TECH GURU's out there, how to clean Circuit Board?


Looks like something has spilled onto the Circuit board. Older Rotel amp, there some greasy stuff and cat hair all over the internal board, very dirty and grimy.....

How do I clean this up, works perfectly but I believe its not a healthy thing, I am a tech oriented guy so I need instructions, like what can I use to clean, solution or anything? brush and what should I avoid doing.

Thanks for your help
rapogee
well, 1st unplug from the wall. ensure that the power supply caps are discharged before you stick your hand inside the chassis.
best would be if you can disassemble the portion of the amp that needs cleaning. this way you can conveniently handle the PCB outside the chassis.
use alcohol - the 90% type you can get at a drug store - to clean the mess.
Chemtronix makes a can of a fluid called "Flux-Off" that is water soluble. You can spray this on the PCB & then remove the residue w/ alcohol.
Hooe that this helps.
Thank you very much, the Chemtronis and the Alcohol,they wont damaga the board correct? I am thinking I can remove any parts from the board so I might use a small brush and dip and clean kind a thing, would that work?

Thank you

Rapogee
If it aint broke ......

I would take the lid off, go outside and use a can of compressed air to blast off the excess dust and hair. The only reason I would do this is to ensure good air circulation inside the amp and prevent fires. IF you're very careful you could use a vacuum cleaner.

I would not clean the PCB, certainly not with 90% alcohol (the other 10% is water). If the PCB is working then it doesn't need cleaning.
Seandtaylor99,

perhaps you did not read Rapogee's original post correctly. I cut & pasted here: "Older Rotel amp, there some greasy stuff and cat hair all over the internal board, very dirty and grimy....."

greasy stuff will not be blasted off by compressed air. In fact, if the greasy stuff is at all mobile, compressed air will splatter it farther & wider creating an even bigger issue in other parts of the amp (that perhaps do not have issues so far)!

OTOH, Seandtaylor99, does bring up a good issue that the 90% alcohol does have 10% water in it. I can tell you that I have cleaned PCBs with this 90% alcohol before BUT..........I did use a hair-dryer to dry the PCB + I let the PCB air dry for atleast 24 hrs before I switched on the circuit.
Good catch Seandtaylor99! Otherwise, I would not have mentioned my hair-dryer routine! ;-)

Rapogee: the Chemtronix Flux-Off will not harm the PCB. I've used that chemical routinely to remove sticky/guey flux paste & fluid from PCBs. No harm has ever been done to the PCB.
Like I said above the alcohol will not harm the PCB either. However, make doubly sure that you dry the PCB (make that water evaporate) before you plug the PCB back into the Rotel amp.