Thread
Motherboard washing !
Just in case you don't know this tip about old hardware:
If you have an old Mac that just do not boot (even without shime), look carefully at the motherboard, you will probably see some kind of grease leak around the chips.
As you have nothing to loose, get the motherboard out of the chassis and wash it with dish brush and soap.
Then dry it carefully and wait for 24 hours. Put it back into the chassis, power on and ta-daa...
I saw this tip on a french blog and resurrected an IIci and an IIsi that way and now they work perfectly.
Hope this helps [
] ]'>
If you have an old Mac that just do not boot (even without shime), look carefully at the motherboard, you will probably see some kind of grease leak around the chips.
As you have nothing to loose, get the motherboard out of the chassis and wash it with dish brush and soap.
Then dry it carefully and wait for 24 hours. Put it back into the chassis, power on and ta-daa...
I saw this tip on a french blog and resurrected an IIci and an IIsi that way and now they work perfectly.
Hope this helps [
] ]'>
Welcome to the Army. It was thoughtful of you tp post the link, but be assured that electrolyte (not grease) spillage from failing capacitors is part-and-parcel of our common interest here. 'Capacitor goo' will get you 203 hits. 'MLB washing' gets 116 hits. 'Board washing' gets 1511 hits.
You can readily understand that owners of computers produced during the Grand Electrolyte Formula Theft period of aluminium electrolytic capacitor manufacture are more than the smallest part of this Army's mass mind. And then there's plain old filter-cap failure. You've arrived in the right place.
de
You can readily understand that owners of computers produced during the Grand Electrolyte Formula Theft period of aluminium electrolytic capacitor manufacture are more than the smallest part of this Army's mass mind. And then there's plain old filter-cap failure. You've arrived in the right place.
de
8-o I would never thought about putting it in a dish machine
Thank you for putting the rights technical words.
As we say in France "Je faisais de la prose sans le savoir'".
Thank you for putting the rights technical words.
As we say in France "Je faisais de la prose sans le savoir'".
A dishwasher has always struck me as extreme when warm water from a spraybottle is more easily monitored and controlled. But Chacun à son goo ... (Capacitor goo, of course.)
Nul excéde comme l'excès, peut-être?
de
Nul excéde comme l'excès, peut-être?
de
I had no idea that motherboards could come in contact with water. I always dust off the motherboard with a paper towel after coming across a new computer. On my LC III, there was so much dust coating the inside that I thought apple had gone with a gray motherboard...Just in case you don't know this tip about old hardware:
If you have an old Mac that just do not boot (even without shime), look carefully at the motherboard, you will probably see some kind of grease leak around the chips.
As you have nothing to loose, get the motherboard out of the chassis and wash it with dish brush and soap.
Then dry it carefully and wait for 24 hours. Put it back into the chassis, power on and ta-daa...
I saw this tip on a french blog and resurrected an IIci and an IIsi that way and now they work perfectly.
Hope this helps [
I still don't want to try this! Is everyone sure that's there's nothing to rust? I'm worried about some components rusting!
A quick wash shouldn't rust the motherboard. I would go for it. Good luck!
Phewf.... now I have to figure out which of my Macs is least valuable to try it on... probably the LC, since the ADB port is dead. 
As long as you let it dry long enough (I let all mine dry at least 4 days), you're really not risking anything.
Especially not when the ADB doesn't even work! (I want to get that fixed some day, but I suspect it's due to a bad chip now) :lol:
well could i run mine thought the dish washer (dasie) XD
as i have a few that could use that, do i have to take the ram out? and .ect?
as i have a few that could use that, do i have to take the ram out? and .ect?
Yes, that is advisable!
TAKE THE BATTERY OUT!
BETTER YET, TAKE EVERYTHING REMOVABLE OUT!
Don't use dishwasher detergent - it's way too strong. Wash without detergent and switch off the drying cycle on the machine. Let the boards air-dry for several days, somewhere warm. And yes, remove everything socketed.
ok thanks, I have to get the dish washer when its empty then, ok and I am trying to i figur out how to take the fan off and the ram on the mac and the rom and the cheach chip
Clean the gunk out of your dishwasher's filters, too
Good advice, but it isn't very useful without this tip: Before you remove ICs such as the ROM chips (depends on your logicboard, some are soldered on) please note down the exact locations of these ICs in their sockets. Placing them back wrong is a big no-no, which I learned the hard way.
If you're going to let it dry for 2 weeks, then removing ICs and such doesn't actually help a great deal. Even tight spots should be dry after 2 weeks, and you can always use the help of a hairdryer to make sure every spot is completely dry.
I personally wouldn't feel comfortable using a hairdryer on a mobo, I don't know anything about the air they put out, but I can imagine that as far as ESD is concerned, it'd probably be just as bad as that from a vacuum cleaner, not to mention you run the risk of components being damaged by the heat.
just put the disk washer on air dry or engery saver or what ever china calls it today.
This could be a bad idea, as forced hot air can actually drive water deeper into wherever it is hiding
On the (sorta) topic of accelerated drying, get a large freezer bag, put your mobo in and cover in dried white rice ... should only take a few days to a week versus 2 weeks of air drying and wondering if there is still a bead of water under a chip shorting something out
This is a common trick for wet cell phones, and works very well (As i found out when my wife sent her phone tru an entire washing machine cycle)
I think the drying time is being exaggerated. I've washed plenty of boards, and they were perfectly dry and working within 2-4 days. That's without the help of a hair dryer or other equipment.
depends, i wouldn't trust a couple days with a board loaded up with bga's ect
after washing, I bake them in the oven at a low temperature, yea its probably a bad idea, but hey, it works especially for various amounts of circuit boards that are just plain nasty, or projection TV boards that were victims of fluid leaks, etc....
Only problem i have had with using regular tap water is oxidation/corrosion that sets in during the dry cycle. any way to prevent that?
Only problem i have had with using regular tap water is oxidation/corrosion that sets in during the dry cycle. any way to prevent that?
Everyone gets that motherboards are both washed and baked at the factory, right?
As long as you don't approach 160C, it's highly unlikely you'll hurt anything.
As long as you don't approach 160C, it's highly unlikely you'll hurt anything.
Yea i figured that much, but didnt know if they did with all the components on them. lol.
Yea they do, baking them to both dry and solder, washing to get rid of the excess flux which is mildly corrosive (if it wasnt it would not do much)
Another piece of advice ... Grab a piece of styrofoam, wrap it around the whole way twice with baking foil (aluminium foil), and shove the ICs in that, in order. The foil will ensure there's no risk of potential building up from static and frying your firmware, and the foam will ensure they all stay in the one place. If you place them in spatial order, this also gives you a reference when you replace the ROM chips. Works wonders with four-chip boards like the Classic II.
Well, that is a consideration, but I find it's a good idea anyway.
What I do to dry the board quickly is get a phonebook, put it about 5cm from my heater, and sit foil cut to the size of the motherboard underneath it. Turn on the heater, and after twenty minutes flip it over to finish drying the other side, which takes another ten minutes (no components for water to trap under on the secondary side
) After that, I'm confident enough to put it back in the computer it came from.Note that this goes for /all/ motherboards, not just the sacred ones from Bandley
