A Simple Fix for Most Electrical Problems—Clean Contacts
Whether automotive or home, many problems are nothing more than a buildup of oxidation, and therefore contract resistance, on what should be a conducting connection between two electrical connectors. You get this a lot with switches , particularly when they aren’t used frequently.
A few years back, I was visiting my significant other’s family at their home. They had a light that didn’t work well in a storage shed. I flipped the switch a hundred times and Presto! There was light! The abrasion from flipping the switch a hundred times cleaned the contacts of oxidation enough for a decent electrical connection.
I drive an 85 Jaguar XJ6. Jaguar was already known for flaky electricals when it came out, and now the car is 25 years old. I’ve been getting a lot of electrical gremlins, so I just went around cleaning ground straps. A dead headlight came back to life. So did the automatic electric lock on the trunk.
Little wire brushes, rusted screw remover spray, and electrical contact cleaner. The same thing often works with electronics as well. Electrical boards build up oxidation and contact resistance too. Take the boards out of their slots. Clean with contact cleaner, or very gently with fine sandpaper. Reseat board. I’ve fixed a few things with nothing more than that.
A bonus trick—zap any metal gears and moving parts in an open air mechanical gizmo with the rusted screw remover spray, work the part for a while, spray again, and work again. That can remove a lot of the binding of the parts, and make them much easier to move. Top it off with some silicone spray, and you can have an entirely new device. This is what got the trunk lock working again.
A Simple Fix for Most Electrical Problems—Clean Contacts
Whether automotive or home, many problems are nothing more than a buildup of oxidation, and therefore contract resistance, on what should be a conducting connection between two electrical connectors. You get this a lot with switches , particularly when they aren’t used frequently.
A few years back, I was visiting my significant other’s family at their home. They had a light that didn’t work well in a storage shed. I flipped the switch a hundred times and Presto! There was light! The abrasion from flipping the switch a hundred times cleaned the contacts of oxidation enough for a decent electrical connection.
I drive an 85 Jaguar XJ6. Jaguar was already known for flaky electricals when it came out, and now the car is 25 years old. I’ve been getting a lot of electrical gremlins, so I just went around cleaning ground straps. A dead headlight came back to life. So did the automatic electric lock on the trunk.
Little wire brushes, rusted screw remover spray, and electrical contact cleaner. The same thing often works with electronics as well. Electrical boards build up oxidation and contact resistance too. Take the boards out of their slots. Clean with contact cleaner, or very gently with fine sandpaper. Reseat board. I’ve fixed a few things with nothing more than that.
A bonus trick—zap any metal gears and moving parts in an open air mechanical gizmo with the rusted screw remover spray, work the part for a while, spray again, and work again. That can remove a lot of the binding of the parts, and make them much easier to move. Top it off with some silicone spray, and you can have an entirely new device. This is what got the trunk lock working again.
It’s amazing how many things you can fix by unscrewing them, taking them apart, looking at them, and then putting them back together.