Hi, all. I have a problem cleaning a multiple pin connector on my Volvo. The connector is situated in the front passenger door and is known for attracting corrosion. I cleaned the pins with a small wire brush on my Dremel tool, but the pins are very small in diameter, maybe 1/32"?? and I can't find a way to clean out the sockets. I've blasted them with contact cleaner and it has helped, but not done the job. The only thing I can think of is using a thick needle (a bodkin?) with some rubbing compound on it, but don't know if it would work, and I don't want to screw up the connector. Any ideas? TIA, Tony
I don't know of any easy way to clean the female part of the connector either. When they get troublesome I just replace the entire connector. Once you get them clean or use new connectors put some dielectric grease on the pins before snapping them together. It won't clean dirty connectors but it keep clean ones from corroding. They make tools for rebuilding pin connector plugs but you'd have to either be rebuilding an entire harness or doing it often to justify the cost. New connectors aren't very expensive and worth it rather than dealing with never ending bad connections. New connectors and properly greased upon assembly will be trouble free for years and years.
Be careful with some of them contact cleaners they can eat at the plastic. Hardens it up and may crack on you later. I have something at home "non-aerosol" so you can just pump it in and seepy anough to get inside anything. And as advertised cleans all the corrosion and lubes. Gotta like marine rated products with other conveyances on the label. Such as cars, planes and motorcycles. My Google isn't good here.....called Corrosion Block
In many years of use on computers and old motorcycles there has never been an issue, for me, with plastic. However... http://store.caig.com/s.nl/ctype.KB/it.I/id.1950/KB.215/.f Can DeoxIT® D5 Cause Cracking of Plastic Surfaces? I am a professional technician, and I experienced problems recently while cleaning circuit board connectors on a piece of equipment. I have always used DeoxIT® D5 on. The plastic immediately turned brittle and began cracking when the boards were reinserted. Is this due to a change in formula? I see you have a new DeoxIT DN5S-6N rated as safe for plastics. Is this as effective in cleaning as the old D5 formula? Thank you. B. Holinaty ..... The particular problem youre referencing comes up every once in a while in the serving of vintage equipment; and the source of the issue is from the plastic itself. Over time, all plastics degrade to some extent, and when solvent comes in contact with it, there's a reaction. This doesn't happen with all older/vintage plastics, so it is possible that the type of plastic used in the first place is suspect. There are also non-age related issues with plastic that has been processed recently, due to inferior quality. Therefore, the recommendation when repairing "older" equipment, in particular, would be to apply the DeoxIT® D5 to one surface, and make sure there's no problem with the introduction of solvent to the plastic. If there does happen to be an adverse reaction, use the DeoxIT® (*D100S-2), 100% spray, which has no solvent, or the DeoxIT® DN5 (DN5S-6N; DN5MS-15), which is non-flammable, non-drip, and safe on plastics. The difference between the original DeoxIT® D5 and the DeoxIT® DN5 is the carrier solvent. Since the DN5 carrier solvent evaporates almost instantly, there is virtually no surface flushing that takes place, however, the chemical action remains the same, and the additional benefits make it appealing. *When using 100% solutions, remember to wipe off any excess product with a clean lint free swab or cloth.*
Thanks for all the replies. Following the DeOxit thread I also learned of a Canadian product called Nu-Trol (?). Now I just need to track one of these down in small town Ontario. Cheers, and thanks, Tony
MG Chemicals.... Very good Canadian products. Now where did I buy their conformal coating??? Most probably a dedicated electronics store. Other than that I usually shop at commercial fishermen supply stores for most of them chemicals. May not help you in Ontario less you are close to the lakes. Check Lloyds Laboratories (Ontario) for similar products,they may have something, also very good Canadian products.
The act of unplugging and replugging will clear a lot. I don't use chemical cleaners much at all- but they are good for washing away loose mat'l that you can't get gravity to move, but then compressed air will do the same. If things are really to the point that you have to drag out the power tools, maybe you should consider replacing the pins and sockets. If this connector is opened often, the sockets loosen up over many such cycles. Regardless I always use dielectric grease when closing up
Been using Nu-Trol for 30+years. Excellent product. Great B.C. company. http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/cleaners/contact-cleaners/nu-trol-control-cleaner-401b/ And if you want to replate the tin coating on the pins: http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/prototyping-and-circuit-repair/prototyping/liquid-tin-421/ Note: the pins must be clean of corrosion for this product to adhere properly.
Hum...you are sending me shopping. Glad I worked some overtime recently. Yep went in the MG Chemicals website and the distributor in K-town is the same I use in Victoria under a different name. But I am done with work on the coast soon and was looking for a good electronics supply place in the interior. And now I also have to check my contact cleaner....MG Chemicals but possibly the wrong one. Found that out when cleaning my Odissey battery and wiping with a kleenex that the orange plastic was sticky.
Just had to clean out small connections on a multi-pin connector on my Yamaha outboard -- this worked well on the female contacts: Get a piece of good quality (3M) 800+ grit wet sand paper. Cut off a piece about 1" x 1/4". Roll it on itself along the 1" side with your fingers. Now you have a 1" long tiny abrasive shaft that will fit in the female contact. Insert and spin around in the contact. When it gets dirty, turn it over and use the other end. Repeat. Adjust the size of the subsequent tiny pieces to meet the needs of your contacts: larger or smaller than 1/4" depending on the size of the contacts being cleaned. Use your compressed air/your favorite contact cleaner to flush/wash as needed. Once cleaned, of course, use grease to protect the connections from future oxidation. Good luck.
One of the problems with the Molex and similar connectors is that the pins are always made of some cheap 'tin' material. Some of the better ones are made with either zinc or even silver plating. But, take note that one company solved this problem many years back. Motorola! Unlike all the other connectors on the market, Motorola started using gold plating on their connectors during the early 40's. They still do to this date. Take a look at any radio connector on their two-way radios. They are all gold plated. Gold does not oxidize as does tin, silver, and even zinc. Just look at pictures taken of the many sunken treasures where gold coins were found. They are the only part of all the treasures ever found that have never tarnished or oxidized. Some were covered with a black coating, but that merely 'wiped' off the gold to show the shine again. Where one can buy new pins from Motorola, and others with the gold plating, they can be pricey. When you can, find old Motorola products that have similar connectors to what you need, and remove those to change yours. If you do that you will never again have a problem with such tarnish or oxidizing as you do with everything else. We have always had problems with this in all the GE, RCA, and every other mobile radio installed equipment as none go the trouble, and expense of gold plating their connectors. Radio Shack, GC Electronics and other suppliers do have some good control cleaners, but many times you still must use a cotton swab, very fine 'Wet-O-Dry' sandpaper, or even a burnishing rod to help clean the contact pins and receptacles to a completely clean surface. Petroleum jelly, or dielectric grease is still a must afterward. Dave.
Spraying the female side then pluging and unpluging the male connector several times works if it is not highly oxidized. Then a blast of compressed air to dry it followed by dielectric grease. This has worked well for me many times over the years, back as far as when TVs had tubes anyway.
Any type of 'work' in cleaning contacts or plug pins/ connectors is always a help. However, the little extra work to convert those plugs/ connectors, etc to the Motorola gold plugs/ connectors means that you will never have to do it again .... ever! I have one old Motorola 'Coffin' radio that did not use the gold at that time. It is always a chore to have to clean the connectors. However, by the time of the old Motorola 5V model radios, and the 41V radios (both the old vibrator models in 6V or 12V) the company had dramatically changed the styles of their radios, but still used the silver contact plugs/ pins, etc. The company changed to the gold for their pins and connectors in the late 1950's. Those old units from the late 50's still never have to have the connectors cleaned, even if they have not been in use for many years. While Motorola used the gold for the control cable connectors they still had not changed the large, rectangular power connector that still used the silver blade type connectors. With the advent of the lower current drain of modern power supplies and semi-conductor devices they changed to gold on all of their electrical connections. This began in late 50's and early 60's radios. We always have problems with the Molex type connectors that use the silver, or cheaper plugs and connectors. Those always will corrode, or oxidize with or without use. A good gold plate on them can also solve this problem. Anyone into a little electroplating? Dave.
Bring up an old thread: Just wondering if there's any new ideas for cleaning these buggers....? Thanks, BR
