Car Cassette player problem. ( Kenwood KRC 335)

[cubdh23]

Ok my cup holder caved in because of my 64 OZ drink that i guess it was not made to hold. 64OZ of gatorade came down on my car stereo and on the car carpet. Few drops hit the cassette player, it played for a few mins then stop playing. Today the light would not even turn on. I checked the fuse was good. The power from the battery and from the ignition is a good 12Volts.
Power seems to be getting to the player but it does not respond to power.

Is this thing fixable? When liquid gets into electronics what usually happens?
I know parts get shorted out but is it fixable? OR did $125.00 go to completel waste?
Any ideas? Is it doable. What should i look for.
thanks

 

[Exo]

Open it, clean it, and let it dry...

if it still doesn't work then somethings already bust and it needs repair, the exact thing that did go wrong is hard to see from over here :lol:

 

[cubdh23]

Ok i opened it and see sticky stuff on the circuit. What is the best way to wipe the sticky stuff( gatorade) Wet cloth?

 

[cubdh23]

There is a capacitor with a good amount of white liquid flowing around the parts. At least 4 resistors are shorted by this white stuff. Anyone know what this white stuff is? The cap is a big one near the power source. Is this consistent with water damage sort of thing?

 

[evandude]

is the white liquid solid? or is it something liquid/sticky, and/or something that looks like it leaked out?

caps leak their electrolyte sometimes when they go bad...

but a lot of times manufacturers use epoxy (often white) to help hold caps in place on circuit boards, and they generally do a very careless job of blobbing it on there...

 

[cubdh23]

IT is sticky white, should i change the cap?
I already cleaned the parts that got sticky from the gatorade.
I didnt change the capacitor. When i apply power i do see signs of life now but still doesnt work. At least the power light lights up now. IT didnt do this before..
Should i change the capacitor or just clean it?

 

[Exo]

change the capacitor, the way you describe it leads me to believe it is leaking electrolyte. Also replace the parts wich also got covered with it.

If the cap went there was probabely a short on it, more things can be damaged :?

One way I use to get 'sticky stuff' (cola, for example) of circuit boards is to spray the board with contact cleaner and then, before it evaporises, clean it off with a cloth.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

One way I use to get 'sticky stuff' (cola, for example) of circuit boards is to spray the board with contact cleaner and then, before it evaporises, clean it off with a cloth.

You might also try a stiff bristled brush, really good for cleaning PCB's. I have an aerosol at work with a special tube and trigger connected, it sprays solvent through the bristles of a small stiff brush - absolutely great for cleaning boards, or removing flux.

You should be aware that fizzy drinks are EXTREMELY corrosive, and can cause extensive damage to electronics - it's vital to remove them fully and promptly from the board.

 

[cubdh23]

Hmm ok thanks for the advice. I spent all day yesterday cleaning the board with a damp cloth. I found numerious places on the board with black ashy spots, like burn marks. I clean those off but the board is still very sticky.
I plugged in into the car and the radio works. At least it has life now. The tape player does not work because sticky stuff is all in the gears, so the gears just vibrate and make a weird sound.
Anyway can i use eye glasses cleaner instead of the contact lens cleaner??
Also if i want to replace the tape part of the system i was wondering; Is there a store online that sells damaged or used electronics? IF i can find a damaged Kenwood 335 i can just take out the internal cassette holder and replace it on mines. I will attempt to take the gears apart, clean them and put them back but that seems like a daunting task as there are about 25 tiny screws and many tiny gears.
can glasses cleaner replace contact cleaner?
any damaged or used electrronics store?
thanks.

 

[Exo]

can i use eye glasses cleaner instead of the contact

If that's referring to my suggestion above, I meant electrical contact cleaner, not contact lens cleaner.

 

[jrz126]

Is it really worth the repair? why not just buy a CD player, you can probably find one for a really good price. But if you are still determined to repair it, I dont see why swapping out the cassette part from a damaged one wouldnt work, unless that one is broke too.

 

[evandude]

what i would recommend is taking it apart, removing all the electronics, and just hosing it heavily with rubbing alcohol. the stuff is cheap enough, you can get big bottles at drug stores for a few dollars. put some in a spray bottle, spray into all the crevices/gears/etc, pour a bunch in a container and submerge it for a while, whatever helps you clean it out. that should dissolve the sticky crap and get it off there.

the reason i say to use rubbing alcohol instead of water is that rubbing alcohol evaporates a lot better by itself, so you don't risk rusting any steel parts as much. after you are done cleaning it, you should dry it off as best you can. preferably take an air compressor or some of that "canned air" people use to blow dust out of their computers, and make sure you get it totally dry, and you should probably also let it air-dry for a couple of days in a warm, dry location (by a hot air duct or other heater in your house, or something like that) so you are sure there is no moisture left.

it would be a good idea to oil the gears and things once dry, you can get multi-purpose machine oil at any hardware store. that will help things run smoothly (in case you washed out the original lubrication) and also help prevent rusting.

you could also do this with a different, more volatile liquid, like mineral spirits or acetone or something. they would probably do an even better job of cleaning out the gunk, and evaporate even faster so rusting wouldn't really be an issue, but they would cost more, have more fumes, and could possibly react with some plastics in there...

 

[gmphadte]

Do not lubricate the clutch(es)

 

[cubdh23]

Hi, hmmmmm well lets seeeeee. After brining it back to life by cleaning it with a cloth, i then took the advice of this forum and got the contact cleaner.
Now the thing will not even power up when hooked to the Car power supply.
Anyway i want to debug the problem upstairs and i had a Power question.
I have a power supply from an old Printer, and it gives off 12Volts, and i am sure but i know not too much AMPs. I just want to hook it up to my car cassette player to see if the light comes on, and i want to mess with it until the light comes on, saying that it is getting power to the parts.
The player is rated at 12 Vots 10 Amps. I am sure the 10 Amps part is when it is hooked up to speakers or whatever, but do you think it is safe to hook this up to my printer power supply to troubleshoot it? OR something will give?
thanks

 

[cubdh23]

If it doesnt provide enough Amps to the player will it damage it?
Also how can i test to see how much Amps it can provide at 12 Volts, ???