Electrical contact cleaner safe for plastics?

[newoilguy1]

How do you all clean corrosion from connection plugs? I read somewhere that CRC removed “safe for plastics” from their contact cleaner and also removed the pictured automotive connector at some point. Q tip each individual pin?

 

[Vercingetorix]

Deoxit.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

It still says plastic safe

You could also use CRC's own MAF cleaner.

If you can actually find it on the shelf of a store, just read the label

 

[Rand]

deoxit d5

 

[dubber09]

Depends on kind of corrosion, vinegar may work very well.

 

[tcp71]

 

[f355spider]

I have both CRC electronic cleaner and Deoxit...haven't seen much difference in performance between the two products over the past couple years. I think CRC and a toothbrush is the way to go for most cleaning needs. Make sure the plug seals and boots are good and if they are not, replace them, or you will be in the same boat again. I had an old Ferrari and I replaced all the pins, seals and boots on every Bosch connector on the engine harness....took me about five nights after work to complete. Half the boots were torn and connectors green and tarnished. Had to cut back the wires up to an inch to get to clean wire (corrosion was under the insulation) It was very satisfying once complete and the car ran great after and idled much smoother.

 

[samven]

What ever you use just make sure it has dried before you reconnect the plug. Many years ago I cleaned the edge contacts and socket of a PC ckt board with a supposed plastic safe electronics cleaner. I was a little too fast plugging it back in. Several month later the board was glued into the edge connector.

 

[ironman_gq]

Gotta check, I used a CRC contact cleaner on a blower fan connector and it turned the fan housing so brittle that picking up the fan caused the housing to fall apart. This was a furnace inducer fan.

 

[oilboy123]

I would add blow things off with low pressure compressed air ASAP after using cleaner. I use the CRC QD one.

 

[ElectroMechanoMan]

I would use QD or MAF cleaner. Neither will eat plastics. I use them at work and never had an issue. Just be careful when cleaning circuit boards with either. They will cool off components and radically change their characteristics. I had that happen with a power boiler. Really created excitement during startup!