24
Shoutout to the guy who pointed out I was cleaning sensor ribbons wrong
I spent 5 years using isopropyl alcohol on those flat flex ribbons, thinking I was being careful. A retired tech at a shop in Phoenix saw me do it and said 'you're turning those traces brittle, use a dry wipe.' Has anyone else found out they were stripping contacts down the road and just lived with the damage?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
drew9651mo ago
you're turning those traces brittle" that hit home. I used canned air on a laptop fan once and didnt realize it was blasting moisture into the board. Wiped it off and thought I was fine but six months later the system started acting up. Corrosion crept in under the chipset. Ended up having to replace the whole board. Still annoyed at myself for that one.
2
patriciap521mo ago
Read somewhere that canned air is basically just difluoroethane which freezes on contact and traps moisture when it thaws. Even wiping it off doesn't get all of it because the cold makes it sink into tiny gaps around components. That chipset corrosion sounds brutal but at least you know now not to trust that quick clean trick.
2
brian_ramirez1mo ago
Blew up a car stereo doing the same thing. Was cleaning dust off the amp board with canned air and accidentally tipped it. All that freezing liquid sprayed straight onto the power terminals. It worked fine for a month then started cutting out randomly. Pulled the board and saw green corrosion eating away at the solder joints around where the liquid hit. Had to scrap the whole unit because it had spread under some surface mount stuff I couldn't get to. Now I just use a soft brush and compressed air from a distance.
1