Help with cleaning small miltipin connectors.

Anyone have any ideas on how to remove silicon dielectric grease from small
multipin bike connectors? I'm looking for something that I can soak the
connector in or spray on (since the pins are too small to clean directly).
Thanks for any advice.

 

You can get electrical cleaner in aerosol. If you spray plenty on and blow
off with an air line, it should do the job.

JOhn

 

If this works, it would be wonderful. The general problem with many
silicon oils, greases and waxes are that they are very hard to get rid of.

I would try some real strong degreaser like CRC Industrial Cleaner
and / or special silicone remover for car paint repairs (used when the
owner has used a wax or polish with silicone).

After that, I'd use some light electric contact spray to prevent
corrosion.

 

Technical Grade A Isopropyl alcohol (99.9% pure)... Not the shit you
buy at the drug store, rather the good stuff we use in the electronics
world to clean up after soldering... It's a hell of a solvent, won't
harm de-energized electronics, and dries without a residue...

http://store.hvchemical.com/browse.cfm/4,102.htm

 

Hi John:

I tried that - hasn't really worked. The cleaner doesn't really remove much
of the silicon and the pin orifices (for lack of a better word) aren't
really big enough to get into in order to clean thoroughly.

 

Thanks for the suggestion Robert, but the connector, pins and pin holes are
much too small to permit the use of a tooth brush.

 

Hi P.jm:

I might have access to an ultrasonic cleaner - thanks for that suggestion.
Any suggestion on a cleaning fluid to use that will be hard on the gunk but
not on the connector or wiring?

 

Aren't you listening?

Technical Grade A Isopropyl alcohol (99.9% pure)... Not the shit you
buy at the drug store, rather the good stuff we use in the electronics
world to clean up after soldering... It's a hell of a solvent, won't
harm de-energized electronics, and dries without a residue...

http://store.hvchemical.com/browse.cfm/4,102.htm

 

The same thing is supposedly available for
de-icing fuel lines, at your local auto parts.

Hot, high-pressure water can do wonders,
as well.... take the bike to the car wash!

Your connectors may need to be retensed...
silicone grease is often spec'ed for lamp
base application, it's not supposed to be
bad for electrical connections, is it?
__
Steve
..

 

WRT the earlier post about it being burned up, that's a problem if
you've got arcing in your connector (which is bad anyway, but does
happen sometimes). Petroleum-based dielectric greases don't decompose to
silica, but to carbon (which can affect your connection too, but that's
another story).

The upshot is that so long as there's a quality metal-metal contact, you
should be fine. Anything else is begging for problems. That's why I cut
out the alternator-wiring harnness connector on my VFR and soldered the
junction. I never open that connector, and it doesn't need to be removed
for any purpose short of alternator or main harness removal, so the
quick-connect does me no good (versus the quick connect on my
turn-signals, which is quite handy when I remove a fairing). The OP
might, depending on the connection, consider omitting the quick-connect
(though if it's that small, I doubt this is going to be a favored
solution).

--
Later,
John



'indiana' is a 'nolnn' and 'hoosier' is a 'solkk'. Indiana doesn't solkk.

 

Hi Steve:

I thought it would be fine to use the stuff on connectors, but I've since
learned by doing some searching on line that over time the silicon can react
with metal to create some kind of oxide which acts as an insulator.