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Cleaning cat's piss from PCB.. cleaner recommendations please.

m32rob

m32rob

Member
My Sony AV receiver started intermittently playing up & eventually permanently refused to power on.

Some suspicious 'rust/corrosion' presented on the top (and underside) of the metal cover - strange as it had been hidden away in a (ground level) TV rack. I suspected a neighborhood cat had snuck in and marked its territory. (Fortunately ignored the EAR 509s next to it).

I pulled the top cover and found the standby PSU PCB - gave it a cursory spray with some Servisol Super 10 switch cleaner lubricant. Result - it now powers on - but only for a few seconds. Perhaps some organic matter contaminating PCB components or tracks...

Is there a better PCB solvent / cleaner I should be looking for? I have found Servisol IPA 170 & Deflux 160 - both look OK. What method ? Rub gently with a toothbrush?

Thanks for any wisdom.

Rob
 
What was above the Sony in the rack ?
I once had a Linn amp whose internal battery leaked over its innards and the units below it - the symptoms were as you describe so maybe something similar happened to yours ?
Unfortunately the amp was beyond repair.
 
PCBs all cleaned in IPA/De-ionised water 50/50 mix on the production line, with ESD brush carefully wielded for stubborn stuff if that didn't work.

Don't need anything harsher unless it's something odd, what Zippy suggested sounds more likely than a cat possibly?
 
I suspect your problems have nothing to do with the rust but just in case... Water, plenty of it. Take apart and put PCB in a bath and scrub it. Be sure that there is nothing on the board likely to be harmed by this! Preferably then IPA, and then dry out thoroughly. Cat piss is almost like Alien blood!! It will rust/corrode through metal even in no time....
 
If it is really cats piss, and you did not detect the smell before the failure, you will need to repair failed PCB tracks and components after thoroughly cleaning first. As Arkless says, cats piss will eat through tracks and components no problems once a bit of electrolysis is applied...I used to hate working on such affected equipment...cats love to curl up somewhere warm...and often like to piss in same place! Weird but true, you would not believe how many repairs were due to a cat pissing in a piece of electronics, nor the fecking smell as a result :)
 
A well directed jet can also “gum up” the CD drawer on a Linn Karik, and the buttons on a Meridian 201 & 204. :mad:

Not, I hasten to add, by the lady on the left...however her nephew is another matter!!!!!!
 
Had to replace our LCD telly after the cat had sprayed on it. A black cloud gradually grew up from the bottom of the screen. I blame the nature programmes he used to watch.

We keep the replacement telly covered with a rug now. Need to explain this when we have visitors!
 
Bloody hell, why would anyone have one of these unloving furry balls of hate? At least a dog will whine and let you know they need to go, after that it's on your own head, but this would get such an animal summarily ejected from the building never to return....SPCC shelter just up the hill.

Now I begin to understand how important the 'from a pet and smoke free home' bit of an advert really is.
 
it is well known that cats (and other animals) have far better hearing than us humans, so maybe the feline friends/enemies are trying to tell you something about your sound system? :p
 
JimmyB said:
Bloody hell, why would anyone have one of these unloving furry balls of hate? At least a dog will whine and let you know they need to go, after that it's on your own head, but this would get such an animal summarily ejected from the building never to return....SPCC shelter just up the hill.

Now I begin to understand how important the 'from a pet and smoke free home' bit of an advert really is.
Click to expand...
Pay your money, take your choice - a badly behaved dog will probably chew up your cables, but a decently trained dog or cat won't be a problem - we've never had a problem in 40 years of owning a cat.

The cat likes to listen to the stereo - when she hears me switch it on she always comes into the room to listen..
Sorry .. getting off-topic again...
 
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