Electrical cleaner

[trent]

Does anybody know of a decent product that is safe to use to clean and lube electrical switches?

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Deoxit is a site favorite. Steve swore by it, and I have had great success with it.

 

[Cipher]

Does anybody know of a decent product that is safe to use to clean and lube electrical switches?

What are you cleaning? Is it micro circuitry a high end stereo POT?
Deoxit is overpriced if you just doing motorcycle switchgear.
Disassemble and us a mild metal cleaner like brasso. reassemble and hit use dielectric lightly on moving parts. Isopropyl alcohol on contact points after polishing.

 

[Suzukian]

Cleaners for audio potentiometers come with a dielectric grease some almost foam like, that suspend any carbon and take away any scratching. For those kind of switches, I use a good electronic board cleaner like "Sprayon", then use a Lubricant, almost any foaming brand will do. "Sprayon" leaves no residue when it dries. When I Kal-Guard Gun Kote my motorcycle cases, after glass bead blasting them, the "Sprayon" Brand circuit board was the only cleaner that left no residue, and the Gun-Kote bluing went on perfectly, with no swirl contamination marks. I had to bead blast the bottom case over because the cleaner left something behind. "Sprayon" brand was the only cleaner that worked, I used a dielectric cleaner that foamed for the Pots..

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

To be clear, I use the deoxit sparingly on the bike’s electrics. Typically, on any of the connectors on my bike, and I’ve cleaned every single one, depending on how green things were, I’d start with a schmeer of naval jelly, then water rinse. Sometimes sandpaper or dremel bit to clean if really cruddy. Or a dip in vinegar/salt, then neutralize with baking soda/water, then a water rinse. Then dry with compressed air, then spray with electrical contact cleaner, dry again but the contact cleaner will usually evaporate off. Then just a touch of the deoxit. I usually only use dialetric grease on the battery posts. Might be overkill, maybe not enough. Not very scientific of me, granted. But it works.

 

[Cipher]

To be clear, I use the deoxit sparingly on the bike’s electrics. Typically, on any of the connectors on my bike, and I’ve cleaned every single one, depending on how green things were, I’d start with a schmeer of naval jelly, then water rinse. Sometimes sandpaper or dremel bit to clean if really cruddy. Or a dip in vinegar/salt, then neutralize with baking soda/water, then a water rinse. Then dry with compressed air, then spray with electrical contact cleaner, dry again but the contact cleaner will usually evaporate off. Then just a touch of the deoxit. I usually only use dialetric grease on the battery posts. Might be overkill, maybe not enough. Not very scientific of me, grated. But it works.

The basscliff website had an article on a full harness clean. Using oxalic acid based wheel cleaner.
the connectors certainly need to be looked at on things as old as our bikes.

 

[trent]

Thanks for all responses, deoxit has been mentioned by friend, and another person told me to use deoxit F5 ???
thanks again

 

[Suzukian]

I am a big believer of using dielectric grease on all connectors. I work on British cars a lot, they actually use Brass spade connectors on their cars from the 1970's, and the patina rivaled the Statue of Liberty. The dielectric prevents electrolysis, yet the parts that are touching pass electricity just like they are supposed too. It removes the atmospheric element, like moisture, salt in the air, and prevents if from touching the connector and causing corrosion. I put that sh*t on everything!

 

[Nessism]

I am a big believer of using dielectric grease on all connectors. I work on British cars a lot, they actually use Brass spade connectors on their cars from the 1970's, and the patina rivaled the Statue of Liberty. The dielectric prevents electrolysis, yet the parts that are touching pass electricity just like they are supposed too. It removes the atmospheric element, like moisture, salt in the air, and prevents if from touching the connector and causing corrosion. I put that sh*t on everything!

You won't find grease in OEM car or motorcycle electrical connections. The grease itself isn't conductive, and can inhibit a good connection. Where it's useful, though, is in wet areas. It's often used in car lock harness connections inside the door, which is a "wet" area, since water flows though the door.

 

[Suzukian]

Metal touching Metal will not be affected by dielectric grease. It will keep moisture from affecting any area of any connection. A bad connection will affect current flow, but not dielectric grease. I guess you haven't worked on British cars much. Notice, I do not say "grease" as some grease will conduct electricity. Regular grease could cause a conductive situation, which again, is why I stress Dielectric grease. That will never inhibit a good connection and will help it last for the lifetime of the vehicle. Read the posts the way I write them. When you write "grease" can inhibit a good connection", that statement has absolutely nothing to do with what I have posted, adds confusion, because you did not clarify yourself, and did not, or chose to, ignore what I was writing. Have you never used shrink tubing that comes with dielectric epoxy inside the connection? Hmmm? I guess not.

 

[Cipher]

Metal touching Metal will not be affected by dielectric grease. It will keep moisture from affecting any area of any connection. A bad connection will affect current flow, but not dielectric grease. I guess you haven't worked on British cars much. Notice, I do not say "grease" as some grease will conduct electricity. Regular grease could cause a conductive situation, which again, is why I stress Dielectric grease. That will never inhibit a good connection and will help it last for the lifetime of the vehicle. Read the posts the way I write them. When you write "grease" can inhibit a good connection", that statement has absolutely nothing to do with what I have posted, adds confusion, because you did not clarify yourself, and did not, or chose to, ignore what I was writing. Have you never used shrink tubing that comes with dielectric epoxy inside the connection? Hmmm? I guess not.

Dielectric grease inhibits current flow. It nullifies switch contacts. Forms verdigris on some metals.
You are as wrong as you are self righteous.

 

[Suzukian]

You have absolutely no idea of what you are commenting on. All chemicals have application charts, that's why you are supposed to READ THEM. From within the context of what we were commenting on, you are wrong. Not only are you not right, but you are wrong. Having worked on aircraft for years, I can tell you where you should and should not use a dielectric grease, however, that is outside the span of the conversation, and your comment is wrong. If you had quoted the particular places, then you would have realized they were not relevant.

"It nullifies switch contacts".......HaHaHa!! You are wrong. "Dielectric grease inhibits current flow ".Yes!, that's what prevents moisture and other elements as acting as a catalyst to produce verdigris!!

Please, next time you work on something electronic, God forbid for someone else, tell them your comments, especially is they are an Electronic Engineer. People deserve a good laugh every once in a while. I stand by what I posted in the context of the conversation. Unbelievable.

 

[trent]

Dielectric grease inhibits current flow. It nullifies switch contacts. Forms verdigris on some metals.
You are as wrong as you are self righteous.

WOW!!!
Interesting topic to look into all on its own.

I've used the stuff before but very lightly,

I bought a 81 Honda cb650 in very rough shape, it had sat outside leaning up against a tree.
It had charging issues and mucked up carbs.

Found out one of its previous owners loved dielectric grease, headlight, taillight and turn signal bulbs all had dielectric grease oozing from sockets, along with several connectors.

 

[Suzukian]

Bet you they (the bulbs and connectors) came out easy. Dielectric grease should not be used above 380 degrees F, but there are some that are made to take that. Being silicon based, it should not be used in Pin Connectors, like in aircraft that have those connectors with 30 or so pins sticking out, as some are silicon based and can break down the connector. There are very specific cases, but none that apple to connectors on motorcycles. You obviously wouldn't cover points with them, as that would be like putting an insulator over the points. They can be used on Spark plug boots, makes them easier to remove.

There really isn't much to research on dielectric great when it comes to motorcycles. If you are going into the Aerospace industry, different story. It does not form verdigris ( a patina) though. You won't find anything that even suggests that, quite the opposite. This is one paper, if ready wrong, would make one come to the wrong conclusion, but they were referring to the make up of the compound, which allowed current to pass as it had superfine metallic power in it, and that was at 500 degrees.

I am a State of Connecticut certified licensed electronic technician. I had a T.V. and Audio repair shop for over 10 years. People on this forum make outrageous statements, even a couple in this thread, who after researching what I said realized his statement was wrong. I respect this particular person as he has much knowledge, but is not correct about a good electronic connection and dielectric great affecting it. That is just plain wrong. Look that up, and you will find too many to count statements saying that concept is wrong.

I do get overzealous when I read hogwash as being something you should drink.

 

[bwringer]

You seem a little tense.

 

[Cipher]

Bet you they (the bulbs and connectors) came out easy. Dielectric grease should not be used above 380 degrees F, but there are some that are made to take that. Being silicon based, it should not be used in Pin Connectors, like in aircraft that have those connectors with 30 or so pins sticking out, as some are silicon based and can break down the connector. There are very specific cases, but none that apple to connectors on motorcycles. You obviously wouldn't cover points with them, as that would be like putting an insulator over the points. They can be used on Spark plug boots, makes them easier to remove.

There really isn't much to research on dielectric great when it comes to motorcycles. If you are going into the Aerospace industry, different story. It does not form verdigris ( a patina) though. You won't find anything that even suggests that, quite the opposite. This is one paper, if ready wrong, would make one come to the wrong conclusion, but they were referring to the make up of the compound, which allowed current to pass as it had superfine metallic power in it, and that was at 500 degrees.

I am a State of Connecticut certified licensed electronic technician. I had a T.V. and Audio repair shop for over 10 years. People on this forum make outrageous statements, even a couple in this thread, who after researching what I said realized his statement was wrong. I respect this particular person as he has much knowledge, but is not correct about a good electronic connection and dielectric great affecting it. That is just plain wrong. Look that up, and you will find too many to count statements saying that concept is wrong.

I do get overzealous when I read hogwash as being something you should drink.

You're a clearly unstable.

 

[Suzukian]

You're a clearly unstable.

You can't back up your statements. You're unbalanced. Quiescing​ with bit and pieces of bad information unable, to put together a proper response. So you idle on, having reached the limits of your knowledge, can't power up, as there is nothing too amp up on. You can only cast slings and arrows. "With much knowledge comes much sorrow"... You must be one happy person. You shouldn't reply to threads that are above your pay grade.

 

[Grimly]

A couple of years ago I made my own De-oxit from the original formula, which was simply Oleic Acid in a carrier solvent.
It works well and costs next to nothing.

 

[LAB3]

Every now and again I drop by to see if there's a question I might be able to help answering. Almost invariably I run across a thread like this one, good answers followed up with a barrage of replies that serve no other purpose than for people to prove to themselves they know something while simultaneously proving to everyone else how much they truly don't know.

I'm glad I'm on an XS1100 these days, that crowd seems to be mature enough to accept what they don't know thereby leaving speculation and rabbit hole diving out of the mix.

But anyway, I digest. How do I clean a switch? I take it apart, dip the parts in salt and let Deer lick them clean.

 

[trent]

Every now and again I drop by to see if there's a question I might be able to help answering. Almost invariably I run across a thread like this one, good answers followed up with a barrage of replies that serve no other purpose than for people to prove to themselves they know something while simultaneously proving to everyone else how much they truly don't know.

I'm glad I'm on an XS1100 these days, that crowd seems to be mature enough to accept what they don't know thereby leaving speculation and rabbit hole diving out of the mix.

But anyway, I digest. How do I clean a switch? I take it apart, dip the parts in salt and let Deer lick them clean.

Nice to see you back.

My friends dad had an ole xs1100 with a fairing, bags...stashed in his garage for years

We got got it running, put tires on it. That thing would MOVE...LOL