CRC QD Electronic Cleaner. Works for me.
How To Safely Clean A Circuit Board
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Article in the Omaha World Herald this morning about how local farmers are more and more looking for seventies tractors because the newer ones are all electronic this and that and no one can work on them but the dealer. JD=$$$$, IH/Case=$$$$
Worked in electronic assembly part time during high school. Still remember the smell of alcohol from the tubs the circuit boards were soaking in.
Originally Posted by tcp71
A modern board with ball grid array ICs will not like water. It will trap water between the contacts under the chip. Ideally and ultrasonic cleaning bath, but if that isn't an option, place the board on a grounded mat, then flux remover spray or 97% isopropyl alcohol and a soft horsehair brush work your way through it. Then thoroughly flush with the same cleaner numerous times. Tracks of dirt or carbon can play havoc with data being transmitted around the board. Gently blow dry it with computer duster spray or ionized air.
I've cleaned quite a few PCBs with PGAs using water without issue. The two main things of importance are:
1) The final rinse needs to have a water-wetter to break surface tension. Alcohol in the water, or a rinse agent, or even a drop of dish detergent in the water will suffice. You don't want a large amount of water pooling and drying into more and more concentrated pools of acid, "if" it used acid flux. However in this topic's case, I see no such issues on that PCB.
2) The board must be completely dry before applying power again, meaning days of drying time or fan forced air (or an oven if this is an emergency). It is better to blow water out from under the chips as much as reasonably possible, just to prevent pooling rather than trying to get it completely dry at the start of the drying period. A thin film of low surface tension water shouldn't be a problem while it dries.
The real question is, is the board malfunctioning? If not then cleaning it may cause more harm than good. There's nothing on it that looks susceptible to overheating from a clog of debris on it, though I could see the debris acting like a sponge to hold water and increase contact corrosion.
I'd leave it alone or use contact cleaner on a cotton swap for the blade connector contacts and a dry paintbrush on the rest. It looks a bit like there is a piezo buzzer on the board so I would cover its hole with tape before using the paintbrush then take tape off when finished.
It does look like there are relays. I can't tell as definitively as another poster whether there is sufficient conformal coating to seal them but I would not use any kind of wet (water or alcohol or contact) cleaner if you are not certain the relays are sealed because any gunk that gets flushed inside could foul their contacts. On the other hand if you're on a quest/obsession, you could seal them yourself and accept that if any leak, you may need to desolder and replace them. I think I'd first look up their part #'s to make sure they are readily available, as every now and then a manufacturer will go out of their way to spec a specialized relay form factor (pinout) for no other reason than to try to force people to buy their expensive parts instead of DIY repair.
A modern board with ball grid array ICs will not like water. It will trap water between the contacts under the chip. Ideally and ultrasonic cleaning bath, but if that isn't an option, place the board on a grounded mat, then flux remover spray or 97% isopropyl alcohol and a soft horsehair brush work your way through it. Then thoroughly flush with the same cleaner numerous times. Tracks of dirt or carbon can play havoc with data being transmitted around the board. Gently blow dry it with computer duster spray or ionized air.
I've cleaned quite a few PCBs with PGAs using water without issue. The two main things of importance are:
1) The final rinse needs to have a water-wetter to break surface tension. Alcohol in the water, or a rinse agent, or even a drop of dish detergent in the water will suffice. You don't want a large amount of water pooling and drying into more and more concentrated pools of acid, "if" it used acid flux. However in this topic's case, I see no such issues on that PCB.
2) The board must be completely dry before applying power again, meaning days of drying time or fan forced air (or an oven if this is an emergency). It is better to blow water out from under the chips as much as reasonably possible, just to prevent pooling rather than trying to get it completely dry at the start of the drying period. A thin film of low surface tension water shouldn't be a problem while it dries.
The real question is, is the board malfunctioning? If not then cleaning it may cause more harm than good. There's nothing on it that looks susceptible to overheating from a clog of debris on it, though I could see the debris acting like a sponge to hold water and increase contact corrosion.
I'd leave it alone or use contact cleaner on a cotton swap for the blade connector contacts and a dry paintbrush on the rest. It looks a bit like there is a piezo buzzer on the board so I would cover its hole with tape before using the paintbrush then take tape off when finished.
It does look like there are relays. I can't tell as definitively as another poster whether there is sufficient conformal coating to seal them but I would not use any kind of wet (water or alcohol or contact) cleaner if you are not certain the relays are sealed because any gunk that gets flushed inside could foul their contacts. On the other hand if you're on a quest/obsession, you could seal them yourself and accept that if any leak, you may need to desolder and replace them. I think I'd first look up their part #'s to make sure they are readily available, as every now and then a manufacturer will go out of their way to spec a specialized relay form factor (pinout) for no other reason than to try to force people to buy their expensive parts instead of DIY repair.
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is it having any problems? If not, leave it be.
Originally Posted by blupupher
is it having any problems? If not, leave it be.
+1 Give it a brush with a dry paint brush and move forward .....
is it having any problems? If not, leave it be.
+1 Give it a brush with a dry paint brush and move forward .....
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