Fogey1

+1. I have applied De-Oxit to a severely corroded (green stuff) prong and set it aside on the bench for 10-15 minutes and the green was gone. I applied a little more and left it overnight and had a clean, shiny connector in the morning.

Spendy product - worth every penny.

I have the greatest respect for Dave but I can't imagine what harm De-Oxit wicking into the harness would do. Therefore, until problems are anecdotal rather than speculative, I wouldn't hesitate. I have wondered whether a De-Oxit bath would fix a corroded ground cable within its sheath but, since that would be more $$$ tham buying a new one ...

Manfred

Thanks again everyone. I think I'll get some deoxit ordered since my fuses do have a lot of green powder accumulated around the connectors. I guess since I have the board out I want to do the best job I can. I don't want to abraid the coating off the connectors with a file if that's just gonna lead to faster corrosion in the future.

Can't wait to put it all back together and test the results.

PS thanks Wally for letting me know that the heat marks just signify a connection issue.


Dan

SharkSkin

The DeOxit folks won't say what's in their products, but many contact cleaners contain an acid of some sort to remove oxidation, usually oleic acid. Am I being too cautious? Maybe. Maybe not. I'll let others find out for certain.

Manfred

Well, weighing the potential pros and cons, I went with the Deoxit. Theoretical problems with the Deoxit, known problems with abrasives on the contacts.

I know other people have raised concerns about using Deoxit and then following with Stabilant22--is it OK to mix them, etc. We'll find out 'cause that's what I'm doing. Sprayed a small amount of Deoxit on each fuse connection tonight. I'm letting sit over night and then I'll hit it briefly with a hair dryer tomorrow to make sure all wetness is gone. Then I'm coating my new fuses and relays with Stabilant22 and putting them in.

Podguy

De Ox It is a miracle product. It will make window and seat switches work with a single spray. After I have never had one fail.

Mrmerlin

this has not been mentioned,
but any relay thats corroded should be opened and the contacts cleaned inside or replace the relay

Manfred

Hey Merlin, I'm basically doing a full scale change over on the fuses and relays. I did elect to not change some of the more expensive/less critical relays where I wasn't having a problem (horns, windshield washers, interference suppressor) but all the important relays for normal operation are brand new and I'm putting new fuses in across the board.

Dan

Alan

I think the use of DeOxit from the rear of the panel draining through the front is probably your best shot here for relay terminals (so panel needs to be out) Of course this doesn't work on the fuses or the loom connectors - those need to be from the front. Using files on any of these these contacts is quite risky - if they end up loose - its as bad as being corroded. After sitting - I'd flush with contact cleaner, dry in cool airflow and then maybe consider stabilant as a final step. These modular CE panels can be dissassembled by blocks - each fuse block, relay block and loom contact block can be removed seperately. However dissassembly is not recommended for preventative maintenance - you WILL damage things by dismantling - and spares are hard to come by. Not all years are the same wrt fuse blocks - which are NOT interchangeable by block numbers (yes they look exactly the same except the numbers - but they are not).

It is quite hard to remove relay sockets - you need special tools to release the relay block fronts which come out the front then release the main block that goes out the back - then you can release the terminals which require different special tools and the terminals themselves are special hard to find parts (special order in advance) - they cannot be tightened & must be replaced if too damaged just to clean.

Fuse blocks are removeable and then the front of the fuse block is removable to expose the internal female blade contacts. Dismantling fuse blocks this far usually damages about 50% - I have made tools to do this and 50% is using these tools.... the plastic gets brittle and the blocks were not really designed to be dissassembled. Internaly to the blocks there are busbars on the input side bridging various configs by year... if the terminals are loose they'll probably need to be replaced...

I also don't recommend using contact files agressively with relay switching contacts - hard cardboard is more suitable to burnish the contacts - once you lose the plating layer these contacts deteriorate very quickly after a full cleaning - not very useful.

Alan

Manfred

Thanks everyone. Basically I simply sprayed a small amount of Deoxit through the front of the board on the fuse blocks and on the relays. I let that sit about 12hrs and then hit it with hair dryer to try to dry it out a little more. I then painted all the surfaces of my new fuses and relays with Stabiliant and plugged them in. I then painted the male prongs on the lower set of connections (not sure what these are called--the ones that are marked with letters and are also color coded) with Stabilant and reinstalled the board. I also painted the CE power supply and grounds with Stabilant before reconnecting.

The car started right up and all electrical systems tested fine. A short test drive around the neighborhood didn't turn up anything wrong or necessarily better--to soon to say overall. In any case, I didn't break anything and the car didn't burn to the ground in the garage, so I'm pretty happy.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in.
Dan

WallyP

That is a good start...

Now, on to the 14-pin connector and the jump start terminal, then the battery connections and the connectors in the spare tire well, then the Central Warning computer connections, then the connectors for the brake pads/ABS circuits, then the lighting circuits, the instrument pod...

Landseer

Good tips on the chemical cleaners.

BTW, the connectors are solid brass, not plated and can be mechanically polished to the degree they are accessible.

Manfred

Wally, stop giving me ideas before I end up divorced!

Actually, I do need to hit the 14pin connector. I've already done the battery/spare tire well connections. Don't know how to do the Central Warning connections, can't possibly be bothered with taking apart the pod unless something stops working....


Dan

Alan

The plating I was referring to is not on the connectors but on the relay switching contacts... I updated my post to make that a little clearer...

BTW mechanical polishing is one thing - grinding away material with a file needs to be done very carefully - a high likelihood of loosening the connector significantly = bad.

Alan

Landseer

Understood, thanks Alan.