Had a stubborn LRU on a Garmin G500 system fail a self-test in Denver last month

Turns out a tiny bit of corrosion on the backplane connector pins was the culprit, cleaned it with a fiberglass pen and it passed. What's your go-to method for cleaning those hard-to-reach contacts?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliver_ross82mo ago

Try a tiny drop of deoxit on a q-tip, then wipe it clean. The fiberglass pen is great but sometimes you need that chemical clean for the really thin film you can't see.

brookefox2mo ago

My old Walkman had that same invisible film issue.

brookethomas21d ago

Oh the invisible film thing is real. But honestly I gotta push back a little on the deoxit for backplane pins specifically. That stuff works great on pots and switches but on those tight connector pins it can leave a residue that actually attracts more dust and grime over time. I've seen it cause intermittent issues weeks later on bench tests. Fiberglass pen is the right call for the heavy stuff, then hit it with 99% isopropyl alcohol on a lint free swab to get the residue and any loose particles out. The alcohol evaporates clean and leaves nothing behind. Just make sure you give it a good dry time before powering up.