Blackberry fell in water -- works 99% -- which circuit clean

[Mark Rejhon]

Hi,

Need recommendations about circuit board cleaning liquids.

Definition of Blackberry = a good email-capable cellphone/data device
with a thumb keyboard, latest model, costing about $400+ minimum new.

See my more detailed post in sci.electronics.misc ... but to keep the
story short, it got saved on time (battery removed immediately and
dissassembled).

The only problem with it now are stuck keyboard keys, as if a keyboard
matrix was shorted. Already, I've tried to clean the keyboard
contacts but my analysis has determined it's probably residue in an
inaccessible place such as between BGA pins underneath a chip.
Already spent 1 hour cleaning with isopropyl-dipped Q-tips already, to
no improvement. Circuit board now looks almost like new.

(If you have questions to ask me first, please go over to
sci.electronics.misc for my whole story about what happened to the
Blackberry and what's inside the Blackberry -- search for my last name
'Rejhon')

To dissolve residue in inaccessible places such as under BGA chips, I
now need recommendations of a circuit board immersion cleaning liquid.
Will 90%-97% isopropyl do, or will distilled water do? Or what
chemical, and what percentage? Keep in mind, it has to be safe
enough for residential use. This is a last-resort cleaning I need to
do before I replace the Blackberry.

It's a 2003-era mobile electronics circuit board, PDA style highly
integrated, with LCD removable if I want to clean without damaging the
screen. It's a $400 device, so I need to make an inexpensive
last-ditch repair attempt before replacing it. (I own it, no
contract, and therefore am responsible for its replacement.)

Thanks,
Mark Rejhon
www.marky.com

 

[Ken]

On 19 Mar 2004 10:08:46 -0800, spamguard@marky.com (Mark Rejhon)
wrote:

Need recommendations about circuit board cleaning liquids.

I am not an expert, but have been there with less sensitive equipment.

Since you never know what solvents will hurt, I would try an ascending
scale.

First, I would slosh it around in distilled water for around 15
minutes. Then shake off all excess water, from every angle possible.
Then I would dry it in a food dehydrator at around 150 degrees for a
day or two.

Next, I would try mineral spirits or Coleman Fuel. Then into the
dehydrator.

Next, I would try the IPA and dehydrator.

Next, I would buy a new one -- with a safety lanyard that attaches to
my belt.



Ken
(to reply via email
remove "zz" from address)

 

[Gordon Youd]

I often get cellphones that have been sloshed with beer, wine or just plain
water.

Take the battery out before any electrolytic action occurs.

Take the phone apart and wash all parts except screen in warm tap water to
which has been added 10% methylated spirit.

I use a soft tooth brush to slosh the liquid around the chips.

I then lay the parts out on kitchen paper towel, place the lot into a very
cool oven. ie: if you can bear your hand in there it's cool enough, this
will quickly dry the parts out.

nearly all of the parts are sealed so water washing won't bother them.

Re-assemble and test, I have only lost a few phones from this action and it
has been from the tracks being etched away from leaving the battery in too
long after it got wet.

Don't be worried my method does work.

Kind regards, Gordon.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
"Mark Rejhon" <spamguard@marky.com> wrote in message
news:323f419b.0403191008.1dc530a@posting.google.com...

Hi,

Need recommendations about circuit board cleaning liquids.

Definition of Blackberry = a good email-capable cellphone/data device
with a thumb keyboard, latest model, costing about $400+ minimum new.

See my more detailed post in sci.electronics.misc ... but to keep the
story short, it got saved on time (battery removed immediately and
dissassembled).

The only problem with it now are stuck keyboard keys, as if a keyboard
matrix was shorted. Already, I've tried to clean the keyboard
contacts but my analysis has determined it's probably residue in an
inaccessible place such as between BGA pins underneath a chip.
Already spent 1 hour cleaning with isopropyl-dipped Q-tips already, to
no improvement. Circuit board now looks almost like new.

(If you have questions to ask me first, please go over to
sci.electronics.misc for my whole story about what happened to the
Blackberry and what's inside the Blackberry -- search for my last name
'Rejhon')

To dissolve residue in inaccessible places such as under BGA chips, I
now need recommendations of a circuit board immersion cleaning liquid.
Will 90%-97% isopropyl do, or will distilled water do? Or what
chemical, and what percentage? Keep in mind, it has to be safe
enough for residential use. This is a last-resort cleaning I need to
do before I replace the Blackberry.

It's a 2003-era mobile electronics circuit board, PDA style highly
integrated, with LCD removable if I want to clean without damaging the
screen. It's a $400 device, so I need to make an inexpensive
last-ditch repair attempt before replacing it. (I own it, no
contract, and therefore am responsible for its replacement.)

Thanks,
Mark Rejhon
www.marky.com

 

[Mark Rejhon]

Hi,

Thanks for the tip. I got several recommendations of using distilled
water over tap water, so that is something I will probably use
instead. An incandescent desk lamp hovering a few inches above,
should produce heat similiar to a very cool oven, would it not?
Something that feels toasty to my hand but not unbearably hot after a
minute. Or is an oven still massively better, although I'm worried
about using the oven since it's hard to trust the "calibration" of the
oven temperatue, some ovens burn hotter than expected. Another guy
also recommended a food dehydrator for drying after circuit board
cleaning.

I'll be re-attemping the repair this weekend, washing using distilled
water at first. I'll look into the methylated spirit addition idea (I
also heard a suggestion about using coleman lantern fuel, too.) What
are your opinions?

Got a few days before I attempt the repair again, so please warn away.

Mark Rejhon



"Gordon Youd" <gordon@nospamgyoud.demon.co.uk> wrote in message news:<c3hbq1$d19$1$8302bc10@news.demon.co.uk>...

I often get cellphones that have been sloshed with beer, wine or just plain
water.

Take the battery out before any electrolytic action occurs.

Take the phone apart and wash all parts except screen in warm tap water to
which has been added 10% methylated spirit.

I use a soft tooth brush to slosh the liquid around the chips.

I then lay the parts out on kitchen paper towel, place the lot into a very
cool oven. ie: if you can bear your hand in there it's cool enough, this
will quickly dry the parts out.

nearly all of the parts are sealed so water washing won't bother them.

Re-assemble and test, I have only lost a few phones from this action and it
has been from the tracks being etched away from leaving the battery in too
long after it got wet.

Don't be worried my method does work.

Kind regards, Gordon.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
"Mark Rejhon" <spamguard@marky.com> wrote in message
news:323f419b.0403191008.1dc530a@posting.google.com...
Hi,

Need recommendations about circuit board cleaning liquids.

Definition of Blackberry = a good email-capable cellphone/data device
with a thumb keyboard, latest model, costing about $400+ minimum new.

See my more detailed post in sci.electronics.misc ... but to keep the
story short, it got saved on time (battery removed immediately and
dissassembled).

The only problem with it now are stuck keyboard keys, as if a keyboard
matrix was shorted. Already, I've tried to clean the keyboard
contacts but my analysis has determined it's probably residue in an
inaccessible place such as between BGA pins underneath a chip.
Already spent 1 hour cleaning with isopropyl-dipped Q-tips already, to
no improvement. Circuit board now looks almost like new.

(If you have questions to ask me first, please go over to
sci.electronics.misc for my whole story about what happened to the
Blackberry and what's inside the Blackberry -- search for my last name
'Rejhon')

To dissolve residue in inaccessible places such as under BGA chips, I
now need recommendations of a circuit board immersion cleaning liquid.
Will 90%-97% isopropyl do, or will distilled water do? Or what
chemical, and what percentage? Keep in mind, it has to be safe
enough for residential use. This is a last-resort cleaning I need to
do before I replace the Blackberry.

It's a 2003-era mobile electronics circuit board, PDA style highly
integrated, with LCD removable if I want to clean without damaging the
screen. It's a $400 device, so I need to make an inexpensive
last-ditch repair attempt before replacing it. (I own it, no
contract, and therefore am responsible for its replacement.)

Thanks,
Mark Rejhon
www.marky.com

 

[R. Steve Walz]

Mark Rejhon wrote:

Hi,

Thanks for the tip. I got several recommendations of using distilled
water over tap water, so that is something I will probably use
instead. An incandescent desk lamp hovering a few inches above,
should produce heat similiar to a very cool oven, would it not?
Something that feels toasty to my hand but not unbearably hot after a
minute. Or is an oven still massively better, although I'm worried
about using the oven since it's hard to trust the "calibration" of the
oven temperatue, some ovens burn hotter than expected. Another guy
also recommended a food dehydrator for drying after circuit board
cleaning.

I'll be re-attemping the repair this weekend, washing using distilled
water at first. I'll look into the methylated spirit addition idea (I
also heard a suggestion about using coleman lantern fuel, too.) What
are your opinions?

Got a few days before I attempt the repair again, so please warn away.

Mark Rejhon

"Gordon Youd" <gordon@nospamgyoud.demon.co.uk> wrote in message news:<c3hbq1$d19$1$8302bc10@news.demon.co.uk>...
I often get cellphones that have been sloshed with beer, wine or just plain
water.

Take the battery out before any electrolytic action occurs.

Take the phone apart and wash all parts except screen in warm tap water to
which has been added 10% methylated spirit.

I use a soft tooth brush to slosh the liquid around the chips.

I then lay the parts out on kitchen paper towel, place the lot into a very
cool oven. ie: if you can bear your hand in there it's cool enough, this
will quickly dry the parts out.

nearly all of the parts are sealed so water washing won't bother them.

Re-assemble and test, I have only lost a few phones from this action and it
has been from the tracks being etched away from leaving the battery in too
long after it got wet.

Don't be worried my method does work.

Kind regards, Gordon.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
"Mark Rejhon" <spamguard@marky.com> wrote in message
news:323f419b.0403191008.1dc530a@posting.google.com...
Hi,

Need recommendations about circuit board cleaning liquids.

Definition of Blackberry = a good email-capable cellphone/data device
with a thumb keyboard, latest model, costing about $400+ minimum new.

See my more detailed post in sci.electronics.misc ... but to keep the
story short, it got saved on time (battery removed immediately and
dissassembled).

The only problem with it now are stuck keyboard keys, as if a keyboard
matrix was shorted. Already, I've tried to clean the keyboard
contacts but my analysis has determined it's probably residue in an
inaccessible place such as between BGA pins underneath a chip.
Already spent 1 hour cleaning with isopropyl-dipped Q-tips already, to
no improvement. Circuit board now looks almost like new.

(If you have questions to ask me first, please go over to
sci.electronics.misc for my whole story about what happened to the
Blackberry and what's inside the Blackberry -- search for my last name
'Rejhon')

To dissolve residue in inaccessible places such as under BGA chips, I
now need recommendations of a circuit board immersion cleaning liquid.
Will 90%-97% isopropyl do, or will distilled water do? Or what
chemical, and what percentage? Keep in mind, it has to be safe
enough for residential use. This is a last-resort cleaning I need to
do before I replace the Blackberry.

It's a 2003-era mobile electronics circuit board, PDA style highly
integrated, with LCD removable if I want to clean without damaging the
screen. It's a $400 device, so I need to make an inexpensive
last-ditch repair attempt before replacing it. (I own it, no
contract, and therefore am responsible for its replacement.)

Thanks,
Mark Rejhon
www.marky.com
-------------------

DON'T USE SOLVENTS until you test it on all substances under a
magnifier! Many tracks in modern keypads are conductive rubber
paint that will come right off with even isopropyl!!

-Steve
--
-Steve Walz rstevew@armory.com ftp://ftp.armory.com/pub/user/rstevew
Electronics Site!! 1000's of Files and Dirs!! With Schematics Galore!!
http://www.armory.com/~rstevew or http://www.armory.com/~rstevew/Public

 

[Gordon Youd]

Mark,
Don't worry too much about using distilled water there is nothing in tap
water that will harm pcbs, as I mentioned before I have only had failures
when track erosion had already occured.

Incidently I forgot to mention that I add a very small drop of soap liquid.
this helps to remove any dirt.

Rinse off under the cold tap and place on kitchen paper towel into the oven.

The oven is only warmed up to a bearable temperature and then SWITCHED OFF,
the residue heat is enough to dry the parts out, leave the parts in for
about 1 hour.

Don't be worried you will be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to clean
phones.

Kind regards, Gordon.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------

"Mark Rejhon" <spamguard@marky.com> wrote in message
news:323f419b.0403221542.9b4300f@posting.google.com...

Hi,

Thanks for the tip. I got several recommendations of using distilled
water over tap water, so that is something I will probably use
instead. An incandescent desk lamp hovering a few inches above,
should produce heat similiar to a very cool oven, would it not?
Something that feels toasty to my hand but not unbearably hot after a
minute. Or is an oven still massively better, although I'm worried
about using the oven since it's hard to trust the "calibration" of the
oven temperatue, some ovens burn hotter than expected. Another guy
also recommended a food dehydrator for drying after circuit board
cleaning.

I'll be re-attemping the repair this weekend, washing using distilled
water at first. I'll look into the methylated spirit addition idea (I
also heard a suggestion about using coleman lantern fuel, too.) What
are your opinions?

Got a few days before I attempt the repair again, so please warn away.

Mark Rejhon



"Gordon Youd" <gordon@nospamgyoud.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:<c3hbq1$d19$1$8302bc10@news.demon.co.uk>...
I often get cellphones that have been sloshed with beer, wine or just
plain
water.

Take the battery out before any electrolytic action occurs.

Take the phone apart and wash all parts except screen in warm tap water
to
which has been added 10% methylated spirit.

I use a soft tooth brush to slosh the liquid around the chips.

I then lay the parts out on kitchen paper towel, place the lot into a
very
cool oven. ie: if you can bear your hand in there it's cool enough, this
will quickly dry the parts out.

nearly all of the parts are sealed so water washing won't bother them.

Re-assemble and test, I have only lost a few phones from this action and
it
has been from the tracks being etched away from leaving the battery in
too
long after it got wet.

Don't be worried my method does work.

Kind regards, Gordon.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
------
"Mark Rejhon" <spamguard@marky.com> wrote in message
news:323f419b.0403191008.1dc530a@posting.google.com...
Hi,

Need recommendations about circuit board cleaning liquids.

Definition of Blackberry = a good email-capable cellphone/data device
with a thumb keyboard, latest model, costing about $400+ minimum new.

See my more detailed post in sci.electronics.misc ... but to keep the
story short, it got saved on time (battery removed immediately and
dissassembled).

The only problem with it now are stuck keyboard keys, as if a keyboard
matrix was shorted. Already, I've tried to clean the keyboard
contacts but my analysis has determined it's probably residue in an
inaccessible place such as between BGA pins underneath a chip.
Already spent 1 hour cleaning with isopropyl-dipped Q-tips already, to
no improvement. Circuit board now looks almost like new.

(If you have questions to ask me first, please go over to
sci.electronics.misc for my whole story about what happened to the
Blackberry and what's inside the Blackberry -- search for my last name
'Rejhon')

To dissolve residue in inaccessible places such as under BGA chips, I
now need recommendations of a circuit board immersion cleaning liquid.
Will 90%-97% isopropyl do, or will distilled water do? Or what
chemical, and what percentage? Keep in mind, it has to be safe
enough for residential use. This is a last-resort cleaning I need to
do before I replace the Blackberry.

It's a 2003-era mobile electronics circuit board, PDA style highly
integrated, with LCD removable if I want to clean without damaging the
screen. It's a $400 device, so I need to make an inexpensive
last-ditch repair attempt before replacing it. (I own it, no
contract, and therefore am responsible for its replacement.)

Thanks,
Mark Rejhon
www.marky.com

 

[Gordon Youd]

Mark, Let us know if you got it sorted out????

Kind regards, Gordon.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Mark Rejhon" <spamguard@marky.com> wrote in message
news:323f419b.0403221542.9b4300f@posting.google.com...

Hi,

Thanks for the tip. I got several recommendations of using distilled
water over tap water, so that is something I will probably use
instead. An incandescent desk lamp hovering a few inches above,
should produce heat similiar to a very cool oven, would it not?
Something that feels toasty to my hand but not unbearably hot after a
minute. Or is an oven still massively better, although I'm worried
about using the oven since it's hard to trust the "calibration" of the
oven temperatue, some ovens burn hotter than expected. Another guy
also recommended a food dehydrator for drying after circuit board
cleaning.

I'll be re-attemping the repair this weekend, washing using distilled
water at first. I'll look into the methylated spirit addition idea (I
also heard a suggestion about using coleman lantern fuel, too.) What
are your opinions?

Got a few days before I attempt the repair again, so please warn away.

Mark Rejhon



"Gordon Youd" <gordon@nospamgyoud.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:<c3hbq1$d19$1$8302bc10@news.demon.co.uk>...
I often get cellphones that have been sloshed with beer, wine or just
plain
water.

Take the battery out before any electrolytic action occurs.

Take the phone apart and wash all parts except screen in warm tap water
to
which has been added 10% methylated spirit.

I use a soft tooth brush to slosh the liquid around the chips.

I then lay the parts out on kitchen paper towel, place the lot into a
very
cool oven. ie: if you can bear your hand in there it's cool enough, this
will quickly dry the parts out.

nearly all of the parts are sealed so water washing won't bother them.

Re-assemble and test, I have only lost a few phones from this action and
it
has been from the tracks being etched away from leaving the battery in
too
long after it got wet.

Don't be worried my method does work.

Kind regards, Gordon.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
------
"Mark Rejhon" <spamguard@marky.com> wrote in message
news:323f419b.0403191008.1dc530a@posting.google.com...
Hi,

Need recommendations about circuit board cleaning liquids.

Definition of Blackberry = a good email-capable cellphone/data device
with a thumb keyboard, latest model, costing about $400+ minimum new.

See my more detailed post in sci.electronics.misc ... but to keep the
story short, it got saved on time (battery removed immediately and
dissassembled).

The only problem with it now are stuck keyboard keys, as if a keyboard
matrix was shorted. Already, I've tried to clean the keyboard
contacts but my analysis has determined it's probably residue in an
inaccessible place such as between BGA pins underneath a chip.
Already spent 1 hour cleaning with isopropyl-dipped Q-tips already, to
no improvement. Circuit board now looks almost like new.

(If you have questions to ask me first, please go over to
sci.electronics.misc for my whole story about what happened to the
Blackberry and what's inside the Blackberry -- search for my last name
'Rejhon')

To dissolve residue in inaccessible places such as under BGA chips, I
now need recommendations of a circuit board immersion cleaning liquid.
Will 90%-97% isopropyl do, or will distilled water do? Or what
chemical, and what percentage? Keep in mind, it has to be safe
enough for residential use. This is a last-resort cleaning I need to
do before I replace the Blackberry.

It's a 2003-era mobile electronics circuit board, PDA style highly
integrated, with LCD removable if I want to clean without damaging the
screen. It's a $400 device, so I need to make an inexpensive
last-ditch repair attempt before replacing it. (I own it, no
contract, and therefore am responsible for its replacement.)

Thanks,
Mark Rejhon
www.marky.com

 

[Mark Rejhon]

"R. Steve Walz" <rstevew@armory.com> wrote in message news:<405F89C3.F72@armory.com>...

DON'T USE SOLVENTS until you test it on all substances under a
magnifier! Many tracks in modern keypads are conductive rubber
paint that will come right off with even isopropyl!!

Hmm, thanks for the tip.

There is no conductive rubber as far as I can see in this particular
pad. It's just simply gold-plated metal contact-pairs on a flat
circuit board at each key location, once I've removed all the clicky
metal/plastic/rubber sheets (which is detachable).

So far, it seems like I've narrowed it down to these for this coming
weekend:

1. A longer trip in distilled water with swishing/vibrating; or
2. A short trip in either denatured alcohol (fuel) or 90%+ pure
isopropyl (not drugstore grade); or
3. A combination of distilled water and one of the alcohols;

Based on feedback I've gotten, I am probably leaning towards using #3,
as I've already Q-tip washed the circuit board already, and need
something with low enough surface tension to clean between chip pins
and between balls underneath BGA chips. So probably, I'll swish in
that solution between 30 and 60 seconds, followed by a quick drying
under immediate warm air (followed by low-temperature human-touch-safe
baking).

Thanks,
Mark Rejhon