MaStaMooN Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 In Dec'04, I had a pretty big house fire... The fire didnt destroy everything, but left everything inside with a nice black coating of nasty, sticky, smelly gunk on it. Included in this was my Pheonix Gold Zx600ti amplifier that I had recently removed from a car I sold and was planning on installing in the LGT which I got a month earlier. I want to reinstall this soon, but want to clean it up before hand. I know water and circuit boards are a no-no, so I need something I can use to spray on and try and clean the board off inside the amp. As you can see in the picture, its not a normal enclosed amp, it has a built in fan and other openings so all the crap got right in there. http://images.cardomain.net/products/pho/PHOTI6002_1.jpg So im not really sure where to go. Looks like these are fairly cheap nowadays compared to when I bought it 5 years ago, but would rather spend some time cleaning it up than buying something new. Especially since im already spending an arm and a leg for a simple system install. Anybody know of any spray on type electronics cleaner that wont destroy any of the diodes, chips, capacitors, etc... that are all over this board? Thanks! Jon - vBGarage Profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s car go Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Isopropyl alcohol is what you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meltdown07 Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Water wont hurt anything unless you turn it on while its wet. The problem is, is that when you clean products with water if they arent left to dry completely (could take several days) then when you turn it back on it can short out traces, etc. But yes, Isopropyl would be a much better bet. Go Cardinals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaStaMooN Posted April 13, 2007 Author Share Posted April 13, 2007 So putting isopropyl in like a spray bottle and spraying it down and letting dry would work? Thats not the normal household rubbing alcohol right? Probably have to hunt down some of that stuff.. maybe radioshack? Jon - vBGarage Profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosco Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 i believe http://www.radioshack.com has a spray cleaner. bosco Stay Stock Stay Happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaStaMooN Posted April 13, 2007 Author Share Posted April 13, 2007 Is the 70% stuff good enough.. Im guessing since the other 30% is most likely distilled water, you would still have to be careful to let it dry for awhile? From what I can see, pharmacies might carry both 70% and 91%... so im gonna take a look there after radioshack. Most cleaning stuff nowadays is "alcohol free"... figures. And to ask again, that would be ok to use even with all the capacitors and diodes and chips and all that jazz? Jon - vBGarage Profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSTMIZR Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 IPA @ 70% won't damage any of the semiconductors or the board itself (if you saturate with it, it may peel cosmetic covers/stickers off of components). I tend to use it for the bulk of board cleaning/refurbishing projects but if you want to be more gentle in sensitive areas use wick lighter fluid (Zippo-type). It evaporates quickly and let's you do fine detail work w/ a q-tip (on caps, transistors, etc.). Water is OK for the case but I'd would go with one of the other two options for the crowded areas of the board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSTMIZR Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Oh yeah, regardless of how you do it allow ample dry time (water=2days, IPA=1day, LF=1/2hr) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaStaMooN Posted April 13, 2007 Author Share Posted April 13, 2007 Regular Lighter Fluid is better to use than IPA? And when you say semiconductors.. your talking about anything thats soldered on the board itself right? Caps, Transistors, diodes, etc...? And it looks like no matter what I use, as long as I let it dry for long enough, no damage can be done? I wont be throwing it in bathtub or dishwasher or anything, but is that the general way it works? as long as its dried out, the actual usage of water wont hurt anything as long as its long gone before you plug it in? Thanks for the replies! Jon - vBGarage Profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtwannabe Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Water is ok to use as long as you use compressed air to dry it fast! I repair TV's for a living and I use water to clean boards all the time. Just remove the board from the amp and run it under hot tap water. Use an old tooth brush to scrub the dirt from everything. just be carefull not to damage anything while scrubbing! If water doesn't cut it, you can use Simple Green to help clean the junk from the board. Depending on how long the smoke residue has been on there, it may be too late for it. If there is alot of corrosion on the board, it might be junk. Just make SURE you blow dry it right afer you wash it. BTW Nice amp! (I have the same amp in my car.) Hope you can fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSTMIZR Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Regular Lighter Fluid is better to use than IPA? And when you say semiconductors.. your talking about anything thats soldered on the board itself right? Caps, Transistors, diodes, etc...? And it looks like no matter what I use, as long as I let it dry for long enough, no damage can be done? I wont be throwing it in bathtub or dishwasher or anything, but is that the general way it works? as long as its dried out, the actual usage of water wont hurt anything as long as its long gone before you plug it in? Thanks for the replies! Lighter Fluid (Not for BBQ, but for zippos only) is more gentle than IPA and is actually double-billed on the bottle for removing grease, oil, tar, etc. (Also works great for cleaning CD/DVD laser eyes which is often the problem when one doesn't work) Yes, by semicondutors I mean electronic components in general (soldered to board or otherwise). I try to clean boards in a more sensitive manner than running it under the tap and using a toothbrush (TVs are big so that might work). But, I do agree that gently drying it if you use water is a good idea and will avoid oxidation or hidden puddles. When it comes to an amp I would be careful, they have delicate components and solder points. If the amp is older, the heating cycle (on,of,on,off etc.) can cause fragility. So, more important than your solvent (water, IPA, or LF) is your method. Better safe than sorry . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalac Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Water wont hurt anything unless you turn it on while its wet. The problem is, is that when you clean products with water if they arent left to dry completely (could take several days) then when you turn it back on it can short out traces, etc. Not just that, but depending on the part of the country he lives in and the type of water he's using he's not getting only H20, but bunhc of traces of minerals, salts, chlorine and all sorts of stuff that might dry off and leave a small film that might conduct or corrode the metals on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosco Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 isn't lighter fluid just naphtha? bosco naphtha |ˈnafθə; ˈnap-| noun Chemistry a flammable oil containing various hydrocarbons, obtained by the dry distillation of organic substances such as coal, shale, or petroleum. Stay Stock Stay Happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSTMIZR Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 isn't lighter fluid just naphtha? bosco naphtha |ˈnafθə; ˈnap-| noun Chemistry a flammable oil containing various hydrocarbons, obtained by the dry distillation of organic substances such as coal, shale, or petroleum. Basically yes, with small quantities of other stuff. It's a by-product of gasoline, and other refinery processes, and contains the higher molecular weight (longer) hydrocarbons. Naphtha is also popular as a starting reagent in the Chemical Industry. Some solvents will work better in certain applications. Like when cleaning tough acrylic marks you shouldn't use Isopropyl Alcohol, instead you would use, say, kerosene. Naphtha also works well in small areas like the CD/DVD laser eye (cleans and polishes ). For a heavy-duty job like this you might need all three, water, IPA and Naphtha. Good luck, hope it works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaStaMooN Posted April 13, 2007 Author Share Posted April 13, 2007 Hmm.. so many options.. I guess I will open up the amp and see what Im working with. I hope it isnt too late, but the amp was in a different room so it might not be to bad. Maybe Ill get some pictures here and post them up and page all of you to come back and take a look and give me your 'professional' opinions! Thanks! Jon - vBGarage Profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 i believe http://www.radioshack.com has a spray cleaner. bosco spray cleaner with a brush attachment. I had a Phoenix Gold crossover frozen in muddy water in my car after a flood. I took it out, removed the circuit board, ran it through the dishwasher, let it dry under a heatlamp for a week, then did a final clean with the Rat Shack cleaner. It went in the replacement car for another ten years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSTMIZR Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Maybe Ill get some pictures here and post them up and page all of you to come back and take a look and give me your 'professional' opinions! Anytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaStaMooN Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 Well today I took a stab at cleaning the amp up. The case was very nasty... didn't smell anymore which is a good thing, but the black crap was still all over it and very tacky. So first thing I did was pop the case open (about 8 screws)... Once I got the top off, I removed the circuit board from the bottom case. I took the top and bottom cases and washed them really good in the bathtub and let dry for a few hours. You should have seen the water, ick. Next I got some paper towels and q-tips and went to work on the circuit board. Luckly enough, the way this amp is set up... there are 2 chambers... the part with the fan and a bunch of castle heat sinks were chambered off from the rest of the circuit board. This part was a mess, but not nearly what I thought it would be. The other chamber that housed most of the circuits and such was pretty clean. I had to scrub the fan and heat sinks down pretty good, but only really had to lightly touch up the other side. I'm mad I didn't take pictures of the process, but once I get going, I hate to stop and take pictures. But to the people who posted here, it seems like this would be like watching paint dry anyway. I let the parts sit out for an hr or so and put everything back together. It actually went very smoothly! I'm not going to be installing this for awhile so ill continue to let it 'dry' till then. I used 91% IPA and only used a smudge... Don't think ill have any problems. It was kind of annoying as it dried while I was working, so I had to double a lot of the work up to make sure I got everything. Thanks everybody for posting here.. You were a very big help! Jon - vBGarage Profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaStaMooN Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 BTW, gtwannabe where do you have your zx600ti mounted? Im thinking of mounting it on the backseat but want to hide the wires somehow. Any pictures? Jon - vBGarage Profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Nothing wrong with cleaning PCB with water. We did that all the time to get rid of flux. Another place I worked at which made broadcast equipment, we usually ran the $10,000 PCB in the dish washer to clean the flux off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtwannabe Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 I have my amp mounted in the spare tire well. I took out the foam tray and cut a piece of plywood covered with black carpet to mount the amp to. I put quick connects on all the wires, that way if I need the spare I just unplug and lift out the amp. Sorry no pix, I don't have a digital cam yet. Good luck with your amp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levish Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 there are products called electrical contact cleaner and pcb cleaner, both carried by McMaster.com, makes short work and dries up a lot faster than water and supposedly doesn't leave any deposits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinlsb Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 i believe http://www.radioshack.com has a spray cleaner. bosco Listen to Bosco!!!!!!!! "Belief does not make truth. Evidence makes truth. And belief does not make evidence." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B. Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 In Dec'04, I had a pretty big house fire... The fire didnt destroy everything, but left everything inside with a nice black coating of nasty, sticky, smelly gunk on it. Included in this was my Pheonix Gold Zx600ti amplifier that I had recently removed from a car I sold and was planning on installing in the LGT which I got a month earlier. I want to reinstall this soon, but want to clean it up before hand. I know water and circuit boards are a no-no, so I need something I can use to spray on and try and clean the board off inside the amp. As you can see in the picture, its not a normal enclosed amp, it has a built in fan and other openings so all the crap got right in there. http://images.cardomain.net/products/pho/PHOTI6002_1.jpg So im not really sure where to go. Looks like these are fairly cheap nowadays compared to when I bought it 5 years ago, but would rather spend some time cleaning it up than buying something new. Especially since im already spending an arm and a leg for a simple system install. Anybody know of any spray on type electronics cleaner that wont destroy any of the diodes, chips, capacitors, etc... that are all over this board? Thanks! muahhaha...at work we use "flux off". our equipment is faa certified. https://www.tselectronic.com/chemtronics/es1035.html?tse_Session=3118d8020dedb3ba056f8746f272fc1d get the top notch isopropl. iirc 99% or something like that. the store stuff is junk in comparison. some cleaning brushes. actually, technically, you could dishwasher it. not sure how those chemicals would rinse out though. one place i used to work at, we would use a special chemical in the dishwasher. forget this way though. flux-off is pretty good stuff. compressed air will help too. edit...oops. should have read all replies first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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