the Dolby switch had come undone inside. The holder for the center shaft was cracked and the shaft had travelled forward out of the holder. What a job!

JB Weld to the rescue!

Mark Z.

Reply to
Mark D. Zacharias

Sometimes you need water. 50/50 alcohol water is pretty good. I use TarnX for pieces you can get into. No scrubbing needed.

greg

Reply to
GregS

If the contact pieces looks like tanished silver, use silver dip & rinse off or polish it with bit of white heatsink grease & toothpick then clean up throughly.

Cheers, Wizard

Reply to
Jason D.

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.