SW-EM Deoxit D5 Additional

Deoxit D5 Additional
originally posted 09/2012 R. Kwas, revisions on-going. Comments added.

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Bosch D-Jetronic Throttle Position Switch Maintenance
Deoxit vs Stabilant 22

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If you’ve ever turned a volume control knob on your preamp or just brushed up against the 1/4” plug on your favorite (original…not repro! ) Les Paul, only to have your stereo speakers or beloved Fender Twin-Reverb emit a deafening, thunderous and scratchy, horrendous noise which made you fear for their life and your eardrums*…or do you have to smack your cheap (or even expensive) flashlight every time before you can expect it to light? These are symptoms of what poor contacts in low voltage / low current systems can easily result in… intermittent, “noisy” contacts or no-worky at all!

[* Always follow the rule to NEVER intentionally change any audio system connections without first turning down the volume (or power amp output)! It might just save the cost of a long-distance phone call to the amp or speaker manufacturer to set up a repair…]

Fact is that any electrical contact needs to pass a certain minimum amount of current to work reliably. While this minimum current is determined by a number of factors, most notably, contact material, design, and mechanical pressure. This minimum current is necessary to cut through the microscopic surface oxidation and/or contamination which inevitably occur when even a clean, fresh metal surface is exposed to moisture and dust containing air. The minimum magnitude of current is not generally an issue on vehicular systems where Amps of current flow (although we vintage Volvo owners do know of at least one critical place where it is…read: D-Jetronic Throttle Position sensing Switch). But on connections of fleapower systems, we can’t just simply clean and lather them up with ACZP, like for instance our automotive Fuseblock. In fact, if we were to apply the insulating grease filled with conductive particles or the so oft, and incorrectly recommended (and also insulating, but totally, with no conducting particles) dielectric grease, we would surely make the effect much worse as the insulator got between the lightly mechanically loaded contacts, which aren’t passing much current to keep them clean and in good electrical contact in the first place! What to do?

For these connections (moving, as in a circular or linear slider volume control or your beloved D-Jetronic TPS) or (non-moving and fixed, as in that 1/4" guitar connector or the battery connections of your handy-dandy Maglite / Surefire), a more subtle approach is called for. Enter the Deoxit product line by CAIG (Reference 1)! This product line consists of a proprietary cocktail of oxide-cutter/cleaner/lube/protectants which makes a world of difference. Available in several different containers, the compounds are applied to contacts and controls to remedy scratchiness and give long-term noise-free service. The film is quite thin and light but also fairly long-lived, so while being easily displaced by low pressure contacts, it stays in place surrounding the actual contact area (with not really a Gas-Tight-Joint, but the next best thing!) and renders its benefits for a long time. They also have formulations specifically for gold contacts which do not oxidize but are still susceptible to contamination, but I find that their D5 formulation in a small spray-can with adjustable valve and snoozle is generally very effective for all of my needs. It can be used after contact scratchiness occurs or preventatively (such as on my reworked Fuseblocks, while their contacts are shiny clean after they have been reworked and before they get sent out for installation by another satisfied owner!).

I do like Deoxit D5 product very much, but I don’t like the fact that it is billed as a “Contact Enhancer” because this suggests that it is magically able to improve any contact, even a new, perfectly clean one, which it is applied to, and it just can’t do this (contrary to what the marketing department might tell you!)…what it can do is help remove surface contamination, including oxidation on a less-than-perfectly-clean, perhaps older contact, and keep it clean and unoxidized longer allowing a longer trouble-free service time between maintenances or the time that contact problem symptoms reoccur. It would therefore more correctly be called a “contact preserver” in my opinion, but that doesn’t sound nearly as impressive.

My Recommendations: For open and accessible contacts, clean these with low abrasive action and isopropyl alcohol (be aware that the isopropyl alcohol available at the drugstore is not pure, but a solution also containing water, so while the alcohol portion helps clean a surface and evaporates away, the water may stay!). Wipe this dry with a clean, dry tissue, paper towel or cotton swab. On inaccessible contacts, spray or wick in a small amount of Deoxit-D5 into the contact area, cycle the connection or control a number of times to wipe or cut through contact contamination. Apply another light application to flush/rinse away liberated contamination and to assure a clean film remains. For that Les Paul, it’s as simple as spraying in a little into the jack, plugging the plug in and out and rotating it several times, then spraying in just a bit more!

For flashlights: Clean light corrosion, manufacturing and finger oils from contact ends of batteries or connectors with a clean tissue or cotton swab and alcohol, also from their mating contacts (often wire or compression springs made of plated flat-stock), then apply a few drops of Deoxit D5 to a cotton swab and transfer it onto the contacting surfaces. The slightest film is all that is necessary to prevent microscopic surface corrosion or contamination from keeping the device from working as expected. I believe you’ll be quite happy with the result! I have gotten no compensation from CAIG in return for this recommendation/endorsement…they were however nice enough to replace a can whose valve failed for no good reason, and which slowly expelled its contents onto my storage shelf!

Inside the Bosch D-Jetronic TPS are a wiping contact sliding on gold plated printed circuit board contacts, as well as low pressure copper-on-gold contacts.

Added Feb 2018: ...another favorite use of mine for Deoxit: Watch Batteries, again because the low voltage/low current connections...at the very least, watch batteries shouldn't be handled with unwashed hands because of the finger oils which are sometimes enough to cause contact issues after a while...if I don't have the Deoxit handy when I'm replacing a watch battery (rare!), I at least wipe it clean before installation.

Bosch D-Jetronic Throttle Position Switch Suggested Maintenance: This Procedure has been heavily revised and relocated to: D-Jet Idle Adjustment Tech Article: D-Jet Throttle Position Switch Suggested Maintenance

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Reference 1. www.CAIG.com

Customer Support and Service experience: I use their product occasionally and by the drop or two only. It therefore spends most of its' time in its' storage location. One time, when I did need to use it, I found the can to be empty and the can label and where it had been sitting full of the pink product tracer. The can valve had become incontinent and had allowed the can to expel its contents...disappointing, but these things do happen...a quick call to CAIG, they sent out a new replacement can...I call that good Customer Support and Service by CAIG. Thanks!

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Comment by Art B per e-mail:

Excerpt of e-mail (25 Mar 2017):

"...You mention the requirement for current flow to establish the connection between two separate pieces of metal. It goes to the breakover voltage necessary to have the electric potential span the space or pierce a molecular layer of a dielectric. It explains why that 1/4" phone plug on the Les Paul suffers more often than does the flashlight, and many times more often than the contact at the base of your outdoor porch lamp. The magnitude of current, well, that same layer that stops a 12VDC potential in a milliamp switch sensor will keep a multiamp circuit to a power window or fuel pump from completing. And that ignores the aspect of how that dielectric layer is chemically changed as a result of the more significant heating in the high-current example..." [Good and Correct Info and explanation by Art!]

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Additional Information:

Below are shown some further tricks for using Deoxit and getting it to the critical area. I guess I'm not the only guy who likes this magic potion! Picture is from Radiolaguy's site and used with his kind permission. He is a specialist with vintage radios...his www.radiolaguy.com site is worth a look!

That's not just a Snoozle on the can, but Radiolaguy has fitted
a hypodermic needle into the Snoozle for literally pinpoint application!

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This article is Copyright © 2012-2022. The terms Fender, Maglite Surefire, CAIG, Deoxit and Volvo are used for reference only. I have no affiliation with any of these companies other than to present my highly opinionated results of the use and care of their products here. The information presented comes from my own experience and opinion, and my recommendations can be used or not, or ridiculed and laughed at, at the readers discretion. As with any recipe, your results may vary, and you are, and will always be, in charge of your own knuckles!

You are welcome to use the information here in good health, and for your own non-commercial purposes, but if you reprint or otherwise republish this article, you must give credit to the author or link back to the SwEm site as the source. If you don’t, you’re just a lazy, scum sucking plagiarist, and the Boston Globe wants you! As always, if you can supply corrections, or additional objective information or experience, I will always consider it, and consider working it into the next revision of this article...along with likely the odd metaphor and maybe wise-a** comment.

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Deoxit vs Stabilant 22

Further Reading: I’ve investigated Deoxit, and its Canadian competitor Stabilant 22 at length, here are some postings of interest I found. I make no claim as to whose info is correct and whose is not…its just interesting reading! [Sources and links are included but not enabled. They would have to be manually copied and pasted to navigate there. Aliases have been retained, last names of postings have been shortened to abbreviation only, since I don’t have permission from these individuals to repost. ]

From Caig’s website: DeoxIT® & DeoxIT® GOLD vs Stabilant 22

http://store.caig.com/s.nl/ctype.KB/it.I/id.1977/KB.215/.f

DeoxIT® & DeoxIT® GOLD vs Stabilant 22

What are the advantages of the DeoxIT® and DeoxIT® GOLD VS Stabilant 22?

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Similarities of DeoxIT®/DeoxIT® GOLD and Stabilant:
1) They are all metal contact/connector enhancers - improve conductivity.
2) They are all good lubricants and protectants.

Differences of DeoxIT®/DeoxIT® GOLD and Stabilant:

1) DeoxIT®/DeoxIT® GOLD are excellent cleaners (without the use of solvents or aggressive cleaning agents).
Not similar to flushing type contact cleaners, DeoxIT®/DeoxIT® GOLD dissolve oxidation on metal surfaces. This is especially important on older equipment and equipment exposed to severe environments (humidity, salt, and other contaminants). Dissolving oxidation lowers contact resistance, thereby increasing conductivity even more.

2) DeoxIT®/DeoxIT® GOLD are ideal for moving and stationary connections.
DeoxIT®/DeoxIT® GOLD are designed to re-coat surfaces that are disturbed (by vibration) or connections that are re-inserted many times (edge connectors, plugs/sockets).

Stabilant is more solid and requires re-application if the connection is disturbed or changed. This becomes very important in high vibration applications (equipment and systems with moving parts, transportation, aviation, etc.).

Following any disturbance or vibration, DeoxIT®/DeoxIT® GOLD will re-coat the surface. There is also no need to treat 100% of the connection. If 80% of the metal surface is treated, the DeoxIT®/DeoxIT® GOLD will spread and seal the other 20%. In fact, if a plug is treated, but the socket is inaccessible, the DeoxIT®/DeoxIT® GOLD will migrate (along the metal surfaces only) and treat/seal the socket.

3) DeoxIT®/DeoxIT® GOLD work well with similar and dissimilar metals.
Many metal treatments require that both surfaces be of the same materials to provide maximum effectiveness. DeoxIT®/DeoxIT® GOLD are formulated to be effective on all metal surfaces, similar and dissimilar.

4) Available in many convenient applicators.
We offer many applicators for our products. Sprays are offered for convenience, as well as affording a way to get to hard-to-reach areas. Since our concentrates are very cost effective, sprays become a very convenient option. Other versions include pens, wipes, needle dispensers, etc. Many applicators are offered in 100% and 5% formulations.

For reference, when our part number has "100" in the number, that represents 100% concentrate, (i.e., D100L-25C, D100S-2, the DeoxIT® needle dispenser and 100% spray, for example).

When the part number includes a "5", that represents 5% of the concentrate and 95% of a flushing solvent,” (i.e., G5S-6, G5L-25C, the DeoxIT® GOLD spray and needle dispenser, for example).

Flushing solvents, as offered in the 5% solutions, are ideal for displacing surface contamination (oil, grease, dust, etc.) and may be required for certain applications.

5) Exceptionally cost effective to use. DeoxIT ® and DeoxIT® GOLD are considerably less costly than Stabilant or other similar polymers.

*CAIG does not recommend using any form of alcohol-derived solvent (they contain water), because these are polar solvents and conduct electricity. If the solvent does not evaporate completely, they may cause shorts. This is especially of concern when applied to porous materials (phenolic, rubber, etc.).

NOTE:
DeoxIT® GOLD (formerly ProGold)
DeoxIT® GOLD GxL (formerly ProGold GxL)
DeoxIT® SHIELD (formerly PreservIT)
DeoxIT® FaderLube (formerly CaiLube MCL)
DeoxIT® FaderGrease (formerly CaiLube MCL P20 & P40)
DeoxIT® Grease Type M260 & L260 Paste (formerly CaiLube Grease)

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From: http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=234248&page=14

Information requested for "Stabilant 22"

thread2-234248

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thruthefence (Aerospace)

6 Jan 09 14:40

thruthefence (Aerospace)

6 Jan 09 14:40

Stabilant 22 is product marketed as a "conductant" or contact enhancer. I am looking for anecdotal evidence of it's usefulness, or lack of same, by folks who have experience with it.

I am specifically interested in it's efficacy in resolving nuisance faults in aircraft avionics, such as those commonly "repaired" by "re-racking" the box.

I would also be interested in any instance of it's being included in the 'approved consumable' list of any airframe or avionics manufacturer's line level maintenance manuals, or CMM. ( I have seen some Bell Helicopter docs where it is approved )

I am not interested in starting a snake-oil debunking thread.

Thanks to all for any information.

• http://www.posthorn.com/Stab_2.html

MikeH (Mechanical)

6 Jan 09 19:13

I have used it. It works pretty much as advertised.

It won't work miracles, e.g. remove corrosion that's already become widespread, but as a preventive of nuisance connector glitches, I'm sold on the stuff.

Mike H

Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

madvlad (Aerospace)

3 Mar 09 15:21

I had heard that a similar treatment was a magic bullet which greatly improved reliability of electronics in the F-16, after a number of crashes prompted an investigation.

The problem, apparently, is called 'fretting corrosion'.

Googling with 'F-16 wiring fretting corrosion' gave me the following link and others.

http://www.lektro-tech.com/images/Scott_Dobson.pdf

They use some mil-spec spray (which I'm assuming has the same general purpose and function as your stabilant 22 which I've never heard of).

The spray increased the mission capable rate of the treated F-16s by 16% and decreased maintainance hours per flight hour by 50%...which is pretty impressive.

FieldTeam (Aerospace)

3 Mar 09 18:45

In Madvlad's link, figure 3.0 shows the results of a WPAFB electrical connector CPC validation study. In the referenced chart (which appears to be a cut from a presentation) they list stabilant 22, manufactured by D.W. Electrochemicals, as not recommended for use (there was no MIL spec associated with this product).

I contacted this company in January and asked if stabilant 22 met any industry specifications. They asked me a lot of questions on what I was considering using this product on, then informed me they would have to get back with me....they never did.

thruthefence (Aerospace)

3 Mar 09 21:53

There's a NATO spec # on the container I have, I'll post it next time I'm in the shop. Maybe it will cross to something.

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http://store.caig.com/s.nl/ctype.KB/it.I/id.1977/KB.215/.f

Also below, excerpt of a discussion on a forum that I ran across.

Reference Reading (sources indicated):

Stabilant 22 from Canada

link with interesting info and further links: http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=234248&page=14

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=234247&page=17

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/electronics-guys-stabilant-amazing-171789/

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from: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/electronics-guys-stabilant-amazing-171789/index2.html

01-04-2009, 12:11 PM

jim r

Diamond Join Date: Feb 2004

Location: peekskill, NY

Posts: 17,043

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This reminds me of the famous "de-ox-it" shoot-out in another board years ago.

De-ox-it was a great spray-on contact cleaner. Proprietary and all. Of course

somebody analyzed it and found out the magic goop in it was oxalic acid. IIRC.

Somebody began to produce it and there were lawsuits and all. Upshot: the

faux de-ox-it was reformulated without the oxalic acid and didn't work terribly

well at all.

The point is that if stablilant were to put up the information that it contains so

much and so much tin chloride, so much and so much water, so much and so

much puppy dog tails, so much and so much percent plutonium tri-arsenide,

then any sensible technical person would just whip up their own batch of

magic and not spend the hundred dollars for the eye-dropper bottle.

And the folks who use this stuff, always either a) are knowledgeable about

chemistry, or b) know somebody who is.

So stuff like stabilant by its nature HAS to be magic potion. They CAN'T tell

you what's in it. Ask the de-ox-it folks.

Jim

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On page 4 of the thread (posting #62):

www.bellcustomer.com/files/Storage/TB_206-08-193.pdf

Evan

Titanium Join Date: Jan 2004

Location: Williams Lake, BC, Canada

Posts: 2,892

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I can't supply written data because it is proprietary. I have an old MSDS and hazmat book from when I worked for X. I'm not going to publish the data here but it contains the real chemicals and CAS numbers instead of concealing them as they are normally allowed to do. Xerox insisted on that and we also had access to various products that are not sold to the general public including an optical cleaner that was 99.9% anhydrous ethyl alcohol with a tiny amount of surfactant.

The switching property only works with thin films which is why it won't switch on over a large gap even if the potential is high enough. I have no idea what the switching time is but I am sure it is no more than a few milliseconds.

Google poly alcohol semiconductor hysteresis

An example, although this is a related material, not exactly the same.

Quote:

Ionic Impurities in Poly(vinyl alcohol) Gate Dielectrics and Hysteresis Effects in Organic Field Effect Transistors

printer-friendly

Author(s):

Martin Egginger, Mihai Irimia-Vladu, Reinhard Schwödiauer, Andreas Tanda, Siegfried Bauer, Serdar Niyazi Sariciftci

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is a water based dielectric often used as a coating layer in paper industry. Due to its water solubility PVA is also interesting as gate insulator in organic field effect transistors. Depending on the preparation of the PVA gate, transistors with and without hysteresis can be produced, with applications in organic electronic circuits or memory elements. In the production of PVA, a major side product is sodium acetate, an ionic salt not completely removed during industrial purification. Such ionic impurities likely influence the hysteresis in PVA based organic field effect transistors. While a hysteresis is desirable in memory elements it is unwanted in transistors for electronic circuits. Ways to prepare transistors with a desired transfer characteristic are described, for example by using electronic grade products directly from the purchaser of PVA, or by employing PVA purified by means of dialysis. Measurements are performed with metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structures and organic field effect transistors (OFETs), where Buckminsterfullerene C60 is employed as organic semiconductor.

http://www.mrs.org/s_mrs/sec_subscri...&action=detail

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#124 (permalink)

01-06-2009, 10:50 PM

swarf_rat

Stainless Join Date: Feb 2004

Location: Napa, CA

Posts: 1,029

________________________________________

Examples of how, and how not to behave:

Stabilant: this is about the most technical information you can find on this product from the manufacturer:

http://www.stabilant.com/techt22h.htm

Deoxit:

http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.18/category.238/.f

Scroll down and look at the protection, oxidation, and comparison tests, also the Deoxit Gold tech sheet as examples. (Sorry, they are javascript links and don't post directly).

Deoxit was not afraid to test their product, not afraid to publish the results, not afraid to discuss the mode of action.

I have no affiliation with either company, nor have I bought either product. If I find bad contacts I clean them or fix them.

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01-22-2009, 05:06 PM

thruthefence

Stainless Join Date: Jul 2008

Location: Bossier City, La

Posts: 1,373

________________________________________

Jim, thanks for your post. I have indeed considered the psychological aspects of this thread. If you paid $80.00 for 15cc of something, you might be 'motivated' to see things that aren't there. In my case, I was given a small sample, maybe 2/3 used, gratis, and didn't have to delude myself in any fashion. That sample "went south" at some time, and I did indeed purchase some of my own. I am now on my second purchased bottle. As I have stated before, I am not the least bit interested what is happening at the quantum level. Maybe I'm altering something by esp? I have, however found where it was originally developed ( I think ).

Wright Electroacoustics

go here:

http://www.dayton-wright.com/index.shtml

not, apparently made along with the 'kickapoo joy juice' in a big black pot, as has been alluded to by another poster.(Now if that reference doesn't date me,

nothing will.)

here are some papers by the developer, Mr Wright:

http://www.dayton-wright.com/Refersnces001.html

scroll down to "Quantum Tunnelling"

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Last edited by thruthefence; 01-22-2009 at 05:47 PM. Reason: add published scientific papers

Post #240

swarf_rat

Stainless Join Date: Feb 2004

Location: Napa, CA

Posts: 1,029

________________________________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by bosleyjr

Swarf,

So. If you had a $250,000 machine that wasn't working, and nothing seemed to fix it, would you try S22?

I already admitted, way back up thread, that if I had reached desperation, I would. But I also said, later on, that I would not trust that piece of equipment, and would not consider it "fixed" until it had passed the equivalent of a life test.

I don't like applying cures for which there is no explanation, and I like even less an apparent cure for an intermittent problem with not even a theory of durability.

The case in point (as I understand it, a board with 20 IC sockets) could have been durably fixed - or at least proven that the sockets were not at fault - by swapping out the sockets. That would have taken a hour with cheap tools or 20 minutes with good ones. At the end of the hour, you would know with a high degree of confidence that the board was fixed, or that there remained an unknown problem. In that context the use of Stabilant as a diagnostic to see if the sockets should be replaced might enter my mind - but only if there was some reason to believe it does what is claimed. So far I have no reason to believe that, therefore after its use I might well think that the sockets are still at fault, and Stabilant didn't happen to fix it (as happened in their own testing...) - I am no better off than if I had not spent the $160. (For Thru - no, I didn't pay much attention to the price/oz, other than is was outrageous). Either: Stabilant fixed it, and now I need to swap the sockets for a durable fix or; Stabilant did not fix it, and now I need to swap the sockets to see if Stabilant failed.

When I say "extraordinary claims", I am referring to the claimed differentiation from ordinary contact cleaners, and a fantastic theory of action, both of which are used to justify an extraordinary price. It shares these characteristics with patent medicines, magnets to "catalyze" gasoline, and pyramids to sharpen knives. If you look on their website you will find 48 application notes recommending spreading it on anything electrical, and 22 technical notes, of which two relate to effectiveness: one says we can't tell you anything, the other gives a sparse summary of results that would be difficult to achieve by magic. When I evaluate the total picture presented, it looks like hokum.

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