Electrical Contact Cleaning

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 2:05 am

Any recommendations for cleaning the corrosion from switch contacts? 1st pic. How about the connectors on a harness? 2nd pic.

Thanks

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 2:44 am

there is a spray for that sort of stuff but if i remember correctly it's normally used while in place. since the piece is apart a good fine sandpaper might be better. not sure if electric grease would help afterwards.

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:08 am

I've always¹ used emery cloth for contacts. A medium to extremely fine grit, depending on the application. (Extremely fine when resurfacing points)

As for the wiring harness connectors, a set of precision "needle files" is your tool of choice. Thin and narrow enough to get inside the connector without damaging it.

If you're looking to clean the dirt and grime off, Techspray Blue Shower is what I use. It is supposed to be safe on most plastics, though I haven't used it on the connectors on a Honda. But I've used it on plenty of circuit boards with no ill effects.

¹ OK, not always. Often I cheat and use whatever is handy. Scraping with a razor blade, sandpaper, file, pencil eraser, etc. All viable, effective options if used carefully.

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:39 am

I use CRC Electrical Cleaner. It removes dirt, grime and oxidation and does not harm plastic. Nor does it leave a residue that will interfere with the flow of electricity. Great stuff, not too expensive and easily available at any auto parts store.

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 4:08 am

BlueThunder wrote:

I use CRC Electrical Cleaner. It removes dirt, grime and oxidation and does not harm plastic. Nor does it leave a residue that will interfere with the flow of electricity. Great stuff, not too expensive and easily available at any auto parts store.

+1 and a good detail brush!

Jebby

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:50 am

I had to clean every connector on my 900 a few years ago do to a sever corrosion problem. I used a contac cleaner to remove the grease and dirt, then dipped the connector for as long as necessary in Tarnex to remove corrosion, then rinsed with water, then used the contact cleaner to displace the water. Followed up with some high quality non-silocon based dielectric grease.

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 11:44 am

Those Blue Shower and CRC products are great and I've used them too, as well as Caig DeoxIt D5 for improving conduction on connections or contacts.

I'll also use brake cleaner as a cleaner, and it doesn't do badly at all for removing grease and the dirt that's stuck to it. I also will even use brake cleaner as a final rinse if I'm using a some kind of cheap contact cleaner that leaves a questionable residue, just to wash it off. If you're in a small town out in the middle of nowhere, there's almost always an auto parts store where it's available, and it's also even cheap as far as electronics cleaners go. Having been in the professional sound and video business for over 35 years, I've been to a lot of places where electronics resources are limited with a lot of gear that can have issues on occasion. Some people get amused or alarmed when I start spraying brake cleaner inside a $100K high end video camera or sound console, but they don't complain when it works. Brake cleaner can also remove resin after soldering on circuit boards to prevent electrolytic corrosion that occurs when the acidic stuff is left on traces with current in them. I hadn't thought of Tarnex, that would probably be OK too. You just have to be careful of what can happen to other materials in the vicinity with some chemicals so you don't have collateral damage.

For a bike switch, if it's apart, I might try a rust remover like Rusteco or Evaporust if there is obvious corrosion and rust on mechanical parts inside like steel pieces or whatnot. If the whole thing looks like it would tolerate it, I might also start with a total general cleaning using S100 Total Cycle Cleaner, followed by a high power water rinse and then get it all dry before proceeding. Some switch parts will need lubrication. Wheel bearing grease can work if used very sparingly. You want some kind of grease that isn't going to melt and travel around though, and don't use much. Dielectric grease can always be used though, and is probably preferable.

For the bike wiring harnesses and connectors I would also clean the whole harness with S100 Total Cycle Cleaner first. It will clean all the dirt and dirty grease off the wires and connector blocks and the whole harness will come out looking like new. Then you can start the corrosion removal, electronic, and conductive cleaning.

I'd clean individual switch contacts and connector parts with the Blue Shower or the QD where needed. I like to use the DeoxIt very sparingly, just on the contacts if possible after all the other general cleaning is done. For burnishing contacts, I like to be very sparing about using abrasives that remove any metal. I really prefer just exercising connectors with the M & F connectors in and out repeatedly with a contact cleaner, then rinse them out with the blue shower or QD or other non residue rinse. Again brake cleaner works.

I also like to tighten all the female connectors up, especially all the blade or spade type connectors, or pin and socket type. Carefully pinch them tighter with small needle nose or small jawed pliers so they fit snugly again when plugged together. Connectors need to be tight as well as clean. In fact, if I have a choice between a clean one and a tight one, I'll take a dirty and tight one every time, just like groupies... .um well like they used to be...

Once they're tightened up, then I exercise them again, usually with a slight amount of DeoxIt on them. When I say tight, a 9 pin multi pin connector should be difficult to plug together and unplug. The friction of the metal connectors should hold them firmly together without assistance from the shell retainer. If the stator female connectors were always that tight on the male blades, they'd never overheat and melt the connector blocks.

Some people like to use dielectric grease on stuff. That's fine if you plan on cleaning and replacing it on a regular basis, like every 2 or 3 years. It virtually stops corrosion and keeps dirt off of the contacts. It does of course attract dust and so will eventually need service, but in caustic and wet environments it can really prevent problems. It works particularly well on contacts that have other physical protection like boots or protectors around them. It also works good around spark plug caps to stop water from traveling up inside. Contrary to some beliefs, "dielectric" means insulate. Using dielectric grease on connectors is fine, but it does not aid conduction, in fact it's usually very non-conductive even at very high voltage. It would be a big mistake to put a liquid or grease on connectors that was conductive and have everything short together. So, it is insulative, but tight connectors work perfectly with grease on them, and they don't corrode and they don't get wet, and they'll continue to work reliably because they are protected.

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:39 pm

Ok guys, thanks for the great replys. I've got some CRC electrical cleaner I can use, but not sure if I ever seen the Caig DeoxIt D5 before. Maybe Fry's has somethibg like that I can get there.
Thanks again

JT

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:06 pm

I think Fry's does have it. It's available all over the net or real electronics stores. You can certainly get it through Amazon. Back in the old days it was called Cramolin, back like in the 70s.

http://google.com/search?q=caig+deoxit

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:09 pm

I can't remember if it was on here or somewhere else but a guy pulled his harness apart and soaked it in something for a day or two to get all the crap and glue off of it. I wish I knew what it was because the before and after pics were amazing. Anyone ever come across the post I'm thinking of?

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:03 pm

Tony-B wrote:

I can't remember if it was on here or somewhere else but a guy pulled his harness apart and soaked it in something for a day or two to get all the crap and glue off of it. I wish I knew what it was because the before and after pics were amazing. Anyone ever come across the post I'm thinking of?

Probably good old fashioned white vinegar. It does a good job of cleaning mildly corroded contacts. Doesn't do anything for dirt and grease however.

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:49 pm

Right on......something about oven cleaner sticks in the back of my mind........good idea or bad idea?

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 7:51 am

Jebbysan wrote:

BlueThunder wrote:

I use CRC Electrical Cleaner. It removes dirt, grime and oxidation and does not harm plastic. Nor does it leave a residue that will interfere with the flow of electricity. Great stuff, not too expensive and easily available at any auto parts store.

+1 and a good detail brush!

Jebby

+2

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 10:31 am

Oven cleaner would be bad. It is very corrosive and plastics would be damaged. I have found this Radio Shack product to be almost as good as DeOxit when I am cleaning control pots on vintage stereo equipment. (The name brand stuff always seems to work better but that could just be in my head.) Anyway every town has a Radio Shack (and usually a Pizza Hut???) so the stuff is readily available.

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 11:42 am

Wow, Thanks guys, a lot of good info here !

JT

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 12:45 pm

Jjam recently put his in a sonic cleaner believe it or not....with excellent results...

Use distilled water and a hint of dish soap for a gentle clean Very Happy

The dish soap acts to thin the boundry layerfor max cleaning effect.

Jebby

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 7:16 pm

Most circuit boards and electronics can be washed in distilled water as long as they are completely dry before applying power to them again. When an expensive mixing console gets a coke spilled in it, they can be taken apart and washed out usually with no ill effects other than a shitload of labor to do it.

I washed out a laptop computer after spilling coffee with creme and sugar into it. Picked it up and turned it over and pulled the battery out and unplugged it right away, then washed it under the faucet. I didn't have that much distilled water available. Then put a fan on it for a few days, shaking it out and using a hair dryer on it occasionally. after a week I started it up ans it ran. I had to replace the trackpad. I still use it for a control and display of audio equipment that requires a computer with networking to access features.